Lorry Lessons for Ladies – Day 3

Today was a good day, a bad day, then a good day again!

My morning started really well. I drove smoothly and maintained good road position. We had to pick up a guy called Andy who was taking a re-test. He had a one hour lesson prior to his test, so I observed carefully as he drove really smoothly through the low bridges and complicated lane changes which comprise the Guildford one-way system.

“How you feeling?” Ray, the instructor, asked him.

“A bit nervous, to be honest with you,” he answered. “This is my fifth time! Although every time, it was other people who caused me to fail.”

“Was it really other people’s fault?” Ray countered. “You should never put yourself in a position where someone can do that to you. You can’t say, ‘He was going too fast. He pulled out without looking.’ You should be prepared.”

While Andy took Grumpy for his test, I had ninety minutes to get lunch in a café on the industrial estate. It should have helped to have had a chill, but my next session was really ragged!

When I got back, I saw Andy. I didn’t dare ask, but he volunteered,

“I passed!”

I clapped him on the shoulder and said, “I’m so delighted for you!”

We all climbed back into Grumpy with me in the driver’s seat. I turned to Andy and said,

“Caution. Bird at the wheel.”

I must have jinxed myself, because then, I completely cocked up my start. For two full days, Mirror: Signal: Blind Spot: had been my mantra every time I moved off. This time, I put the truck in gear before turning the key, so it wouldn’t start, because it only starts in Neutral. Then, I forgot to indicate and check my blind spot, and forgot to release the brake.

At least I messed up in style!

“Don’t worry, we’ve all done it.” Andy said gently.

When I pulled out of the test centre, there was a lot going on with traffic coming from all directions. My observation went out of the window, and I had a close call with a van who whizzed around my outside as I was turning right on a roundabout. Automatically, I steered away from him and clipped the roundabout – instant fail. I was so cross with myself.

After we dropped Andy back at his car near the test station, we had to get fuel.

“Do you want to go in a big garage or a little one?”

“I guess we should do a little one,” I replied. No point making it easy for myself.

After filling up with no tears in the small garage, we stopped again for a break at the test centre. I ate a Crunchie, which seems to help with the blood sugar (I’m not yet a proper trucker, so I don’t qualify for a Yorkie bar). Then I had a really positive session in the afternoon.

I nailed the corners of doom in Old Woking, and the narrow winding lane through West Clandon, even though I met a large lorry coming the other way in the narrow bit at the Bull’s Head (which serves the best steak pie in Britain!) I had to mount the pavement deliberately to get past.

Ray said, “It’s okay to mount the pavement, so long as you have the height (i.e. no trees) and you warn the examiner that you are going to do it and why.”

Grumpy was 12 feet high, so I had to drive and observe in three dimensions. Besides watching out for my length and width, I had to keep an eye out for low branches or other overhead obstructions.  

I had to remind myself that it’s okay to stop rather than rolling into danger: something rarely required in a car. In general, cars don’t need to occupy the full width of a narrow road to manoeuvre.

I knew what I had to do. I simply had to put it into practice. I needed to drive MUCH more slowly when manoeuvring to give myself time, and remember mirrors, mirrors, mirrors – every 5 to 10 seconds.

That is entirely within my own gift, and really would be a silly thing to fail on.

If I can just master those two things, I will have everything I need to pass.

Follow these links to catch up on Truckin’ for Girls posts:

• Lorry Lessons for Ladies – Day 1
• Lorry Lessons for Ladies – Day 2
• Lorry Lessons for Ladies – Day 3
• Lorry Lessons for Ladies – Day 4
• Lorry Lessons for Ladies – Day 5: TEST!

Useful Links

• EP Training, Surrey – run LGV and Minibus courses. My husband, Mark, used them to train his drivers when he was logistics manager for a well-known multi-national company. Here’s why. You might also follow the link to discover what you should look for in an LGV training school. Please note that, although EP is genuinely the entity with whom I did my training, I’ve changed names to protect the privacy of individuals. Prior to doing the training, I had to pass a medical and my LGV theory test.
• Caravan & Motorhome Club Caravan Towing Course
• Caravan & Motorhome Club Motorhome Manoeuvring Course
• Camping & Caravan Club Caravan & Motorhome Courses
• How to steer and manoeuvre and LGV from Safe Driving For Life
• Towing Safely & Legally

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