5 STEPS TO SUCCESS

Obtaining your HGV licence couldn’t be easier with Surrey & Hampshire HGV Training. Take a look at our 5 steps to success and see for yourself how simple it can be to get your lorry licence and start your new career on the road.

 

STEP ONE – CALL OUR FRIENDLY TEAM TODAY ON: 01276 537400

Your journey to success starts with giving our friendly and dedicated team a call. First, we will have a chat with you to find out about your goals;

• Are you new to driving and want to start a career as a truck driver?
• Do you have a Class 2 licence and want to upgrade to Class 1?
• Do you own horses and need to transport them?

Once we’ve established which licence and course is best for you, we will tailor your package ensuring that once you have completed all of the steps, you will be ready for the open road. You can also click here to fill in an enquiry form and one of our team will call you back!

 

STEP TWO – BEFORE YOU CAN BOOK YOUR THEORY TESTS

You will need to complete a medical and then send away your licence to have a provisional entitlement added. We will send you a starter pack out in the post which will include your medical forms and the licence forms that your doctor will need to fill in and send away so no need to search through all of the paperwork online or at the post office to find the right ones, let us do that for you.

As well as receiving a Starter Pack in the post, you will also get a phone call from one of our helpful Training Operations team. They will be there every step of the way if you have any questions or need any support. You will have a unique Online Revision Log-in set up for you so that you can begin revising for your Theory Tests straight away.

As soon as you are ready and you have your licence back from the DVLA complete with your new provisional entitlement, give the Training Operations team a call on: 01276 536356 and they will book your Theory Tests for you.

We can’t book you a Theory Test until you have your provisional entitlement so if you are looking to get your course under way as quickly as possible, get your medical completed and licence sent off as soon as you can.

STEP THREE – COMPLETING YOUR THEORY TESTS

Training Operations will be on hand to answer any questions you have throughout your training. They will book all of your training and test dates for you and make sure you are fully prepared for everything. You will need to complete two Theory Tests at your local DVSA Theory Test Centre. These are;

• Multiple Choice
• Hazard Perception

The two Theory Tests can be completed on separate dates or one straight after the other. They are treated as separate tests meaning you can pass one and fail the other. If you choose to do them on separate days you’ll need to bear in mind that both will need to be passed within 24 months as they are both needed in order to book a practical test and each Theory Test Certificate has a 2 year expiry date attached to it.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

• You will be asked 100 questions that will have a list of possible answers for you to choose from. You will need to click the correct answer(s) from the list, some questions having more than 1 correct answer but you will be told on each question if this is the case. If you are not sure of the answer you can flag the question to come back to it at the end. This ensures you don’t spend too much time on one question. You will have 75 minutes to answer all 100 questions and will need to get 85 points out of 100 in order to pass.

HAZARD PERCEPTION

• For this test, you will be shown a short tutorial video that will show you how to respond when you watch your test videos. You will then be shown a series of video clips of every day road and driving scenarios. Each clip will have at least one developing hazard and one clip will have two developing hazards. To achieve points you will need to click on the mouse at the early stages of the hazard and throughout showing that you are aware of them. You will not be able to review your answers for these video clips and you will need to gain a score of 67 out of 100 to pass. The Hazard Perception test is 45 minutes long.

Once you have completed your tests, give the Training Operations department a call and they will then go through some available dates for your practical training and test. You will be given the next available dates in your chosen location to see if they work well for you, if not, you can discuss the dates that you would like to do your training and we will see if we can work round them for you!

STEP FOUR – YOUR PRACTICAL TRAINING AND TEST

Depending on your level of driving experience and confidence, we recommend either a 4 or 5 day practical training course which includes the test. We have training yards in Hook, Hampshire and Chobham, Surrey with fantastic instructors in each location. Each training depot has plenty of room for you to learn manoeuvres such as reversing that you will need to be trained on in order to pass your test. There are also tea and coffee facilities in each location so you can get a nice hot drink before you start your training day.

