Its even getting to the stage that im afraid to go into services incase i cant park.
Services can be a 'mare though! If a park-up doesn’t look like it has a space - or a decent space, I’ll park at the far side of the fuel station. Obviously only for a fifteen though!
Find out off other drivers which are the services that get packed, or are tight, or are massive, or easy park-ups, or where they don’t mind if you take a 15 at the pump, etc, and use those when you can 
pompeymark:
Hi everyone been driving artics now for a month and i still cannot get my head round reversing. My prob seems to be that i over steer too much. Would a steering wheel aid help. Its so frustrating it getting to the point that i wish sometimes that i stuck with a class 2.
This might sound daft… Apologies if it does, but, isn’t reversing part of the driving test?
richcfc1:
pompeymark:
Hi everyone been driving artics now for a month and i still cannot get my head round reversing. My prob seems to be that i over steer too much. Would a steering wheel aid help. Its so frustrating it getting to the point that i wish sometimes that i stuck with a class 2.This might sound daft… Apologies if it does, but, isn’t reversing part of the driving test?
Not really no,you are testing on the ability the reverse into a designated area that you practice over and over again on your lessons,not really the same as everyday driving…
ckm1981:
richcfc1:
pompeymark:
Hi everyone been driving artics now for a month and i still cannot get my head round reversing. My prob seems to be that i over steer too much. Would a steering wheel aid help. Its so frustrating it getting to the point that i wish sometimes that i stuck with a class 2.This might sound daft… Apologies if it does, but, isn’t reversing part of the driving test?
Not really no,you are testing on the ability the reverse into a designated area that you practice over and over again on your lessons,not really the same as everyday driving…
Thanks for the reply, it’s just I’m going to be doing my hgv training soon… well as soon as my provisional comes back from Swansea.
richcfc1:
ckm1981:
richcfc1:
pompeymark:
Hi everyone been driving artics now for a month and i still cannot get my head round reversing. My prob seems to be that i over steer too much. Would a steering wheel aid help. Its so frustrating it getting to the point that i wish sometimes that i stuck with a class 2.This might sound daft… Apologies if it does, but, isn’t reversing part of the driving test?
Not really no,you are testing on the ability the reverse into a designated area that you practice over and over again on your lessons,not really the same as everyday driving…
Thanks for the reply, it’s just I’m going to be doing my hgv training soon… well as soon as my provisional comes back from Swansea.
Ah right,didn’t mean it to sound as it seems to have done lol
Basically on your HGV test they set out a grid which you have to reverse into without reversing too far back,pretty much a mocked up “bay”.
First you have to reverse around 2 comes then I to the “bay”,now I’ve been driving 11 years now and are still yet to come across a yard where ive had to reverse around comes to get on the bay lol
If you check out YouTube search HGV test reversing exercise it brings up a few video of what’s expected.
As explained above, the test reverse is a precisely choreographed sequence of ‘do this, do that’ steps. If you do them as instructed then there’s a fair chance you can end up in the designated ‘bay’, but you are unlikely to have learned the art of manoeuvring freehand, so to speak. It doesn’t really prepare you well for the real world. In particular, how and where do you position yourself to reverse into a given bay at a depot, and depending on where you have positioned yourself how do you actually control the 50 foot beastie hanging off your rear end?
As many have said, your training will teach you how to pass the driving test, not how to drive. That can only come with experience so you need a little luck finding someone who will continue your training after you pass the test. There are some companies out there who will send you out with a trainer driver for a while until you learn the ropes, so that’s a good way of progressing after the test. Nowadays there do seem to be more opportunities for inexperienced drivers to break into the industry, so it is a good time to be learning right now.
Really glad I found this thread. Massive relief that I’m not the only one.
Had my first experience of trying to back an arctic onto a bay today as my rigid had been smashed by one of the shunters over the weekend. Absolute bloody nightmare, I got so ■■■■ flustered I just couldn’t do it and the guy “training” me wasn’t interested in demonstrating, just moaning, shouting and standing watching; about as helpful as a flat tyre with the same level of personality.
After 8 hours or so constant practice I felt utterly burnt out and ready to chuck it all in 
Part of the frustration is I can nail the CE test reverse (in wag+drag) and can squeeze the 11m rigid I normally drive at the moment into some ■■■■ funny places, but this has so far eluded me.
Tried to look on youtube for a video of a reverse onto bay showing the drivers hands to give me a better idea of the steering wheel dance thats required but no luck 
andygt4:
Really glad I found this thread. Massive relief that I’m not the only one.Had my first experience of trying to back an arctic onto a bay today as my rigid had been smashed by one of the shunters over the weekend. Absolute bloody nightmare, I got so ■■■■ flustered I just couldn’t do it and the guy “training” me wasn’t interested in demonstrating, just moaning, shouting and standing watching; about as helpful as a flat tyre with the same level of personality.
After 8 hours or so constant practice I felt utterly burnt out and ready to chuck it all in
Part of the frustration is I can nail the CE test reverse (in wag+drag) and can squeeze the 11m rigid I normally drive at the moment into some ■■■■ funny places, but this has so far eluded me.
Tried to look on youtube for a video of a reverse onto bay showing the drivers hands to give me a better idea of the steering wheel dance thats required but no luck
That guy was no help to you, I would of asked him to either help me out or stop talking. Going backwards is harder than going forwards, its never the same as is it on your test because you are never at the same angle. It will come in practise. If you have access to shunters then ask one of them to show you/help you have a crack at doing.
Can’t really teach you how to reverse via the internet, i learnt the most from watching other drivers on various sites.
