HOW TOUGH A TEST?
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A. J. P. Wilding, MIMechE MIRTE
(D) BRAKING "HOW DIFFICULT is the test going to be?"
This is a question which many in the transport industry—and not dory drivers—must be asking. For me the interest is both professional and personal: I shall have to take the h.g.v. driving test because even my fairly regular forays with road test heavies will not justify claiming exemption through the "in the habit of driving" clause.
No one can know the exact standards that will be required by the MoT examiners until tests have been running for some time. But the new legislation could introduce a lot of expense in many fleets and even chaos in some.
Trying to anticipate the level of skill that will be expected, I recently visited the RTITB's
A Ale Motec training centre near Shrewsbury to see
D
the work of training h.g.v. driving instructors.
I tackled the manoeuvring tests in an artic and was accompanied on an open-road run by one of the senior instructors who pointed out the ways in which my driving fell short of the standards he was working to. Later my colleague Ron Cater made a similar visit—and the lists of our faults were long.
Even allowing for the fact that these were instruction standards rather than routine driving-test standards, we both left Motec convinced that the h.g.v. test is going to cause many headaches in the transport industry.
The booklet Heavy Goods Vehicle Driving Test published by the MoT provides basic information on what the test will involve and this will be supplemented when the MoT manual, Driving, which gives much more detailed advice, is published towards the end of this year.
In my view it will be essential for a driver to study these publications thoroughly before taking the test and the majority of drivers at present on the road would fail the test without special instruction.
Consider the situation that would exist if all car drivers had to retake the basic car driving test. How many could pass without making a change from their normal driving practice?
this is just how it must be for the h.g.v. A. A driver who has simply picked up iving—and all the habits that come under a "bad" classification in examiners stenrds—can hardly expect a straightforward ss, especially on a vehicle with which he ay not be fully experienced. How much Dre difficult will he find it when moving, say, im a small rigid to a big artic class.
Even without including training costs, inAuction of h.g.v. licensing is going to cost a industry a lot of money. With the test fee i, and E1 for the actual licence, the expense a medical examination will bring the total m to around £10 for each applicant. The oT estimates, from the numbers of new ivers entering transport, that 100,000 g.v. tests will be needed each year. This )ne means that El m is added annually to ad transport costs and this could be doubled even trebled with the extra cost for driver rining—plus the cost of providing vehicles r the test, and loss of revenue,
ost to the industry There could be up to 1m people in the lustry who at present drive a heavy goods hide at some time in their work. A sizable mber will not be able to claim exemption rn the test. It is not possible to guess how my, but excluding this factor the industry uld be faced with extra costs of something
Ezim for medical examinations, licences d so on in the period that drivers are getting air first h.g.v. licences. Will the drivers pay, has been suggested?
But it is not cost that will cause the real Dblems in the industry (and there will be no ficulties in regular drivers obtaining licences test exemption, as explained in the accomnying article). More important is the fact at not all drivers in a mixed fleet which ..;ludes vehicles in the various licence cateries will necessarily be able to get licences drive all the different types.
Flexibility, which is one of road transport's )st important assets, will be hampered conlerably. If an artic driver goes sick, there ay be no spare driver with the necessary ence for the class of vehicle. And what out the difficulty of finding someone to go t and bring back a big artic that has "run it of time"?
Any fitter who wants to check his work will .ed a licence, and supervisors and managers 30 have occasion to drive vehicles from time time. They may only need to go up the road
d back, but they will still need a licence iless they are willing to have a licensed ver with them and "L" plates on the front d back.
Because maintenance staff drive vehicles ularly, it may be felt that they have justifition for claiming exemption from the test, t this will be hard to justify. They may drive ery day but it would be unusual for them to et all the difficult traffic and road conions encountered by a regular driverand a avy goods vehicle licence really means that the person is Considered capable of going anywhere in the country, in all conditions of load and in all conditions of traffic—and also to get himself out of difficulties. Can exemption be justified for a man who simply goes out of the yard on to a dual-carriageway road, round a roundabout and back again? I think not, even though he may do this every day of the week.
I am not criticizing the introduction of h.g.v. licences; the need for this legislation is fully justified with present-day road conditions, gross weight limits and vehicle speeds. If car driver and p.s.v. driver testing were being introduced in today's conditions, standards would almost certainly be tougher, and the qualifications for driving a Mini would be different from those for a high-performance sports car. Thinking in this way clearEy indicates the justification in making the h.g.v. test as stiff as it is bound to be.
The booklet Heavy Goods Vehicle Driving Test deals specifically with the general stan
dards and also recommends that applicants
should read booklet DL68—Your Driving Test, How to Prepare for It, How to pass, It which was prepared primarily for use in
connection with the car test and gives advice on correct control and driving procedures which should be followed. As well as these
two booklets, the Highway Code will have to be studied thoroughly as "the examiner will expect you to drive in accordance with its rulesand will ask questions on it and about traffic signs.
In the h.g.v. test the examiner will also ask questions to test the knowledge of the driver
on the correct action to take in the event of a fault developing which affects the safe operation of the vehicle: he will have to be satisfied
that the driver knows when a goods vehicle is in a safe condition and has a safely distributed load.
