Young Driver - C and C+E Training Blog 2015

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
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Hi everyone,

After seeing some other step-by-step LGV licence training blogs, I thought I’d do one for myself, in the year of our Lord 2015. Hopefully I can give a warts n all insight into what exactly goes on in the training to become a category C and C+E driving licence holder, and it could be in some way useful for anyone who is considering taking the same path.

First of all, I’m 22 years old, and like most people, passed my car test when I was 17, so I have over 4 years of driving experience, which to a lot of you may seem a bit small to take on a much larger vehicle. However, having taken my car test so recently, the correct examination practices and techniques are still “fresh” in my mind, and my car instructor was very thorough in explaining what an examiner wants to see. You could say that I haven’t had as much time to pick up bad habits as an older driver, and a lot of the common practices that will be used in the training and the tests, such as mirror, signal, manoeuvre, are to me not so long ago learned, which will no doubt come in very handy!

I’m currently at uni, and have worked part-time and full-time in a commercial garage for goods vehicles. By acquiring an LGV licence, it will open up opportunities for me to help out with the collection and delivery of vehicles, as well as being another feather in my cap, and something to add to my CV and possibly fall back on. It could even lead to some part-time work for a local haulage company, which I have contacts with, so getting this licence would be beneficial for me. My dad got his, what was back then an “HGV class 1 and 2”, before I was born, in 1990, and after only one run decided that professional driving wasn’t for him. A dad being a dad, he tried to wind me up by saying that I wasn’t up to the job, but I know better, and the least I can do is give it a go :smiley:

Anyway, the first step! I was recommended a company for my training, so I called for an enquiry, and decided to take advantage of their “starter package”. For one fee, they offer an in-house medical clinic, assistance with filling in the forms, training manuals, and test fees, after which they send-off the application for a provisional class C licence for you. A few days later, I arrived at their office for my medical examination, and was met by an instructor, who helped me fill in the forms correctly. There was some great banter in the waiting room with the other drivers, most of whom were older and we’re waiting for their 5-year medical, although I did notice that out of maybe 20 people who I saw coming into the building, only 3 of us (including myself) were applying for the first time. Eventually, I heard the female doctor laughing, and shouting “send in that young, fit lad next”, which I later realised was me! She commented that I was the fastest LGV medical that she had ever done, which I took as a complement, although I think she fancied me a little bit :smiley:. Afterwards the instructor took my forms, and has no doubt by now sent them away to Swansea. I was told to expect a 2-week wait, during which I can study for the theory exam :stuck_out_tongue:

I think the general plan of action is that I need to wait until my provisional class C arrives, and then I give the company a call, and they arrange my theory test and hazard perception in one of their pre-booked slots. After passing that, I will call them again to book my training, and the test at the end of the week. I have heard that they will do a pre-assessment, as to ascertain my standard of driving, and determine how many days of training I am likely to require, after which they will book the test. From what I hear, most people will do 3 days of driving, and the test on the fourth day.

In the meantime I will be swatting for my theory test, and eagerly waiting for my provisional class C to turn up.

Watch this space for more additions, which hopefully in less than two weeks time should be the theory test :grimacing:

Hope you enjoy :sunglasses:

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Welcome along mate,I did my HGV @ 23 also but was a late starter on getting my car licence @ 20 mainly because I had no real need/desire for a car as I lived in walking distance of my then place of work so seemed a waste of money that I could instead spend on mainly getting drunk on nights out…I’ve grown up since,kind of.

Good luck for your theory.

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Welcome to the forum mate, and the start of what is an unfortunately long (or feels like it) road to getting your licences. For a start, don’t be surprised if it takes a month, or 6 weeks for your licence to show up. Then there is the waiting time to book your theory tests, then booking your practical. It can feel like it takes an eternity! Not wanting to sound negative mate, just trying to prepare you for the frustration you’re likely to feel as you jump through the hoops wishing it would happen quicker!

Best of luck pal! :smiley:

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I was recommended a company for my training, so I called for an enquiry, and decided to take advantage of their “starter package”.