Now i know its not good for the tyres but I did enjoy the good old screw turn onto the bay technique, reverse at 90 degrees to the bay door on the drivers side, once the rear wheels are in inline with the edge of the door then put on full left steering, when the trailer wheels lock up, give it full right steering until the cab is straight with the trailer, if your good, no shunt required.
Also, on test you’re taught to get the truck straight when pulling forward to shunt, not always the best thing to do with an artic. You might want to pull forwards to one side and turn the cab sharply before going backwards again. Think of articulated trailers as dinosaurs, they move a lot slower than a drawbar, they take ages to begin turning and correct, with a drawbar all you need is a quick flick of the steering. The trick with artics is not steer much, because it takes a greater distance to alter the course/direction of the trailer.
If you can reverse a drawbar, you should be able to handle an artic, so keep trying, it also takes practice to teach it too, the instructor might have been learning on the job!
I’m useless at going backwards. I end up snaking it which was even more obvious when I had a go in the artic at Peter Smythe’s open day.
I had the exact same issue when I started on artics. Even posted on here as you have.
The best 2 pieces of advice I got then was go slow and keep the bend between unit an trailer as small as possible. Depending on space obviously.
I found I was better at screwing it round at 90 degrees than I was doing it properly!
It soon comes to you trust me, watch over drivers and you’ll soon pick up the ones who make hard work of it. Even now i use as much space as I have available even if I know I don’t need it, if it’s there, use it. Get it into your head that it doesn’t have to be done first time everytime, better to take 2 or 3 shunts and not hit anything.
You’ll see guys been doing it years who still take shunts. So what. Do it safe and remember, doesn’t have to be perfect everytime.
Keep at it, it will soon click. Trust me
Thanks everyone does make me feel better that im not the only one who cant seem to get it right. Lol
Im in a similar situation, been driving wagon and drag for ages and now on artics, got some advice off my Dad which was same on here, very small steering inputs, I can feel my self wanting to steer more but resist the temptation to and have been on the bay 90% first try for the last few days. Its amazing how little you need to steer, once you start going lock to lock give up and start again its easier.
And dont worry about looking a fool, having been in and out of a massive rdc lately, lots more people make a complete hash of it, than do it smoothly and in one.
I think most newly qualified artic driver find reversing one of the biggest challenges of the job, I know I did, 
As somebody already said, think about your starting point, get that right and you’re half way there, then take it steady. And don’t get flustered when it doesn’t go right first time, reset and have another go, we were all there once and the ones that take the ■■■■ are ignorant [zb] and many probably can’t do it themselves.
To those who prefer screwing round a 90 degree turn onto the bay, what do you recommend for the best starting position? How far out from the bay, and where should the back of the trailer be aligned to?
I’m assuming a worst case scenario here, trying to reverse between two trucks into the bay and no room in front to get a bend on.
I have posted elsewhere my rules of thumb which seem to be working in situations where there is plenty or a moderate amount of room out front, but I haven’t quite figured out the best starting position for the 90 degree screw turn yet.
Dont panic thats the main thing , if you rush it u ■■■■ it up I know reversing was my nemisis 
but if you take it slow little movements as has been said you dont get yourself wound up and if going wrong so what if you take a few shunts the people who normally comment arnt drivers of an artic themselves just offer them the keys and say go on then show us how to do it they soon get a bit red in the face lol , as long as you get the veh on the bay , in the space etc u want it without losing any paint its a good reverse, suddenly it will all go right you will feel the way the trailer goes and when its going and hey presto you got it in without any stress , took me awhile but if I can do it as the saying goes anyone can !!
good luck fella just dont panic you will get there !!
jx
The pic shows my nemesis. At this point the unit is at about 80 degrees with a fence on the nearside, I’m aiming for the lower of the 2 bays you can see and until your almost on the bay you can’t tell if your lined up, normaly if your a foot or so out you can shunt across but this yard means you pull out and try again it was the first bay I had to dock with after passing my class 1 and I really questioned myself after about a dozen tries lol the loaders eventually told me to put it onto any bay I could get close too lol.
Once on the bay there is just enough room for a truck to pass between you and the fence. I have loaded there about a dozen times now and still need 5 or 6 goes and I have watched others come and try and they struggle too. I would say the reverse gets easier the moment you realise nobody is judging you and you relax. I still struggle…more so when there is more room strangely.
Ady Williams:
The pic shows my nemesis. At this point the unit is at about 80 degrees with a fence on the nearside, I’m aiming for the lower of the 2 bays you can see and until your almost on the bay you can’t tell if your lined up, normaly if your a foot or so out you can shunt across but this yard means you pull out and try again
Once on the bay there is just enough room for a truck to pass between you and the fence. I have loaded there about a dozen times now and still need 5 or 6 goes and I have watched others come and try and they struggle too. I would say the reverse gets easier the moment you realise nobody is judging you and you relax. I still struggle…more so when there is more room strangely.
You should of seen me try and put a rigid on a massive bay at Pallex in Leicester. You know the ways where you pull your curtains and the forkie whips it off. First attempt I was too close to the edge of the line, second attempt I was skewed across the bay, third attempt I still wasn’t straight. All the while I was leaping about because the clutch was pants and I was being watched by every single driver waiting… In the end I got annoyed with it so just left it where it was.
Don’t worry lads, you’ll soon be wondering what all the fuss was about, I’ve been like a drunk snake on acid at big Supermarket RDCs to this…
And this turned out to be my all time favorite loading bay, the sense of achievement was immense.
Slow and steady that’s the key…
Remember…
Get
Out
And
Look
If in doubt, shout!
Don’t be a [zb]! - Shunt! (hint, they rhyme)
