The Guinea Pig
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by R. D. Cater, AMInstBE
IN last week's Commercial Motor my colleague Tony Wilding gazed into his crystal ball in an attempt to foresee what would be required of drivers taking the test for the heavy goods vehicle driving licence, which has apparently struck dread into some hearts. The title he chose—How Tough A Test?— posed the very question that I was asking myself on Monday morning this week as I drove away from Dunstable with a Dodge KP 1000 /Dayson Overlander artic with which I was to be one of the first drivers in the Metropolitan area to face the ordeal.
Monday August 4 was the first date upon which the test became available on a voluntary basis and I was keen to have my ability assessed, and to set down the results in CM for the guidance of others.
I can say here and now that the test is by no means an ordeal, although the events leading up to it can provoke some soulsearching about one's ability. My test was taken at the MoT centre at Yeading, Middlesex, and I found the Ministry examiner, Mr. W. H. Pickard, a kindly man who goes out of his way to calm an applicant's test nerves. And I had more reason than most to be a little apprehensive.
Not only had I committed myself to publishing the results, pass or fail, but through a misunderstanding I had entered the semitrailer length as the overall length of the vehicle when completing the application form: so it was my fault that I found the test course laid out for an outfit 10ft shorter than the vehicle I was driving. Since pundits had assured me that such a mistake (along with the fact that I arrived with a superficially different machine from the one listed) would result in automatic failure. I decided to keep quiet and tackle the manoeuvring tests with my selfimposed burden.
But before the vehicle handling tests, I completed the only other section that is conducted on the Test Station site, which is simple questions on coupling and uncoupling a semi-trailer. Two points will certainly be covered on every occasion: "What exercise do you complete to ensure that the king-pin locks are home and locked?" lAnswer: engage first gear and attempt to pull away with the trailer wheels still braked); and: "What is the last thing to check before you move off?" (Answer: "That you have the correct number plate on the trailer.) These and the obvious reference to how a tractive unit should be handled during this operation (in first gear and gently) are the only points likely to catch out the average driver.
The first driving manoeuvre requires a driver to reverse the vehicle on the blind side, round an offset marker and into a bay, and this proved the most difficult of the three. Because the available distance from the front wheels to the offset marker was shorter by some 22ft, to suit the hypothetical test vehicle, this presented me with an almost impossible task. I had promised myself that I would complete all the tests in one movement to show how basically simple they were, but the handicap proved too much and I was forced to make one shunt before I successfully docked the outfit in the bay. There is no penalty for this.
Second attempt
It was at this stage that I discovered just how human my examiner was. He looked at the vehicle, compared its length with the markings in the centre of the test area, and said: "Surely this vehicle is quite a bit longer than 33ft, isn't it?". I admitted that it was, but the expected blow did not fall. "Oh, well we'll start again; sorry to make you sweat," said Mr. Pickard. And from that moment I became completely relaxed.
With the course laid out to the correct dimensions all three tests are simplicity itself, provided the driver is calm and collected and, I would suggest, fully conversant with his machine. This time I fulfilled my self-made promise to do them all in one move.
Then on to the braking straight, where I was rather amused to see that a crash barrier had been placed to protect vehicles parked, waiting their turn for the MoT vehicle test, from the unwary driver who imagines that he must do a full-pressure panic stop to satisfy the examiner. It is a fully controlled emergency stop that is required, which can be achieved with normal progressive pedal pressure and need be no more severe than around 35 to 40 per cent on a Tapley meter—about half what a Class I vehicle could raise if really pressed.
The open road
Then it was on to the open road for the driving test proper, which lasts 14hr. This may be considered by some to be the least demanding section of all because, after all, drivers are doing it all the time. But here lies the rub, for old habits die hard and it is physically impossible to make oneself do the "right" things while carrying out what is, to the professional, an automatic function for 1;hr.
I found it very difficult indeed to force myself to drive copybook style throughout the whole period. As the inevitable Mini driver pulled out from a side turning under my front
wheels, or the oblivious pedestrian stepped on to a crossing without looking first, or as I came, round a corner on the extremely wellchosen course to meet an unexpected hazard, I found myself slipping into my normal reactions to such circumstances. The odd gearchange in the middle of a corner because of the unexpected, or crossing hands when a corner turned out to be a little shorter or tighter than it appeared at first sight.
