my mates son in law just passed his test in a wagon n drag
he now has a class 1 licence but hasnt a clue because he has never driven a unit and trailer
my mate rang me an said what does he need to do
i asked him why had he taken a test in a wagon n drag he said that that the training guy local to him only had this
so the kid has a licence now but has never driven a unit or even coupled a trailer and was offered no further training after passing his test and let loose in the big bad world with his nice new peice of paper
this may be legal but do you think its right of a training school to do this
what would your reply have been to my mate
i know my veiw on this but would like to hear from a few others
I know that trainer and he is great , and if you can drive a wag drag you can drive an artic any day , I drive 90% of the time wag drags and cover on the artic. Compared to these big bendy buggers an artic is a breeze ! IN MY PERSONAL OPINION
What happened to the law that stated if you passed class 1 in a wagon and drag that was in fact ‘Class 1B’ and you were prohibited from driving a full class 1 ?. That was law when I lived there, it didn’t work the other way though, so if you passed in a class 1 artic you clould dive either.
Training schools do this because its cheaper to buy and run a rigid and trailer as they can use the same outfit for both class 1 and class 2 just by hitching or unhitching the trailer where as they would then have to buy 2 separate outfits for the two license categories, tractor unit and trailer and then a rigid.
I would do a couple of hours in a training school that runs artics as a refresher.
I passed on a tractor & trailer, and never drove a wagon and drag in my life.
I still hold the licence for it though.
I’'ve only seen Tuffnels and UK mail around here that seem to use them anyways, and of course they’re day cabs too, so I don’t think I’m missing out on much.
Has anyone on here driven one of these by the way?
I suppose trainers use a waggon and drag so that that they only need 1 vehicle to do both types of test ie C and C+E.
I past my test in a flat bed 20ft semi automatic artic, didn’t drive 1 again for 18 months then into 40ft box trailers and yes I made an arse of it. Just tell him to take it slowly or find a trainer with an artic and pay for a days training in one.
That’s exactly how I passed 15 odd years ago. Didn’t have a clue about unit & trailer, rocked up at Safeway on the agency in the run up to Christmas I think it must have been so the 2 year experience rule was out the window. Chucked the keys to a scania 4x2 & off I popped to blag the shift.
To be honest if you have a bit of common sense then you should be alright but I did go out for a couple of days FOC previous to this with an old hand watching me drive that I had arranged myself. You shouldnt be allowed to pass in a wagon & drag and then be ok to drive unit & trailer in my opinion.
I dont see there being a great issue in passing CE in W&D provided the trainee is informed that there are differences when driving an artic and it is highly recommended they do half a day learning the differences especially as in the UK they are likely to be driving artic rather than W&D
Without having driven either, you can see the subtle differences every day by just watching other drivers. Artics need a much wider turning arch for corners as the trailer cuts in more.
al_P:
I know that trainer and he is great , and if you can drive a wag drag you can drive an artic any day , I drive 90% of the time wag drags and cover on the artic. Compared to these big bendy buggers an artic is a breeze ! IN MY PERSONAL OPINION
im not saying the lad who passed him isnt great , dont know the guy and good on him for minimising cost by haveing a duel purpose vehicle
and i agree with you on what you say i drove wagon and drags ( A frame and draw bar ) all over europe back in the 90s but i passed my test in a unit and trailer and found it easier to do it that way
what im trying to say is IN MY PERSONAL OPINION is that i think if you do pass your test in a wagon and drag the training school that passes you should include a days training after your test on a unit and trailer ( with another trainer if they dont have the vehicle ) so the people get to feel the difference in driving and the basics needed = coupling up , lift axles , sliding 5th wheels , air suspention , ect ect
i thought if you took your class one in drawbar it was a restricted class 1 however if you did it in a unit & trailer it wasnt restricted so i would get the extra training if i was in his shoes that way it would be derestricted
No Daf power, it doesn’t matter what you pass in, you can drive either once passed in either.
I didn’t have a clue about air suspension level when coupling unit & trailer for example after passing in wagon and drag, fifth wheel jaw/mechanism etc. joke really.
dafpower:
i thought if you took your class one in drawbar it was a restricted class 1 however if you did it in a unit & trailer it wasnt restricted so i would get the extra training if i was in his shoes that way it would be derestricted
Prior to 1991 under the old HGV system it was but since then we have been under EU LGV system where W&D and artic are both C+E
He took his test in a wagon that matched the requirements for a C+E licence full stop. The fact it is wagon and drag means bugger all to the training company and test centre fortunately/unfortuanately.
Yes the two are different, but in the eyes of the law, it’s the same vehicle.
wigan:
what im trying to say is IN MY PERSONAL OPINION is that i think if you do pass your test in a wagon and drag the training school that passes you should include a days training after your test on a unit and trailer ( with another trainer if they dont have the vehicle ) so the people get to feel the difference in driving and the basics needed = coupling up , lift axles , sliding 5th wheels , air suspention , ect ect
I see what you’re saying mate, but where does the responsibility for the training company end? I mean like I’ve never slid a 5th wheel for example, but I use tail lifts and fridges all the time, should the training company be teaching you to use tail lifts?
What would be better is to pass your test etc, then have someone offering familiarisations onto various types of kit I.e. Deckers, strapping on curtainsiders, tail lifts, fridges, Artics vs W+D vs a frames etc etc that you got to and pay for depending on what you want?
I passed C+E in a wagon and drag 15 months ago, and the agency that I was with at the time stressed to the first company that I went to (rhymes with bow-tarts) that I’d only just passed in W+D, so someone gave me a quick 5 mins on the differences between the two. Not saying that thats how it should be done, but surely the agency/company that you’re going to would want to be happy you knew what you were doing?