Which training company :question:

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ckm1981:
Welcome along mate,I did my HGV @ 23 also but was a late starter on getting my car licence @ 20 mainly because I had no real need/desire for a car as I lived in walking distance of my then place of work so seemed a waste of money that I could instead spend on mainly getting drunk on nights out…I’ve grown up since,kind of.

Good luck for your theory.

Cheers CKM :slight_smile: I live in the sticks where there are no bus routes, learning to drive is pretty high up on the agenda for us lot! :smiley: I like to brew my own ale, that saves a few bob!

Evil8Beezle:
Welcome to the forum mate, and the start of what is an unfortunately long (or feels like it) road to getting your licences. For a start, don’t be surprised if it takes a month, or 6 weeks for your licence to show up. Then there is the waiting time to book your theory tests, then booking your practical. It can feel like it takes an eternity! Not wanting to sound negative mate, just trying to prepare you for the frustration you’re likely to feel as you jump through the hoops wishing it would happen quicker!

Best of luck pal! :smiley:

Thanks Beezle :slight_smile: I’m a sporting shooter, so I’m used to the painstakingly long waiting times for firearm and shotgun applications. My last took 5 and a half months, so I can deal with a few weeks! I’m not expecting anything quick, it is the government afterall, so I’m trying to fire and forget, with some light-reading for the theory thrown in. It’s the middle of the golf and cricket season, so I have plenty of things to keep my mind occupied, plus the longer it takes, the more money I can save :grimacing:

ROG:

I was recommended a company for my training, so I called for an enquiry, and decided to take advantage of their “starter package”.

Which training company :question:

I was recommended L&T Training in Fitzwilliam, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It’s the company the firm I work for uses, and they seem thoroughly nice people. Supposedly they have very short waiting times, and can book your theory tests very quickly, as well as that practical tests are carried out from their centre, although I’ll have to be the judge of that and report back.

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My provisional arrived 10 days after application, and I was straight on the phone to the training provider to book a pre-assessment, where they got me in on the same day. Before the assessment, the instructor advised that the student’s ability to deal with the gearbox will make a big impact on the amount of training time required. It was an “Eight with a Gate”, or “Four alongside Four”, and after a quick briefing, I was pretty confident I could handle it. During the drive, I found that handling a large vehicles was pure common-sense, although the gearbox did prove tricky at some times. The instructor was confident that I would require the standard training time, so they booked my theories there and then.

It was roughly a month’s wait for the theory tests, which I expected to be shorter, but there you go. They advised me to give them a call when I’d passed my theories, after which they would then book the driver training.

To cut a long story short, I passed the multiple choice, hazard perception and CPC last week, and I was straight on the phone to the training provider, to book the class C training. They stated that the earliest they could fit me in was mid-November, which to me, seemed a hell of a long time away, so I decided to look for another training provider with a shorter waiting list for the training. Waiting until November just wasn’t practical for me, as I have other commitments around that time, and at the moment, for me the sooner is better. I phoned around the local providers, and eventually settled on one, due that they were local, seemed very professional, and were straight down the line with me over costs. They also have a new fleet of Volvo training vehicles, so that was a bonus! :smiley:

They got me in for training and a test before the end of September, which will consist of two full days of driving, and the test on the third.

It’s starting to hit home that LGV training may not be as quick as I expected. On an older thread I was reading, someone’s aspirations were to complete their car and LGV licences in two months, and now I know that to be physically impossible. It’s been one-and-a-half months, and I’ve only just booked my class C training, which is in three weeks time.

In terms of waiting time, it’s been or will be:

Medical : 1 week
Provisional : 10 days
Theory Tests : 1 month
Training and Practical Tests : 3 weeks

So providing I pass, minimum Class C time would be roughly two-and-a-half months from start to finish, longer than I expected if I am honest, but naturally most of this time is waiting time.

Watch this space in around 3 weeks, when the actual driver training diary will commence :slight_smile:

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Best of luck with it all!

For your wait times I’d factor in a wee while between C and C+E, I was 6 weeks between the two of them and I booked my artic 15 minutes after I’d passed in the rigid.

Will you be doing it in a manual or auto and will you be looking for rigid work before you sit your artic?

I know what you mean about the medical, I was in and out in less than 5 minutes. No fit doctor my side though :laughing:

A.

