Hey peeps, think it was this time last week I was saying there is no luck for me as a class 1 driver! Well after a week of doing class 1 I think there is … I was waiting to start my job as a van driver with gba doing european work but need to wait for my passport to come through… Anyway I was chilling sunday night watching a film with the mrs then my phone goes at half 10… Hi daniel we need a class 1 driver down royston we are short… I was like I told my local depo at swadlincote I haven’t used it since passing when I was 17 in 2006! The bloke from head office said yea we know but we are desperate I said ok I’ll do it but have no way of getting there… Anyway a van came down from preston with 2 drivers 1 7nalf driva and 1 class 1… I got to royston depo about 2.30am and got thru a key to a daf xf and got told to sleep until 7.00. So I get into the cab and I sit there and smoke a ■■■, I’m like oh [zb]! I hadn’t been used to that much width since to many beers and taking a fatty home. I try to sleep but I can’t because of my nerves… My dad is a class 1 driver and was at work for 4am so I speak to him till 5 in the morning then fall asleep and then the bloke he sleeps at the depo comes and wakes me up. I go fetch my tacho and find out where Im going I am to drive enfield and pick up 40 ibcs on a side curtain trailer. He says go and back the lorry out so I get into it and it wouldn’t start! So now he throws me another set of keys to another xf which was alot newer than the other one with all the plating down the side of the unit and trailer it looked huge! I set of nerves pumping I didnt have a clue how to use the splitter so didn’t I just used 4 over 4 without it… I get half way to enfield and come up a road and get trapped in a 7.5 tonne limit [zb]!!! So then I experienced my first block the road reverse around a corner and pull back of I did it which I tapped my back after! After loading I got to another depo in royston to tip then had to get bk to gba I get bk to my gba depo in royston and get a lift in a van back up north after being told I did well !
Sorry for my punctuation and boredom…
Tuesday I rang head office and spoke to one of the trans managers hes a decent bloke and keeps sorting me work out because I did them the favor of driving with not knowing whether I would be able to or not I am now tramping! I went to swad Wednesday 5am picked a truck and trailor up with a polish driver, we then drove to slough, picked up fake mobile phones for tescos then went sunderland to tip, then newcastle then back down to roytson I did this 3 days In a row I finished work yesterday and am now bk at home. Before all this though I rang gba tuesday night and asked if i go up there with my dad and practice the couple and uncouple with him they said no problem!! What other company would allow that, I really enjoy the driving and its amazing that I have started with a decent company and can see me working for these for a while! Once my passport is through I’ll be doing european drops. So there is luck out there in the right places it was this time last week I was getting nervous about even thinking of driving a class 2 now after 1 week class 1 I love it if you see me out there give us a wave! PS Has anybody noticed how many NYK logistics wagons are about jesus!
Oh and now I use the splitter I got used to it and I find it brilliant, you can do anything with the gear box! 4 years without driving anything bigger than van I got into an artic and drove it ! Its all about confidence Im comfortable behind the wheel and know I have still got loads more learn and years before I gain experience! The only thing I dont like right now is the reversing I hate the blind side! But I’ve done plenty throughout the week .
Williams9881:
Oh and now I use the splitter I got used to it and I find it brilliant, you can do anything with the gear box! 4 years without driving anything bigger than van I got into an artic and drove it
Many are surprised as to how quickly it all comes back to you.
I had some drivers on refreshers who had not driven artics for over 10 years and after about 3 hours it had all come back - even the reversing
I would advise anyone who thinks they need a refresher to book half a day - no more - and make sure that the reversing is planned for a ‘real life’ situation and not cones on a reversing area
Williams9881:
Oh and now I use the splitter I got used to it and I find it brilliant, you can do anything with the gear box! 4 years without driving anything bigger than van I got into an artic and drove it
Many are surprised as to how quickly it all comes back to you.
I had some drivers on refreshers who had not driven artics for over 10 years and after about 3 hours it had all come back - even the reversing
I would advise anyone who thinks they need a refresher to book half a day - no more - and make sure that the reversing is planned for a ‘real life’ situation and not cones on a reversing area
Only thing I find to be annoying on the road is cars going back and passengers gorming me out because obviously I’m 21 I love the air horns though when an half decent girl goes by anyway lol. When I tipped at johnson matthews in royston I had to do some mad manouvers but I did it. I’m just really buzzing right now that I’m back into work after 8 weeks of leaving the army and I have neally tripled my monthly wage with this job.
dustylfc:
are gba from preston and leave trucks down south for european work am sure its the s me company my m8 worked for i think they do double manning also
Yeah there head office is up preston, they leave trucks down royston and near me at swadlincote. They don’t have as many artics as they do vans though they have about 60 sprinters which they use for euro trips and about 20 artics maybe more Im not to sure.
