Hi everyone,
I’m new to the forums.
I’ve been a bus driver for 5 years now driving in London local tfl buses.
I’m interested in getting C+E licence, I already have a CPC.
I’d like to know what’s the cheapest way to go about, I don’t want to be spending a lot money to learn how to drive a class 1-2 large vehicle as I think I would be capable of driving it with my current bus driving experience.
Also any recommendations for D4 for medical in London?
Kind Regards.
Sorry, cant help you with the medical in your area.
I suggest that, once you’ve got your provisional, you call local trainers and get at least 2 assessments. Just be careful of very low assessments. One of the oldest tricks in the book: offer few hours at an attractive price, watch the candidate fail, make more money from retests.
Let me know where you are in the London area and I’ll point you at reputable trainers who will be truthful with you.
Pete 
Peter Smythe:
Sorry, cant help you with the medical in your area.I suggest that, once you’ve got your provisional, you call local trainers and get at least 2 assessments. Just be careful of very low assessments. One of the oldest tricks in the book: offer few hours at an attractive price, watch the candidate fail, make more money from retests.
Let me know where you are in the London area and I’ll point you at reputable trainers who will be truthful with you.
Pete [emoji38] [emoji38]
You should know this Pete.
Will an experienced bus driver take less time to train for a lorry licence?
Or will they have bad habits to cure?
.
Or is that a dumb question, because everyone is different?[emoji3]
Franglais:
Peter Smythe:
Sorry, cant help you with the medical in your area.I suggest that, once you’ve got your provisional, you call local trainers and get at least 2 assessments. Just be careful of very low assessments. One of the oldest tricks in the book: offer few hours at an attractive price, watch the candidate fail, make more money from retests.
Let me know where you are in the London area and I’ll point you at reputable trainers who will be truthful with you.
Pete [emoji38] [emoji38]
You should know this Pete.
Will an experienced bus driver take less time to train for a lorry licence?
Or will they have bad habits to cure?
.
Or is that a dumb question, because everyone is different?[emoji3]
Will he pull up at the bus stops in his artic, open the passenger door and wait for the lorry to unload itself? [emoji6]
Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
Medical wise I used D4drivers, cheap plenty of options for bookings etc
Prodriver9:
Hi everyone,
I’m new to the forums.I’ve been a bus driver for 5 years now driving in London local tfl buses.
I’m interested in getting C+E licence, I already have a CPC.I’d like to know what’s the cheapest way to go about, I don’t want to be spending a lot money to learn how to drive a class 1-2 large vehicle as I think I would be capable of driving it with my current bus driving experience.
Also any recommendations for D4 for medical in London?
Kind Regards.
I went through similar journey, 10 years of London Buses, 5 years Addlee +nationwide chauffeuring, gained SAFED, ROSPA etc… and now I’ve got C+E.
Your experience indicates you should have what it takes but do you have bad driving habits?
Remember, passing exam is completely different to real driving experience and know how defensive driving techniques you acquired in London traffic.
You need to remember, you may be good at reading city traffic flow but I can tell you…your motorway/carriageway flow may not be upto scratch. Especially if you drive through high speed roads then suddenly go through towns. It takes time to learn the difference…as well as vehicle differences in weight and different braking behaviour.
So yes, depending on how good you are (instructors honest opinion) you may need less training on category C, but C+E you would better go full wack.
Category C = 3days training +exam.
Category C+E =5days training +exam.
Budget for that, and you shouldn’t go wrong.
Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk
Will an experienced bus driver take less time to train for a lorry licence?
Or will they have bad habits to cure?
Impossible to answer. I’ve had very good PSV drivers (more often than not, coach drivers) who need a little brush up and they sail through CAT C. I’ve had more, though, that are potential worse than a Fiesta driver. Strangely, exactly the same applies to car driving instructors. Some brilliant. Some awful.
In short, the only way forward is an honest assessment. This is what we do and, as a result, folk sometimes go elsewhere cos they have been quoted less time. Then we get them back for retest training when they’ve got it wrong once or twice.
It’s a minefield but the “buyer beware” rule is the only one that makes sense.
Pete