Becoming a HGV driver?
Discussion
Triple Six said:
Its Just Adz said:
Reverse is a funny one. I nailed it on the test, but once on my own it took me ages to get used to it.
Then all of a sudden, it just comes.
Exactly this - one day you just stop thinking, and start doing. Then all of a sudden, it just comes.
I know before I leave for work it just isn’t going to happen that day. All you have have to do is roll with the punches and carry on. 
The skill to reversing is not the reverse itself, but the planning beforehand. Many drivers completely f
k up the planning part which makes the reverse impossible or they spend way too much time swinging on the wheel and shunting backwards and forwards trying to get themselves out of the pickle they created from not planning properly. Every artic driver should have to do farm work for a week as part of their training. That forces you to use your brain and plan properly to get the arse end of your trailer exactly in the right spot at the right angle otherwise your reverse isn't happening and that means you're not sucking up the milk you're there to collect.
k up the planning part which makes the reverse impossible or they spend way too much time swinging on the wheel and shunting backwards and forwards trying to get themselves out of the pickle they created from not planning properly. Every artic driver should have to do farm work for a week as part of their training. That forces you to use your brain and plan properly to get the arse end of your trailer exactly in the right spot at the right angle otherwise your reverse isn't happening and that means you're not sucking up the milk you're there to collect.
leggly said:
I have found even after thirty years of driving there are days when you just can’t go backwards I know before I leave for work it just isn’t going to happen that day. All you have have to do is roll with the punches and carry on.
Many car drivers have never mastered it at all. I know before I leave for work it just isn’t going to happen that day. All you have have to do is roll with the punches and carry on. r3g said:
The skill to reversing is not the reverse itself, but the planning beforehand. Many drivers completely fk up the planning part which makes the reverse impossible or they spend way too much time swinging on the wheel and shunting backwards and forwards trying to get themselves out of the pickle they created from not planning properly.
Correct.k up the planning part which makes the reverse impossible or they spend way too much time swinging on the wheel and shunting backwards and forwards trying to get themselves out of the pickle they created from not planning properly. If you were going to reverse a car into a parking space, you would (if possible) do all of the steering whilst driving forward to set the angle of your car up to be able to reverse straight back. It is no different in a truck.
When we teach students the reverse exercise we always make a point of this; ideally, when you drive/shunt forward, you want the entire combination to be completely straight, allowing you to look in both mirrors and see "the full picture."
Triple Six said:
Correct.
If you were going to reverse a car into a parking space, you would (if possible) do all of the steering whilst driving forward to set the angle of your car up to be able to reverse straight back. It is no different in a truck.
When we teach students the reverse exercise we always make a point of this; ideally, when you drive/shunt forward, you want the entire combination to be completely straight, allowing you to look in both mirrors and see "the full picture."
Yes, in a perfect world. But excluding big name RDCs, how often do you have that luxury in the real world? A seemingly innocent-sounding industrial estate address in London or Bradford can quickly turn into the thing of nightmares for an inexperienced driver once they arrive on scene with their shipping container and see the slalom of maneouvres they need to do to get the trailer at their roller shutter door. Add in some drizzle or heavy rain so you can't see sIf you were going to reverse a car into a parking space, you would (if possible) do all of the steering whilst driving forward to set the angle of your car up to be able to reverse straight back. It is no different in a truck.
When we teach students the reverse exercise we always make a point of this; ideally, when you drive/shunt forward, you want the entire combination to be completely straight, allowing you to look in both mirrors and see "the full picture."
t in your mirrors and then maybe some darkness with badly placed floodlights too and it's enough to have the poor driver crying into his brew. 
r3g said:
Triple Six said:
Correct.
If you were going to reverse a car into a parking space, you would (if possible) do all of the steering whilst driving forward to set the angle of your car up to be able to reverse straight back. It is no different in a truck.
When we teach students the reverse exercise we always make a point of this; ideally, when you drive/shunt forward, you want the entire combination to be completely straight, allowing you to look in both mirrors and see "the full picture."
Yes, in a perfect world. But excluding big name RDCs, how often do you have that luxury in the real world? A seemingly innocent-sounding industrial estate address in London or Bradford can quickly turn into the thing of nightmares for an inexperienced driver once they arrive on scene with their shipping container and see the slalom of maneouvres they need to do to get the trailer at their roller shutter door. Add in some drizzle or heavy rain so you can't see sIf you were going to reverse a car into a parking space, you would (if possible) do all of the steering whilst driving forward to set the angle of your car up to be able to reverse straight back. It is no different in a truck.
When we teach students the reverse exercise we always make a point of this; ideally, when you drive/shunt forward, you want the entire combination to be completely straight, allowing you to look in both mirrors and see "the full picture."
t in your mirrors and then maybe some darkness with badly placed floodlights too and it's enough to have the poor driver crying into his brew. Vipers said:
Do some have people to assist you like giving hand signals etc, seems safer in some situations.
Yes and in 99% of cases they are useless 
, more of a hindrance than a help as they stand in places where you can't see them, so just adds to the workload as now you need to concentrate on not squishing them as well.The only ones who are a help for artic drivers are other artic drivers, as they know what you need and (generally) where to stand to be of assistance.
Vipers said:
Do some have people to assist you like giving hand signals etc, seems safer in some situations.
They would be called "banksman" and should have done a course.However most are pretty useless as they don't understand you need them on your blindside and need to see them in your mirror.
markymarkthree said:
They would be called "banksman" and should have done a course.