But, despite some forecasts to the contrary, this is not the sort of thing that the examiner will be looking for. He is watching for the driver who will persistently drive in this way, quite obliviously, and who will show clearly by his actions that he does not appreciate the significance or severity of hazard after hazard. The thinking driver will demonstrate quite the opposite: that he knows there is a hazard ahead and has taken at least some action to guard against being caught completely on the wrong foot.
That the vehicle is at all times completely under the driver's control is what the examiner will want to be assured. If at any time he gets the impression that this is not the case, the candidate is pretty certain to fail the test.
The contravention of any mandatory road regulations—such as failing to obey traffic lightc, "stop" or "give-way" signs or failing to allow free passage to pedestrians on marked crossings will result in immediate failure. However well the candidate performs in the remainder of the test, any one of these glaring faults will spell finis.
My examiner gave adequate instruction as to the route to follow and even on occasions suggested which traffic lanes I should choose. To be fair, this was only because I had told him I was not familiar with the area through which the test route ran, and only where being in the wrong lane would have resulted in serious baulking of my own and other vehicles.
Vehicle sympathy
One underlying requirement is to show "vehicle sympathy". I was fortunate in that the Dodge lent to me by Rootes for the test proved to be absolutely excellent from the driver's point of view. The controls, particularly the clutch and gearchange, made for the sort of driving all drivers like to demonstrate. Every change was made quietly, smoothly and with absolute certainty. On only one occasion did I accidentally depress the two-speed axle switch, and the unit fell into that nervejangling middle position.
As Tony Wilding recalled last week, our collective results at Motec did not inspire much confidence, and I have no doubt that these added to my apprehension about taking the test. One of the points on which we had been picked up was lack of attention to the nearside mirror. Now, I pride myself on being particularly attentive to both mirrors and I attribute the criticism on the Motec test to two factors. A driver of long experience develops the ability to glance in his mirrors with the least possible physical effort, turning his eyes rather than his head. This I know I do, and on the Motec run I also wore sunglasses. The lesson is clear: set your mirrors so that you must move your head in order to see them clearly, thus showing the examiner you are using them; and don't wear sunglasses for the test.
For at least a couple of weeks before T-day a candidate should search into his own driving habits very thoroughly and if possible discuss any uncertainties with a qualified training officer or driving instructor. It pays, too, to seek advance criticism from someone who has taken the test or who is an instructor.
It is also ack [sable to study the Highway Code, however well you may think you know it. Returning to the test centre after the road run I was asked questions on the Code, These will obviously differ from test to test, but although I managed to identify all but one of the road signs selected, and answered all the safety questions accurately, I had to admit that I did not know the Highway Code as thoroughly as I had imagined.
Safety quiz
The safety questions involved vehicle fitness. "What would be the cause of black smoke emitted from a vehicle exhaust, and what would you as a driver do about it?" I replied with an explanation of the fuel system and its faults in the circumstances, but "take the vehicle out of servicewould have been enough to satisfy the second part.
Questions were also asked about the warning devices common to air-pressure braking systems. At this point I felt that the examiner had already formed a pretty shrewd idea of my ability and that, had it not been favourable, this session might have been more prolonged. I was also asked how a vehicle should be correctly loaded so that it would be safe to run on the public roads. The answer I gave, correctly it seems, was: "Ensure that the load is securely stacked and fastened."; I might, perhaps, have added a remark about proper weight distribution too.
I realize very well that the day at Motec, and the intervening weeks spent lecturing myself severely about my less praiseworthy driving habits, enhanced my chance of passing the test. But as a guinea pig I started with all the assumed uncertainties characteristic of such occasions.
Competent drivers who are careful and considerate need have no worries but, as the official booklets emphasize, do not apply for a test unless you are reasonably certain of your competence. Do not necessarily rely on your own assessment; cross-check it with someone who can give an honest and useful opinion of your ability.
I passed, after what I consider to be a very fair test. For those who come after, I need add but two words: -Good luck".