Well today was up hill and down hill starts, roundabouts, lane markings which should i be in and those i should not and the tough one i had to deal with was the gear exercise. Flip the switch then in to 1st through the gears up to 4th and in reverse order. i was ok. could have done afew more goes at it.
Its any wonder that i have any time to look ahead with the amount of mirror useage ive had to do every 10/15 seconds, one top of which i am to also watch out for road signs at the same time which was hard going in case the examiner trys to instruct me up a road i cant fit or low bridge.
I did have a hard time keeping 30 0r 40mph The traffic seemed to me to be heavy today and it did feel that if i kept to the speed i would get too close for comfort very soon to the person in front.
Why does it feel like keeping speeds of 30 on a 30mph road so hard in an 18ton
I dont have the problem when i drive on the road in a 7 1/2ton i cant stuff my chances of passing so any advice welcome
Not sure if you mean keeping down to thirty or keeping the speed up. Either way keep the speed between 25 and 30 in a 30 when it is safe to do so. Above is breaking the law so you will fail, much below that on a regular basis will be considered to be lack of confidence.
Strange that you are doing something you do every day but all of a sudden there seems to be so much to take in, remember it well, miind it was only a couple of years ago.
Good luck
dont have the problem when i drive on the road in a 7 1/2ton
No, but you probably aren’t looking in the mirror enough. Or looking for height, weight restrictions. Thinking about how much space you need to steer, stop, which gear you are in.
If as I suspect you drive 7.5t on entitlement from a car licence, you have probably just adapted your driving from cars / vans. Now that you are being shown how to drive a bigger vehicle correctly it is more difficult.
Once you pass your test, it is really weird to go back to the 7.5t vehicle that you used to drive, you will drive it completely differently.
Even when you have passed, you still have lots to learn and you will learn from the mistakes that you make.
It is hard work, but once you’ve cracked it and driven on your own a couple of times you will relax and enjoy it.
I used to drive 13t and 18t vehicles, curiously when in the 13 tonners you would never get flashed in or out by other drivers, however when I was in the 18 tonners you would get a lot more help from other drivers.
As the 13 tonners looked like 7.5t vehicles it made me realise that there was quite a difference of attitude towards the two.
I had a good day and only screwed up 4 times in the 7-11 driving.
the nice part about the training is that we go to an Ind Est and stop for a cupper.
which begs the question is this normal for all learner drivers. i dont mind giving up half an hour of my driving time to reflect on any poor driving,
My training instructor ( good old boy) . on some occasions had not told me which direction to go from a side road Left? or Right? and had to ask which way.
or i was cofussed at an instruction to follow the road markings with no exit given to leave the roundabout. mad i guess he must have some thing personal on his mind,but i cant fault him really.
Monday is my last day of training and tuesday being the scary test. i really hope i do not foul this up. its a future i cant afford to lose what with 3 hungry mouths to feed. i just could not bear earning the min wage again, now that i am earning a good wage.
stop for a cupper.
which begs the question is this normal for all learner drivers
Well it is driver training after all. When I trained we were always stopping for food and drink, I always see training vehicles at roadside stops. Seriously it is probably good to stop and get some nourishment as it can be demanding.
8wheels:
Seriously it is probably good to stop and get some nourishment as it can be demanding.
When I phoned up to book my lessons the other day I asked how many others would be with me.
He said the instructor and one other, but if they cant get somebody else it’ll be me and the instructor.
Reason being is that it can be hard work training - and you can watch and learn from the other person…
When I learnt, most of the time there were two students. When we wern’t driving we sat on the bunk and could watch, sleep or whatever. Personally I found watching someone else really helped, as you can listen to your instructor watch the road and do everything you would be doing except drive.
You will see them make mistakes, and hopefully be able to avoid it happening yourself. It also gives you a boost to know that it is just hard work rather than you not getting it into your head.
Well what a day i have had and only one fault during practice.
I went through every thing that i had learn,t over the course of last week
Up & Down starts, emerg stop, reversing round the cones, the gear exercise and gerneral driving which was all pretty good.
All i need to do now is focus on Tuesdays test and if do as well as i have done today i should be just fine.
I must say that a “Can of Red bull” in the morning has kept me on top and feeling good but not cocky.
As for the rest of today, i shall do some reading on any thing that i may be asked during the test and relax in between so not to get brain strain.
I will leave one last message tomorrow on this subject (PASS or FAILED).
I would just like to say thank you to those of you who have given me good advice and an insight into your own personal experiances, they are gratefully received.
Best wishes to you all.
John.
Bad news i Failed.