Each of our instructors have their own unique way of teaching and they all work hard to make sure they tailor their training to suit each individual. The below is a guide to how your training course could be laid out but due to these reasons, the steps may differ slightly;

 

• Day 1: You will meet your instructor and your fellow student sharing the cab with you during your training course. We encourage 2-1 training courses as they mean that you can spread your daily training out through the day instead of doing 4 hours solid driving which can be quite tiring and overwhelming if you are a complete beginner. It also gives you a chance to learn from the other student whilst you are observing. If you decide that you would prefer 1-1 training, please do let us know at the time of booking and we will be happy to arrange this for you!

 

Your instructor will show you the truck that you will be training in throughout your course and how to do a walk round safety check of the vehicle. They will also show you how to safely get in and out of the truck. You will be shown where all of the controls are in the lorry and how to use them and then you will move on to reversing. Each of you will be shown how to complete a reverse to test standard and you will then get a chance to try it out and practice. Next it’s time to get out on the open road! You will get plenty of time to drive around the area on day one ensuring you get used to the truck.

• Day 2: You will have more practice at reversing on day 2 and then back out on the open road. Our instructors have lots of experience with taking candidates to test and know all of the things that the examiners will be looking out for so they will be sure to prompt you constantly throughout your training to make sure you are up to test standard by day 4. Checking mirrors is one of the biggest things to remember! If you have been driving cars for a long time, you may have picked up bad habits along the way. Have a look at our Meet the Instructors page to find out more about our team and the tips they have when starting your HGV training.

 

• Day 3: It’s off to Guildford today to try out some test routes. Whether you are training out of our Hook or our Chobham training location, you will be testing at the Guildford Test Centre on Slyfield Industrial Estate, Moorfield Road. All of our instructors know the test routes like the back of their hands and so you will be able to get used to the routes you could be tested on before the day! You will be taken down the test routes in mock tests given by your instructor so you really will know first-hand exactly what to expect on test day.

 

• Day 4: Test Day. Don’t worry, on test day you won’t be taken to Guildford first thing to do your test without any training that day. You day will start the day with making sure you are happy with what will happen at the start of the test and what it is that you will need to show. You will get the chance to do another reverse, making sure that you are happy with the manoeuvre. It will then be off the Guildford to try out a quick test route before parking up at the test centre ready for your test. Your instructor will be there waiting when you drive back in the here how you did!

 

STEP FIVE – THE DRIVERS CPC

If you are planning to drive your lorry for financial gain and you passed your car test after January 1997 or if you are under the age of 21 regardless of what you will be using your licence for then you will need to complete the Initial CPC requirement.

There are a few exemptions to those who need the Drivers CPC depending on the vehicle they drive or the driver’s situation. These include;

• The driver is using the vehicle for purposes controlled by the armed forces, civil defence, fire services or any force responsible for maintaining public order.
• The vehicle is used to carry equipment needed for work as long as driving the truck is not the sole or main job of the individual.
• The vehicle is used for non-commercial use and solely used for carrying goods for personal use unless the driver is under 21 years old in which case they are not exempt in this instance.
• The vehicle is used for the purposes of driving lessons to obtain a licence or CPC
• The vehicle has a maximum authorised speed of no more than 28 MPH.

The Initial CPC requirement is made up of two Modules; The Module 2 Theory Test and the Module 4 practical test. Both will need to be completed before you can begin to use your lorry licence in you fall in to the category of those that need it.

If you are not required to complete the Initial CPC you will only need to complete 35 hours of CPC periodic training every 5 years unless you fall into one of the above exemptions. The first set of 35 hours will need to be completed before you can use your lorry licence for financial gain. If you did need to complete the Initial CPC, you will have 5 years from its completion to carry out all of your first set of 35 hours CPC Periodic training.

You can find out lots more about the Drivers CPC and how it effects you by clicking HERE

AND WE’RE DONE!

So that’s everything! Just five, Simple steps to success with Surrey & Hampshire HGV Training means it couldn’t be easier to get your truck licence and to get that new career on the road that you’ve always wanted.

To have a chat about your options or to get step one under way, give us a call today on: 01276 537400.

You can also click here to fill out an enquiry form and one of our team will call you back.

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