So last Sunday I made my way up to Sutton for my C course with Peter Smythe Transport Training.
I got to the B&B (Central Hotel) and was shown to my room. The room was spotlessly clean, had a decent bed, nice size tv and a bijou shower room. Perfect for my requirements and it was FREE, yup you heard right, my 4 night stay was FREE, all organised by PSTT.
MONDAY:
Arrived at peters place at 9:45 introduced myself and signed in. The staff couldn’t have been any nicer. Everyone was smiling and happy to chat to me. So I showed my licence and was introduced to my trainer (Helen). We made our way out to the rigid I’d be driving and Helen went through all the external checks required. I found Helen to be very thorough in her explanations of what I should be checking and why I was checking. Then it was a run down of what I needed to check inside the cab. Helen explained all the vehicles controls to me clearly and gave me a rundown on what we would be doing for the lesson.
With Helen at the wheel, we set off for a nearby industrial estate. After a couple of laps of the estate we pulled over, now it was my turn to be in the drivers seat[emoji16]. Mirrors, over shoulder check, indicate, more mirrors and pull away smoothly. It’s was official, I was on my way to being a truck driver.
After me driving a few circuits of the industrial estate, with Helen assessing me constantly & when she was happy with my driving we made our way to the main road.
Left turn coming up onto the main road, mirrors, brake, more mirrors then indicate then mirrors again stop smoothly and applied handbrake. All clear, so mirrors, over shoulder look, pull away smoothly, watching my tail swing and planning ahead, keep in my lane, mirrors, what’s my speed, mirrors, plan ahead, lights coming up, mirrors, brake smoothly, mirrors, lights going to red, mirrors, brake, mirrors, pull up smoothly, handbrake, mirrors, plan ahead, what’s my lane, any weight or height restriction signs, green light, mirrors, over shoulder look, mirrors, pull away smoothly, mirrors, get in lane, mirrors…
We carried on for what only seemed like 5 mins, in reality it was 2hrs, lots of different roads, junctions, traffic lights and a nice tight country road with flowing corners and a couple of tight hairpins. This stretch of road was my favourite road. Then back to the yard, quick coffee and we were off again.
We got back to the yard at the end of my 4 hr lesson and parked up. Helen debriefed me and gave me plenty of feedback. Turns out I’d done ok which I was well chuffed about. Helen told me I needed to slow down a bit but other than that it had gone very well. I went away full of confidence and a smile on my face.
As you can tell by the above, mirrors are your best friend. My head felt like it was on a spring at the end of each lesson.
Tuesday and Wednesday were more of the above, lots of circuits of all the routes, learning and taking everything in. Weight restrictions, height restrictions, lane discipline. I seemed to like the right hand lane of 2 lane right turns. Helen soon corrected me each time I went into the wrong lane. Wednesday was my best day, I felt relaxed and confidant. We got back to the yard on Wednesday afternoon for a bit of reversing practice. I nailed that every time. I felt ready for my test.
Thursday…D Day.
Arrived at 9:45, quick coffee and a chat then off to the waggon. Checks done, jump in and put it on the reversing area for a couple of practice runs. Nice n steady, I bang out 2 reversing practice runs…spot on, that’s squared away, I know I won’t have and probs with the reverse on my test.
We drove around various circuits for about 1 1/2 hrs. Lots of junctions, roundabouts, weight restriction areas, country and main roads. Helen was happy with my driving, I felt nice and relaxed. Everything had clicked. I was familiar with the roads.
I was ready and feeling confidant.
12:15…Test Time [emoji51].
I met my examiner and went through the relevant paperwork and licence checks, collected the keys and walked to my vehicle. The test was on. Vehicle show me tell me first, done, no probs.
Time for the reverse… Mirrors, over shoulder look, mirrors, handbrake off, pull forward smoothly tight to the left hand cone, keep it in my mirror, pull up in line with the 2 forward cones, handbrake on, one complete left turn of my wheel, mirrors, into reverse, mirrors, start reversing very slowly, left cone disappears behind the waggon, right mirror look for the cones, 1, 2, 3, 4 cones, steering off, slowly moving backwards, right hand wheel, keep the cone close, turn slowly, full right lock to bring the front around, steering off and slowly reverse onto the marked area, line my cable tie up with the yellow area and stop, handbrake on, get out and check…PERFECT.
The examiner then got in the waggon and explained what would be happening on the test route and the time it would take. He explained that he’d give me directions unless I was doing the independent drive, which would last approx 10 mins.
Off we went, end of the road, left turn, mirrors, indicate, brake, mirrors, handbrake, traffic gone, all clear, over shoulder look, mirrors pull out smoothly, watch tail swing, mirrors and off we go. First thing I encountered was a cyclist weaving in and out of the parked cars! Bugger, really didn’t want to get stuck behind a cyclist, especially a random one like the one in front of me. Traffic islands, oncoming traffic, parked cars saw me stay behind him for about 200 metres then mirrors, indicate and around him at last.
I felt relaxed behind the wheel, taking in all the examiners instructions, my eyes on stalks looking at road markings and signs my head on a spring looking in my mirrors, planning ahead so I was prepared for each stretch of road.
Then it was my independent drive. I knew the route and knew the weight restrictions, the 10 mins was soon over and the examiner took over directions again. Down my favourite bit of country road, mirrors, planning ahead, mirrors, brake, tight right hand turn, Watch my tail, look well ahead, Watch my speed, mirrors then back towards Sutton, the test was nearly over already.
We pulled into the yard and I parked up as directed, handbrake on, into neutral ignition off, seatbelt off. It was done. I felt confidant that I had passed. I just needed him to utter those expensive words now.
“Neil, I’m glad to say you have PASSED, with 2 minors”
YES, I’d done it, I was chuffed to bits. I thanked my instructor and got out of the waggon. I told Helen the good news to which she congratulated me and said “I knew you would” then I made my way to the coffee machine, then outside for a smoke. I basked in my glory as I supped my coffee and puffed away on my cig. The sun even made an appearance to help with the feel good factor.
I’ve got CPC 2 on Tuesday then I’ll send my licence off and await its return. I hope the DVLA don’t take as long as they did giving me my provisional. Then it’s onto C&E. I booked them both as a package.
So my overall experience with Peter Smythe Transport Training…
A great experience that I would highly recommend to anyone looking at gaining their HGV licence. I can honestly say I can’t find fault at all. They came highly recommended and they lived up to the billing. Very very professional yet very relaxed. 100/100 [emoji3581]
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