To be honest I dont really know which I would prefer, it would be nice getting all the focus all the time but on the other hand at times im kinna glad when we get to swap over because it gives me a chance to think about what ive been doing, learn from the other driver and try and pick up the routes a bit better without having to worry about driving as I don’t really know the area.
Thats got me thinking now lol I really cant decide which I would prefer!!
If, by test time, you have both had the same amount of ‘behind the wheel time’ then it is fair - if not…
Hey guys,
What a great day ive had, the other guy didn’t have much interest in driving today so I was pretty much piloting all day!! Concentrated mainly on the test routes today just doing the usual gear change hillstarts etc everything went really well. Went back to the reversing pad and have it well and truely nailed also improved a lot on my emergency stop while we were there so as long as my nerves are ok tomorrow I should do ok.
Wasnt gonna tell ya’s about my mishap but ah what the hey…I had to take a run out the countryside to get diesel in the wagon which was dead on but on the way back we had to take a detour to get the splitter switch fitted so went across wee narrow roads, turns out they were a fair bit tighter than I thought!! I was doddling along around 35mph and an AA van came bombing the other way so I had to pull over outta his way and CLIPPED THE BLOODY MIRROR!! The wee top mirror hit a branch, unclipped itself fell down and hit the main mirror putting a nice hairline crack through it (the small mirror) lucky enough its not big enough to cause any problems as its only really visable if you really study it. It knocked my confidence a bit but the instructor says there wasn’t much I could do about it so im back on top of things!
Im trying my best not to think about my test tomorrow but everytime I even think about my training I get butterflies in my stomach lol. Meeting my instructor at 7am so it’ll give a bit of time to get a run round a route or 2, calm my nerves and get the lorry warmed up!
Ill let ya’s know how I get on tomorrow, hopefully i’ll be getting a long awaited banner lol
Good luck with it buddy 
best ohh luck tommorrow mate
Chris_NI:
hopefully i’ll be getting a long awaited banner lol
Poised and ready…
So whats the result then??
Hey guys, sorry ive been busy all day and havn’t had the chance to get online but I got the result I wanted, passed it with an embarrassing 12minors lol, mostly for being too hard on the brakes at junctions. The examiner says its the only thing that spoilt an excellent drive but as he said to me I got the pass and thats what counts!! Hopefully get booked in to do my c+e within the next few months, going to opt for the wag and drag simply because im used to the atego and he’s going to do me a good deal lol (£350+£66 test fee 
)
Thanks for all the tips and good luck wishes guys, mucho appreciated!! Now anybody wanna giz a job? lol. Its going to be so hard working at my usual warehouse job knowing I have a class 2 in my pocket!!
Congratumalations
Well done Chris
Chris_NI:
Hey guys, sorry ive been busy all day and havn’t had the chance to get online but I got the result I wanted, passed it with an embarrassing 12minors lol, mostly for being too hard on the brakes at junctions. The examiner says its the only thing that spoilt an excellent drive but as he said to me I got the pass and thats what counts!!
Chris_NI:
Hopefully get booked in to do my c+e within the next few months, going to opt for the wag and drag simply because im used to the atego and he’s going to do me a good deal lol (£350+£66 test fee
My advice - book a days training on artic after passing on W&D
Cheers for the congrats guys, now to get ringing round companies lol. Theres a few places looking class 2 in my area at the moment so gonna chance my arm and ring them, if your not in ya cant win!!
Well done, Chris!
Congratulations Chris 
Big well done mate
Well done passing there, Craigavon is so much easier I’m told all county test routes and at the time of day I done mine there was little traffic… but my usual daily route now is through the city and that was an eye opener the 1st time on my own!!!
But what kind of firm has you going to workshops and filling with diesel during training, I didnt think big boys like Swift would be like that - I’d be brave and pee’d off if I paid big bucks for training and spent half the time doing that.
I was in the notion of going with them for my C+E for its cheaper than who I done C with, but I’m not so sure now 
I was originally going to go to craigavon for mine, I got talking to the guy from lloyds school of motoring at the belfast truck show last year and I was gonna go with him but he never got back to me and I could never get the hold of him so just opted for swift. I did spend a fair amount of time during the week sitting stationary but like i said to my missus, if I failed at the end of the week then I woulda kicked up a fuss and blamed it on lack of time behind the wheel but I honestly felt that within the time that I was driving the training was excellent. They were very apologetic for it and blamed it on the truck being new to them but I suppose at the same time that isn’t my problem and it shoulda been fixed in their time not mine… Now im starting to get annoyed lol 
I may be a fool for this but I felt the training was good enough for me to go back for c+e, atleast now the wagon is set up for driving test conditions so there will be no time wasted getting splitters fixed and fitting new mirrors etc. As for the test routes up there, they arn’t too bad atall, theres nowhere that you really meet any major hazards or need to worry about straddling lanes for tight roundabouts etc I actually felt I learnt the area quite well as I didn’t know it atall before my training, I even had to use my sat nav just to find the test centre for the monday morning pick up lol.
Who do you drive for now pete if you dont mind me asking as we are from the same area and im trying to find out companies that don’t roll their eyes at newbies??
You’ll probably do a lot of sitting about with any company, though it shouldn’t cut down on your hours behind the wheel. That’s the difference. When i was doing my C&E, we made stops to pick up bits for the truck, stops to his landlords and other stuff, but it was all made up for with more driving hours than i should have had.
Well hey thats not too bad then really, and like you say you’ve passed so that all that matters, just wonder if that C+E price is a special price for you or what. I was originaly only for doing my B+E for I don’t need C+E for work but when it was going to cost £350+ its a bit much. Suppose its good learning in the city too, when I passed I had the confidence on country roads no problem but my usual run now is up through the city at least 1ce a day and nowhere near Craigavon.
And I drive this:
for Metal Tech in Antrim. Was in the warehouse a couple of years and they put me throuth the test so worked out well for me 
ur a lucky bugger, first getting your test paid for and then getting to drive that!! Not gonna miss it in the dark anyways lol. Im from larne and to be honest there isn’t too many people running class 2 down here so think im just gonna push on and get the class 1 then go and torture all the locals down round the harbour estate and then up to mcburneys etc! Sure im only a comment away if you ever hear your place looking drivers lol 