Williams9881:
Hey peeps, think it was this time last week I was saying there is no luck for me as a class 1 driver! Well after a week of doing class 1 I think there is … I was waiting to start my job as a van driver with gba doing european work but need to wait for my passport to come through… Anyway I was chilling sunday night watching a film with the mrs then my phone goes at half 10… Hi daniel we need a class 1 driver down royston we are short… I was like I told my local depo at swadlincote I haven’t used it since passing when I was 17 in 2006! The bloke from head office said yea we know but we are desperate I said ok I’ll do it but have no way of getting there… Anyway a van came down from preston with 2 drivers 1 7nalf driva and 1 class 1… I got to royston depo about 2.30am and got thru a key to a daf xf and got told to sleep until 7.00. So I get into the cab and I sit there and smoke a ■■■, I’m like oh [zb]! I hadn’t been used to that much width since to many beers and taking a fatty home.[/b] [/quote] FPMSL!! Quote of the year, without a doubt.
So if I got my license before September 2009 I don’t need cpc until 2014?
Those that had any sort of LGV licence on 09/09/2009 need to have completed the 35 hours of ‘training’ at or before 09/09/2014 so you can keep driving LGVs commercially
The driver cpc card you require to keep driving commercially after 09/09/2014 is called a DQC - Driver Qualification Card
So if I got my license before September 2009 I don’t need cpc until 2014?
Those that had any sort of LGV licence on 09/09/2009 need to have completed the 35 hours of ‘training’ at or before 09/09/2014 so you can keep driving LGVs commercially
The driver cpc card you require to keep driving commercially after 09/09/2014 is called a DQC - Driver Qualification Card
Cheers rog, I got my c+e in 2006… Glad I aint got to worry about the cpc then until 2014 !
I’m surprised that no one seems a bit doubtful about a story which seems too good to be true and in which someone seems to be saying that they got a class 1 in 2006 at the age of 17 ■■?.
Carryfast:
I’m surprised that no one seems a bit doubtful about a story which seems too good to be true and in which someone seems to be saying that they got a class 1 in 2006 at the age of 17 ■■?.
I was comming up the Adsa/Nissan roundabout Washington ,1231, on Thursday for Fowler Welch, about 2.00pm, there was a GBA artic pulling from the left out of the nissan back road just in front turning and heading west on 1231, was that you…
Carryfast:
I’m surprised that no one seems a bit doubtful about a story which seems too good to be true and in which someone seems to be saying that they got a class 1 in 2006 at the age of 17 ■■?.
I got my car, class 2, class 3 & adr 123 no tanks all within 6 weeks, I passed my test in a wagon and drag it took 4 days start to end where as class 2 I failed 1st test passed 2nd and that took 2 weeks. After that I just drove leyland dafs of road.
I was comming up the Adsa/Nissan roundabout Washington ,1231, on Thursday for Fowler Welch, about 2.00pm, there was a GBA artic pulling from the left out of the nissan back road just in front turning and heading west on 1231, was that you…
Probably was mate, theres not that many gba artics about in the UK. I’m doing nationals for em until my passport comes back then international.
I was comming up the Adsa/Nissan roundabout Washington ,1231, on Thursday for Fowler Welch, about 2.00pm, there was a GBA artic pulling from the left out of the nissan back road just in front turning and heading west on 1231, was that you…
Probably was mate, theres not that many gba artics about in the UK. I’m doing nationals for em until my passport comes back then international.
I was the artic comming up a 59 daf followed you round, GBA have a depo at nearby Seaham, I used to work from Swad as well, did,nt know they had about 20 artics, used to meet up at gersthofen with a couple driving gba artics i think they were from cornwall.
… I was waiting to start my job as a van driver with gba doing european work but need to wait for my passport to come through… Anyway I was chilling sunday night watching a film with the mrs then my phone goes at half 10… Hi daniel we need a class 1 driver down royston we are short… I was like I told my local depo at swadlincote I haven’t used it since passing when I was 17 in 2006! The bloke from head office said yea we know but we are desperate I said ok I’ll do it but have no way of getting there… Anyway a van came down from preston with 2 drivers 1 7nalf driva and 1 class 1… I got to royston depo about 2.30am and got thru a key to a daf xf and got told to sleep until 7.00. So I get into the cab and I sit there and smoke a ■■■, I’m like oh [zb]! I hadn’t been used to that much width since to many beers and taking a fatty home. I try to sleep but I can’t because of my nerves… My dad is a class 1 driver and was at work for 4am so I speak to him till 5 in the morning then fall asleep and then the bloke he sleeps at the depo comes and wakes me up. I go fetch my tacho and find out where Im going I am to drive enfield and pick up 40 ibcs on a side curtain trailer. He says go and back the lorry out so I get into it and it wouldn’t start! So now he throws me another set of keys to another xf which was alot newer than the other one with all the plating down the side of the unit and trailer it looked huge! I set of nerves pumping I didnt have a clue how to use the splitter so didn’t I just used 4 over 4 without it… I get half way to enfield and come up a road and get trapped in a 7.5 tonne limit [zb]!!! So then I experienced my first block the road reverse around a corner and pull back of I did it which I tapped my back after! After loading I got to another depo in royston to tip then had to get bk to gba I get bk to my gba depo in royston and get a lift in a van back up north after being told I did well 