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Thanks Adonis :slight_smile:

There will no doubt be some waiting time between passing C and doing C+E, but they got me into Class C within a month, so if they can do the same with C+E, then I’ll be happy.

The new company uses autos, or automatic manual as I believe Volvo iShift is. It will be a weight off of my shoulders not having to worry about the clunky old side-by-side, as somebody I was talking to said that he failed his test for crunching his gears. I’m very surprised more companies don’t use automatics if there aren’t any licencing problems, like with the car test, but maybe they just don’t want to spend some money and upgrade and update their equipment?

I can get work with the company I work for, driving Class Cs as soon as I pass, so I can get some hours under my belt before moving onto C+E :smiley:

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Rottweiler22:
It’s starting to hit home that LGV training may not be as quick as I expected.

What did I tell ya? :laughing:

But you will get there… :smiley:

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maybe they just don’t want to spend some money and upgrade and update their equipment?

The training industry is notorious for non-investment. We have broken the mould, buying brand new vehicles year on year for the last 10 years. So when the rules for auto came in, we simply changed our vehicle spec on the new vehicle order. Since the rule changed we’ve purchased a brand new drawbar prime mover, a brand new rigid, a refurbished bus, two very smart used MAN tractor units. All of these are auto. So we’re up for investing in the learning environment of our trainees and we still offer the choice of auto or manual.

Further vehicles will follow in the next year but, having just spent a big (opposite to “small”) fortune on a brand new purpose built DVSA Accredited LGV training and test centre, we need a pause of a few months to recover!

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

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Peter Smythe:

maybe they just don’t want to spend some money and upgrade and update their equipment?

The training industry is notorious for non-investment. We have broken the mould, buying brand new vehicles year on year for the last 10 years. So when the rules for auto came in, we simply changed our vehicle spec on the new vehicle order. Since the rule changed we’ve purchased a brand new drawbar prime mover, a brand new rigid, a refurbished bus, two very smart used MAN tractor units. All of these are auto. So we’re up for investing in the learning environment of our trainees and we still offer the choice of auto or manual.

Further vehicles will follow in the next year but, having just spent a big (opposite to “small”) fortune on a brand new purpose built DVSA Accredited LGV training and test centre, we need a pause of a few months to recover!

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Big reasons for choosing the training provider that I have done, are their brand new fleet of vehicles, and the locality of the test centre to their premises. Going for a provider in my local town would have meant a 40 minute to an hour’s drive to the nearest test centre, which is something I didn’t want. They also had a very nice website, which a lot of LGV training providers seem to fall short on (excluding yours Peter :smiley:).

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Best of luck with your training I passed my class 2 and class 1 within two months of each other! But like you waited for provisional and theory ect so it had been a good 4 months since I started out, i now have a job driving class 2 but looking and going on to the big boys very shortly. If you want an idea of what the training involved then please read my training blogs in my signature, hope this helps.

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I think I first applied for mine at the beginning of Feb and Passed on May 1st. I passed everything first time and booked everything as soon as it was possible. Stick with it, it all comes round quick and before you know it you will be clipping your first kerb in training. :smiley:

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The first day of training has finally arrived, and it feels strange to actually have the class C training, after the long waits between theories and exams, but now it’s here! I set off at 7:00, and after hitting very heavy traffic, arrived at the office at bang-on opening time, 8:30. I signed in, and was greeted by the instructor before I even sat down in the waiting room.

He gave me a quick look at the vehicle, showing me what the examiner could ask to see, and he explained that we’d have to fuel up first, so he’d drive first. We fueled up, and called for a breakfast before we began. Fed and watered, I took the wheel, and started my first day of training! The vehicle was nice and easy to drive, with an automatic gearbox, so no trouble with that. There were plenty of mirrors too, so observation was dead easy.

It wasn’t long before I clipped my first kerb, the first time going around a roundabout, where I clipped it with the offside rear wheel. The instructor explained that it was because I tried to tackle it like a car, and because of the length, I need to make sure that the nearside front corner is on the white markings,making the corner wider. I clipped two more very early on, but these were left turns, so again, the instructor explained that I needed to take them wider. We covered some test routes, and every so often, stopped to perform a hill or downhill start, and after a few hours, I felt much more confident with the turns and size of the vehicle. The day went very quickly, and I was impressed with the improvements I made.

