The second day was all about cementing the skills I had learned the previous day and gaining some new ones.
With no big introduction needed this time we hit the road just after 8am. The initial couple of hours went pretty well; I was confident coming up to roundabouts and selecting the right speed.
But I was of course still learning – which meant that something had to happen. I mounted my first kerb in spectacular fashion after attempting a right turn at a large inner-city roundabout during rush hour. The gear was correct and so was the initial positioning – but I should have been that little bit more forceful. My trainer Alan, who is very calm and objective after mistakes like that, told me that I should have positioned myself that little bit wider after pulling out into the roundabout – no big deal, just practice.
So practise we did – in my ‘favourite town’ Bedford. I say favourite, as this was where I made the majority of my mistakes yesterday.
It all went smoothly until I learned another valuable lesson about the gearbox. Don’t try and change from high-range to low-range too swiftly, as it might not engage and put itself into neutral. After having sat at the light a couple of times just revving the engine like an idiot I got annoyed and scraped a couple of kerbs straight away (not on purpose of course).
Alan told me to pull over for 10 minutes and calm down. During this he explained that changing down should not be done too quickly – and most important of all, he ran me through the correct positioning of the truck before heading into tight turns.
It’s all about preparation! Where as before, I would have approached a corner or roundabout with primarily the right gear and speed in mind, he told me to look ahead and hug the white line or even straddle the lanes if need be. By doing this in good time you also avoid pushing anyone next to you into oncoming traffic.
The fourth trip through Bedford was the one – smooth drive and good lane discipline. Alan even let me attempt a notoriously tight corner, though talked me through it (thank god.)
Back at the depot both Alan and Barry (Barry is in the process of training another driver) set up the driving exam reversing exercise. This requires the truck to drive forward, stop between two cones, and then reverse around a cone into a bay. With massive mirrors on the truck the reversing itself wasn’t too tricky. The tough bit was knowing when to stop at the back (the rear of the truck must stop within a box a meter deep). This was easily overcome by selecting a marker on the truck and lining it up with the box (in my case it is one of the side reflectors).
Tomorrow we will be doing the gear-change exercise and the controlled stop.
Comments (1)
I didn't think driving a truck would be that much different from driving a car. Quite frightening to think I could drive up to a 7.5-tonner with my licence without ever having had lessons!! Watch out
Posted by Ingeborg Gray | August 8, 2007 1:01 PM
Posted on August 8, 2007 13:01