Hi guys,
I have posted here before as i passed my Class 2 (C) license back in August 09. I managed to get some work with my father in law on his 17 ton flatbed iveco delivering turf for a little while and then in November i got quite a lot of work with manpower, they sent me to Royal Mail and i was working pretty much full time until new year and since then it has been a little slow. So i thought it would be an ideal time to do my class 1. I had an assessment drive with J Coates who was recommended by this forum. I loved the drive and thought that driving the class 1’s is definately something i want to do. They told me that i would need only 3 days training with my test on the 4th day. Well that was only a couple of weeks ago and now i am booked up to start tomorrow and cannot wait. I am a little worried about the test which i think is natural but like i said i cannot wait to get started. The thing that appeals to me is that J Coates use full size trailer and not these small training ones. They managers at royal mail are the ones telling me to do my class 1 as there will be loads more shifts available and i seem to be liked there as i just get on with the work so fingers crossed!!!
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laughjimbo:
J Coates who was recommended by this forum.
Which branch 
I am going to the St. Albans branch Rog. My instructor is Bill Henderson i think. I asked about training providers near me for ADR training and HIAB. They seem like a really good bunch.
Be prepared for a different instructor each day 
Think I had 3 different guys during my 4 days of training, doesn’t help with continuity of training etc
Was that out of the St. Albans branch? I was told that i would have the same instructor all week, i hope i do as like you say it can make things awkward being told things differently as everyone has their own way of explaining things.
Well i have had my first day training and all went well. Did not stall the truck at all and only clipped one kirb. The other student seemed to clip every kirb there was and has already done a days training before today.
My reversing exercise went ok, not too badly out of shape! Confident that with a little bit of practise i will be ok with it. Really enjoyed my first day and feel really at home behind the wheel of an artic. I do feel that if i pass then i will be happier to drive a artic rather than a rigid.
Will let you know how i get on tomorrow!!
Hi All had a really busy week and did not get a chance to post. I had my test last Friday but unfortunately i did not pass. I went over a curb on a tight left hander. But other than that i only had 5 minors so i have got a retest next wednesday. All week things were going well, my driving on the road was pretty good and hardly curbed the truck at all. The thing that took me a while was the reversing exercise. On the day of the test i did my reverse without any problems which is strange because i did need to take a shunt quite often in training, but on the test it really was perfect. I took my test at the Enfield test center. The place i failed was turning left into Bounces Road, from Montague Road, Edmonton, N9. Had not done that turn before and only just went up onto the curb. Examiner was pretty good and told me that it was one of the tightest left turns on the test routes and being that i was running with a full sized trailer made it that little bit more difficult. He urged me to take a retest and not get so pi@?ed off about it because it was a good drive.
Keep my fingers crossed for next week!!
Laughjimbo