To finish the day off, we went back to the office, and had a go on the reversing bay. From the starting position, it was an immediate 1 and a half turns left, and just slowly move until both poled cones came into view, and then just to “nurse” it into the bay, stopping when a reference point comes into view. I nailed it the first time, and the instructor said it was “perfect”, so that was a cracking end to the day!

Day Two

The second day was a bit unremarkable, and the handling is starting to feel much easier. I’ve stopped hitting kerbs completely, and mirror checks are becoming systematic. At the start of the day, I did 3 reverses, all of them perfect, and for one of them, the instructor asked me to get as close as a could to the line on the right, so I could encounter a situation where I start off too far to the right. I Compensated well, and with a shunt, got it straight down the middle, so I am very confident with my parking. We had a good day’s drive, and it was starting to feel much easier, and that’s all I can say about the second day really. Although the nerves are setting in for the test tomorrow!

Day Three and the Test

The dreaded test day was finally here, and it felt weird to finally be here after all of this waiting. We had a crack at the parking again, and some slight issues started to creep in, such as getting too close to the left side of the bay, although they all turned out fine, and what would be passes. We had a good drive, and after the first session, the instructor highlighted some issues what could cause problems in the test. The first was a lack of mirror checks, and missing the blind-spot when moving-off, as well as following-through in the mirrors when going past hazards. The second was a lack of awareness when approaching roundabouts, and not really “reading” a roundabout correctly, resulting in unnecessary hesitation. After a cup of tea, we cracked on, and I switched on my “test mode”, which included super-regular mirror checks, and extreme attention to roundabouts. I found reading roundabouts much easier, and after that, the instructor was well-satisfied that improvements had been made.

The Test

After a dinner break, we made our way to the test centre and parked up. In the waiting room, there was the horrible driving test feeling. Eventually the examiner came, and explained what I had to do. The questions were first, which went very well, as he had to stop me from going into too much detail, so no problem there. We started the test, and off we went. My first blooper was on the hill start, and like a complete tool, I forgot to switch-on the anti roll-back, but I quickly realised and put the pedal to the metal to stop it falling back! The drive was quite unremarkable, although like in my car test, I had it in my head that I’d done something very wrong, so whilst I was thinking about this, I wasn’t really thinking about my driving. There were parked cars on my side, and I had committed to moving out into the middle of the road to go past them, but then a boy racer sped-up from well in front of me on the other side of the road and we met. The size of my vehicle meant that he had to go onto the pavement, so I thought that that was a serious fault, and I had failed, as I remember the instructor mentioning that causing another driver to do something they hadn’t planned to do was an instant fail, and it was his priority, even though he had tried to speed up when I was committed. With that on my mind, we went back to the test station, and had a crack at the reversing. With the previous incident on my mind, I barely even thought about the reverse, so I stuck it straight down the middle of the bay without thinking. I thought all was lost! The examiner climbed into the cab, and said those golden words. PASS! It appears the negative thinking had caused me to relax, and subsequently improve my driving. My minors were the control on the hill-start, and a couple of faults on hesitation, and one for my signal going off halfway around a roundabout. Chuffed was not the word, and I’m sure a lot of you know how horrible driving tests are, but this is blown out of the water by a pass!

When my licence comes back, I’ll be organising my C+E, so stay tuned for the next training blog! :smiley:

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:smiley: :smiley:

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Rottweiler22:
In the waiting room, there was the horrible driving test feeling.

Man, I hate that, but at least now you know that you can still pass no matter how you feel. Well done on your pass and best of luck for C+E.

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Congrats on the pass!

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My shiny new licence came through the post a couple of days ago, and work is coming thick and fast with the cat C! My C+E is booked, and I’m now waiting for the final step of my journey to become a driving god :grimacing: .

Watch this space in around a months time, where the C+E training will commence :smiley:

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Well done pal, you nailed it! :smiley:

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Well done mate, glad that ■■■■■■■■ didn’t cause you to fail!