I took my test in a different vehicle to the one i was use to during the training and a different trainer. I had a practice before the test, i was finding second gear hard to select sometimes, other than that, my driving was up to pass rate. Once at the test centre and met my examiner, he asked me 6 show me tell me questions then on to the reversing exercise. which went well i thought, i did every thing i had learnt and using the side protection bars as a point of referance to how far my back end was in the yellow and black box, as it was a very bright day the sun shine made looking at the arse end of the truck hard work “Sun blotches in front of my eyes” and i beleived i had done it but infact i was 5 feet short. I knew i had failed.
I continued with the rest of the test and began to have problems with selecting 2nd gear during pulling away at two different sets of traffic lights, they had changed to green and back to red by the time i got the gear engaged. I know you all will say “A poor craftsman blames his tools” but really it was not me, I know this because after the test when i was driven back by the replacement instructor he also had problems and i made dam sure i pointed it out, he said that he was not use to the truck,but i knew he was not having an easy time of if. He would find out why it was i was not given the truck i had trained in and have yet to get an answer.
I also became a magnet to dic heads who cut me up or were trying to squeeze past me on the right as the road began to narrow on both sides of the road and the list goes on.
I know made some errors during the course of the test, but i feel that certain changes at the begining contributed to a fail.
At the end of the day i can only blame my self and i now have to wait and see if the company will pay for an extra two days training and a test.
Sorry every one i hope to pass second time round and until then keep on trucking.
However, I must say your training co are well out of order putting you in a different vehicle for your test.
Maybe some other members would like to comment - but I’d be ‘kicking off’ and be seeking some recompense (free retest?) as I think they’ve treated you poorly.
so i may have a case then just for the fact that i was not in the vehicle i trained in they had my money and there is nothing i can do.
I think if i got a free test they might act funny towards me during the extra 2 days training they say i need to brush off my mistakes, that would lead to another fail if i was put under a grudge trainer.
To change your vehicle for an important test is negligence. I know that on my last stint on containers they would swap the trailers around & I used to rely on the sensors to reverse on to ramps. Sometimes they worked ,sometimes they didnt. But it didnt mean I couldnt handle the truck. I wonder why they make it so hard these days..? I would love to take the Polish test... Keep at it John. This weather didnt help. The general public on the roads get frazzled this weather and so do examiners…Sound `em out at borrowing your truck for another test…? Funny thing is that when I was 17 I took my car test in a 3 tonner 7 failed. Took it in a tiny Austin A30 with BSM & passed. As soon as I was 21 I was legal to drive any HGV…ever built. How thing have changed & how all the parasites are making big bucks out of the working man…?
hmmmm…I would not be a happy bunny if they changed my vehicle for my test. I think that’s wholly unfair. I would defiantly try for a free-test or at least some compensation. Strike now while the irons-so to speak. They might not accept it but it’s worth a go.
It’s common to have a marker on your vehicle so you know how far to reverse into the box. Did they even have the wisdom to show you that on the replacement vehicle? Did they warn you that there would be a different vehicle for your test? Surely it would have been better if they cancelled your test and re-booked when the vehicle was available again. I bet they’ve gone ahead with the test so THEY haven’t lost any money.
Once you’ve passed your expected to drive any vehicle but when your leaning it helps to keep to the same lorry.
I’m very sorry to hear you failed, plus the added stress of a unfamilar vehicle.
Completely out of order to change the test vehicle on the day - the test is hard enough without putting you in a truck that you were not 100% happy with. Even small differences would be enough to put you off and that is the last thing that you need on the day.
Any decent company should give you a free retest and a proper explaination as to why the truck was changed !!
sorry to here that mate, thought you were gonna sail thru!!!
got to say I would definatley not be happy with having a different truck for my test!!!
Agree with gazzareth & fellow posters, i’d want my training co to make some kind of gesture @ least - just check they havent covered themselves in the small print of there contract ! on some of the brochures I received it said they retained the right to change Test vehicle if they had too , & would do there best to keep your same instructor but could not garauntee it!!!
Best of luck to you mate, you know you can drive it & you will pass ( especially if given a fair chance )
As for the training company well i think it is bang out of order !
Although as said earlier in the post you will prob find the small print for the company will cover this.But never the less to build yourself up for the test and then be told that you taking a different vehicle just adds more stress to the test.
Best of luck for next time mate.If you get the glare of the sun again,just get it as close as you think then get out and have a look,then if need be come back abit more.
Bad Luck but I would be complaining big style about the vehicle change and would not let it rest till i got compensated free retest in the vehicle you trained in at the very least, On your reversing exercise you should have got out and had a look to make sure you were in the box this is allowed on test but you can only get out and look once they will mark you a minor for it but at least you wont fail for not being in it good luck with the next test im sure you will get another chance at it
Well what a day i have had and only one fault during practice.
