Hi all, this is my first post but have been following the forum since last Summer.
On Friday i passed my Class C driving test after a week long of training. A few weeks before i passed my MOD 4 cpc aswell.
I have took alot of inspiration from other people on this forum with their own stories so thought i should share mine and maybe it can inspire others in the future.
It was last Summer that i started looking into become a HGV driver. It seemed there was a demand now and in the future for drivers for which i was a bit cautious at first. I had never dreamed of being a HGV driver ever and even driving in general i was not to keen on. It was only back in November i got my first car for over 10 years! My current job was self employed, i have a little web business and i also do labouring which i have done for years. I have also done a mixture of jobs in the past from office work to a fork lift driver, all more or less minimum wage work. It has been a struggle, not knowing what money is coming in each month etc so my main aim was finding a new career. I am 36, single and currently back home with my parents, well the food is so good! I needed to do something that would give me a skill for the rest of my career. I was not confident i could do the HGV driving but decided i had to try.
Things got rolling in September with the medical. After that i booked my Mod 1 & 2 exams. I had to wait until November and early December before i got them out the way, all passed first time. I would suggest putting in the effort with revision for at least a few weeks before hand. I went on ebay and purchased some training dvds etc.
I had to wait until the start of January for my driving assessment. The company i used was Taunton Training Centre in Somerset, not my closest training provider but they came recommended. The assessment went well, i drove for about 30 mins and enjoyed the experience. Lucky enough i booked my training after and only had to wait a few weeks. Doing that assessment drive gave me a bit of confidence so was worth it.
I managed to get my Mod 4 cpc done before which was fairly easy, just take the time to read the guidelines your training provider gives you, plus youtube was great too. During that exam a couple times i struggled to get my words out, but the examiner prompted me and i was fine. That exam was about 20 mins!
So this past week my training started on the monday, it was 1 to 1 training, 4 hours a day with the test booked in on the Friday. Its fair to say i didn’t sleep much this past week, thinking about everything plus a bit of the flu lurking! My instructor was fantastic, the majority of the time we was talking about this and that and to be fair it was only the odd occasion he told me i had clipped a curb or i had got in the wrong lane so i knew i was doing fine to which he confirmed at the end of each day. Things went well all week and my confidence grew. My advice is to relax & ‘listen’ to your instructor!
So on Friday i had my test at 10.30am, we had a couple hours driving before hand which helped. I was nervous but that was to be expected. I knew in my head the only reason i would fail was if i made a stupid mistake. The test was the reversing exercise which went well, a bit of town centre driving, countryside and on the M5 motorway in the driving rain and wind! From start to finish the test was about 1 hour and as we entered the home straight i was feeling pretty confident. I passed with just 1 driver fault and was so pleased with myself. This moment had been building up for a few months or more so the relief was a great feeling and the sleepless nights of the past week was worth it!
Now i have to find a job, i have been told by numerous drivers in my area that there is plenty of work. I have kept a open mind for what sort of work i want to do. I’m easy really, whether its cage work, tipper trucks etc. Now i have my HGV skill my aim is to find a company that i can stay with for the foreseeable future. I might not get that job straight away but aslong as i am kept in work for now, that will do. I am sure it will also take me a few weeks once in a job to get in the swing of things, just like any other new job.
So there we go, my story is just like any other newbie, but maybe it will inspire a few of you to go out and get your license too. Thanks to all of you who inspired me too!
