The route to my LGV Licence

There are a few reasons why I needed a change of career but without any qualifications, and no work history ,I was short on options.

My Dad had been a lorry driver and I still remember traveling with him and looking at the road flashing past while I lay on the floor of the cab looking through the round windows of his truck.

I looked on the Internet and soon found out that the roads were paved with gold and that drivers were rarer than rocking horse shit and hens teeth.

There were hundreds of companies willing to train me and I would become a steering wheel technician and a millionaire in no time.

All bullshit of course and I found this out when I discovered this when I found the truck net forum here. http://trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/index.php

I got brilliant advice and lots and lots of encouragement as well , especially after my assessment drive that didn't go very well.

I looked around for a decent training center and didn't base my search just on cost , you get what you pay for in my opinion, or you should do anyway ,

I went to J coates of Leicester and liked what I saw straightaway, They looked professional and I was happy.

I had an assessment drive which is designed to see how many days training they think you will need, I was sceptical because I assumed they would all say the maximum, usually 7 .

I thought I was a good driver , I thought it would be easy , just a bit bigger and the gears would be harder , I was in for a shock , the gears were OK at first , it was a switcher 4/4 in a Mercedes artego. It felt massive I thought I was taking up the whole road , I was nervous and scared and I thought I was never going to be able to do it . I forgot every thing I ever knew about the highway code. I was a mess and afterwards I never wanted to go near a Lorry again

Those thoughts soon passed and before long I was wishing away the days until my training started.

We started at 7 am on a cold Feb morning and we were in pairs . I watched the instructor as he pulled out of the yard and tried to take everything in. He drove around the test routes and up to the test centre itself and parked up.
I took over and we went through everything , mirror signal , manoeuvre. Most of all he wanted us to take our time, remember its not a car he kept saying over and over . Nothing clicked and nothing went right at all, I hit kerbs , went round the roundabouts all wrong, I nearly side swiped a few innocent car drivers as well.

I went home after that day and thought It wasn't for me , I would never get it at all. I didn't want to go back again and dreaded the next morning.

It went like that for most of the training , but things did gradually sink in and I was lucky that the other trainee was hopeless, he made me look good.

We got to know the transport cafes in Leicestershire pretty well those 7 days and we went up to crick to learn the reverse and the braking test.
The reverse took ages to sink in and I still sometimes lose my bearings when backing onto bays etc. I just think take your time and you will get through .

On the night before my test I went up to the test center in my car and practiced driving properly, shuffling the wheel and leaving from every route possible so I wouldn't be surprised by any roundabout or funny junctions.The test centre has a few weight limits around it and sometimes the examiners try to trick you into taking some of them so I wanted to be prepared.

My training partners test was before mine but ended when he went into reverse on the first roundabout outside the test centre. I went through the test in a state of mild terror. My legs were shaking and I was struggling to swallow, my gear changing was terrible , I was messing it all up spectacularly, The examiner was brilliant though and kept talking to me about anything other than driving, we chatted about my business ( a pub at the time) and how the beer in his local was kept etc etc, I relaxed and got round the town in around 30 minutes , It was over and he said "I am pleased to tell you , you have passed,"
I was shocked , the others who had failed were pissed off but I didn't care. I had passed.

When I got back to the training centre I signed up with there agency and I was driving a truck the next morning for them all on my own .... I will tell you about that journey another day ......

I have no secrets or tricks to tell you or brilliant advice to offer , other than you can do it, take your time and remember , you are passing a test , they want you to obey the laws of the road as much as drive the lorry.