However most are pretty useless as they don't understand you need them on your blindside and need to see them in your mirror.
On tanker work banksmen seem to vary between two extremes, brilliant and pointless.However most are pretty useless as they don't understand you need them on your blindside and need to see them in your mirror.
However we have downward facing reversing cameras on the trailers which pretty well removes the blind spots so seldom is any help required but always appreciated when its there, we also have decent transport/fleet management which listens and have ruled out cameras instead of proper door mirrors.
Yet to hear a good word for door cameras for maneuvering, especially in the dark.
Most will just stand and watch you, no matter how hard it is!
I love farm deliveries, I don’t do milk any more but still go to some very rural places. Last week I had 7 miles of single track lane in Devon only to arrive at a cross roads which was where I had to turn around then reverse blind side down a long driveway. There wasn’t a single bit of flat surface either, so had to dump the air to get traction to reverse up the hill.
It was all a great fun challenge with a rear steer trailer too.
It’s even more fun doing trunking in the extended trailers with rear steering that isn’t linked to the 5th wheel, trying to get I a tight parking place in the dark in a busy hub can be an interesting challenge!
I love farm deliveries, I don’t do milk any more but still go to some very rural places. Last week I had 7 miles of single track lane in Devon only to arrive at a cross roads which was where I had to turn around then reverse blind side down a long driveway. There wasn’t a single bit of flat surface either, so had to dump the air to get traction to reverse up the hill.
It was all a great fun challenge with a rear steer trailer too.
It’s even more fun doing trunking in the extended trailers with rear steering that isn’t linked to the 5th wheel, trying to get I a tight parking place in the dark in a busy hub can be an interesting challenge!
r3g said:
Yes, in a perfect world. But excluding big name RDCs, how often do you have that luxury in the real world? A seemingly innocent-sounding industrial estate address in London or Bradford can quickly turn into the thing of nightmares for an inexperienced driver once they arrive on scene with their shipping container and see the slalom of maneouvres they need to do to get the trailer at their roller shutter door. Add in some drizzle or heavy rain so you can't see st in your mirrors and then maybe some darkness with badly placed floodlights too and it's enough to have the poor driver crying into his brew.
He gets a brew? Usually he just gets impatient jeb-ends chatting st in your mirrors and then maybe some darkness with badly placed floodlights too and it's enough to have the poor driver crying into his brew. te distracting him and criticising his attempts to do something that they certainly cannot do. My parents are contemplating a Motorhome, something that would be over 3.5t. Fine on their grandfathered in licences but not for my license obtained in 2000.
A fking grand for C1. What a racket.
That'll be the 4th license (including 4th theory test and atleast 2 or 3 hazard perception tests) I'll have had to pay for, no wonder there's a 1000 providers in my area.
A f
king grand for C1. What a racket. That'll be the 4th license (including 4th theory test and atleast 2 or 3 hazard perception tests) I'll have had to pay for, no wonder there's a 1000 providers in my area.
Triple Six said:
944 Man said:
Spend the same money on C and then you’ll have a useful licence.
Likely going to be an extra few hundred quid (at least it is with us and most providers I know) but could be worth it if there is scope for future uses.
I’m about to start class 1 (C+E) training, I’ve no intention of driving professionally but work are funding it as we work in the logistics sector and having a few of us trained is useful.
I wish I’d had the license during Covid, would of been good to do some driving work when I was furloughed and they were crying out for drivers.
I wish I’d had the license during Covid, would of been good to do some driving work when I was furloughed and they were crying out for drivers.
Medical done, and all theories passed in one afternoon, now on to the practical training.
Time for a few noob questions re: trunking. Does one simply travel to the depot/RDC in question, jump in a lorry, drive to another place (probably bringing a trailer back), and that's it? Are you in the same cab every day or just chucked the keys to a different one each time? If you're doing the day shift, is another driver doing the night shift in that cab? Any further info?
I'm not concerned with obtaining a job with no experience as there seems to be plenty of jobs listed, and I would assume that most training schools would be able to guide towards companies who are happy to take on new drivers.
Time for a few noob questions re: trunking. Does one simply travel to the depot/RDC in question, jump in a lorry, drive to another place (probably bringing a trailer back), and that's it? Are you in the same cab every day or just chucked the keys to a different one each time? If you're doing the day shift, is another driver doing the night shift in that cab? Any further info?
I'm not concerned with obtaining a job with no experience as there seems to be plenty of jobs listed, and I would assume that most training schools would be able to guide towards companies who are happy to take on new drivers.
Depends entirely on the place. My current job we do the same run all week in the same truck. This week has been start in yard at Chorley, drive to Bristol, swap trailers, drive back.
Next week it’s Chorley, drive to Leeds, swap trailers, down to Coventry, swap trailers back to Chorley.
Usually one man in the truck per day.
My last company the trucks where used 24 hours so go into work an could get any truck. That was supermarket work so we would drive to store, tip the trailer, then drive back with same trailer.
General haulage could be anything. Start with a trailer might be tipping it might be swapping it somewhere maybe both in a day.
Next week it’s Chorley, drive to Leeds, swap trailers, down to Coventry, swap trailers back to Chorley.
Usually one man in the truck per day.
My last company the trucks where used 24 hours so go into work an could get any truck. That was supermarket work so we would drive to store, tip the trailer, then drive back with same trailer.
General haulage could be anything. Start with a trailer might be tipping it might be swapping it somewhere maybe both in a day.
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