Perhaps the most publicized part of the original proposals for the h.g.v. test were the manoeuvring exercises. These are unchanged in the final regulations and cover reversing, steering and braking. As the accompanying diagrams show, the vehicle has to be reversed into an offset bay, avoiding a marker in the process, steered between markers into a bay and braked—from a speed of 20 mph—after driving about 200ft.
Could be difficult When the manoeuvres were first announced there was a suggestion that it would not necessarily be considered a serious fault to run over a "kerb" or hit a marker and that the general performance of the candidate was the main criterion. But this does not now appear to be the case and I consider that these exercises could be extremely difficult for a driver of an artic who had not had a lot of experience with this class of machine.
Insufficient account appears to have been taken of the difference in manoeuvrability between vehicles of the same length but with different wheelbases. As a result, the distance between the markers can be very tight and in the reversing manoeuvre there is only the vehicle's length available in which to place it on the "inside" of the marker "B".
With the vehicle I used, it was completely impossible to avoid this marker without running over the kerb if the vehicle was not already partly folded or the tractor nearside as close as possible to marker -A".
In the steering test, the markers are spaced at distances equal to 1+ times the length of the vehicle and with an artic having an axle at the extreme rear of the trailer the driver has only half his length left (from marker "C") at the point when he can start swinging over to the right. I was, in fact, surprised that the artic I drove was able to complete this exercise satisfactorily, although it was not possible to place it perfectly in line in the bay.
I am told by the MoT that an artic can be partly folded before the start of the reversing test, although the front of the vehicle must be
in line with marker cones "A" and "Al". Running over a "kerbwould be tolerated more readily than hitting a marker, and "shunting" will be permitted provided too many shunts are not made. The -trailer of the outfit I used had a high headboard and I had to rely on the mirrors for most of the test which made avoiding marker "B" rather difficult because I soon "lost it". But I was also told by the MoT that a driver can get out to check in such circumstances.
The braking test should create no difficulty provided the driver does not lose control, e.g. through locking wheels, but I think that the other tests can cause trouble—except perhaps to a man capable of winning his class at a Lorry Driver of the Year round. High penalties are frequently incurred at these competitions by drivers who make a complete hash of reversing and I think that the MoT manoeuvres will tax many drivers.
Originally, it was intended that an artic driver would have to uncouple and recouple his trailer but now he will only be questioned on the procedure and it will be as well for a driver to learn by heart the procedure written down in the brochure. He should also make a point of checking round the vehicle in front of the examiner before he starts the test. He should make sure that all doors and sideboards on the body are secure and before starting the engine, he should check again on the seat position and mirrors as well as ensuring that the handbrake is properly applied and the gearbox in neutral. He will also be expected to make sure that any vacuum or air-pressure reservoir is at a safe working limit.
A lot of advice is given in the booklet on particular aspects of driving. The smooth co-ordination and use of accelerator, clutch and handbrake in moving off are stressed as well as checking both nearside and offside mirrors and giving the appropriate signal. One thing that is not noted but which will be expected is for the driver to turn and look over his right shoulder before starting off, to make sure that a cyclist or small car has not escaped his notice in the mirror.
The examiner will expect the driver to show a "high degree of skill" in the use of all controls and especially the correct use of gears when climbing and descending hills. He will also require the candidate to go through the gearbox up and down over one section of the route. This will also tax many drivers, particularly those of vehicles with synchromesh gearboxes which have "crash" bottom; I know there are some who find it necessary to stop the vehicle before they can do this.
Particular stress is laid on the proper use of mirrors both on the road and in manoeuvring and the driver would be well advised to make it obvious to the examiner that he is in fact using his mirrors—by moving his head rather than the eyes only. Other points made in the booklet cover the correct method of overtaking vehicles, the need to allow enough room between the vehicle and the one in front and the importance of anticipating the actions of other road users.
The booklet also says that a driver must be sure that any arm signals he makes can be clearly seen by other road users. It also States: -Do not use your lights to signal other drivers." The latter was a point made strongly to me in my run with the Motec instructor. Headlights should only he used to indicate one's presence on the road—like the horn
—and their use in any other circumstance, is frowned upon by the MoT. Similarly, signalling another vehicle to overtake or a pedestrian to cross in front of your vehicle can be dangerous and the driver should not do these things—especially during the test!
While making specific points about driving, the booklet cannot tell a driver everything he has to know and do to pass the test. This would be impossible as it is the overall character of the driving and the candidate's ability to control his vehicle at all times and with complete safety that is being assessed. There are so many bad habits than can be picked up that it is not possible to compile a list of do's and don'ts; this is where the training of a man for the test becomes essential.
Through my own and Ron Cater's experience, and discussion at Motec and the Ministry of Transport, I cart quote some examples of what are considered bad habits, but I would stress that this cannot be a complete list.
I have no doubt that the most certain way of failing the test is to drive with a complete lack of "sympathy" for the vehicle and without consideration for other road users—driving too fast for the particular conditions (exceeding speed limits will lead to certain failure), braking too late or forcing another vehicle to take an unnecessary action are examples. Some drivers may think that getting through a tight gap without reducing speed, overtaking with inches to spare and so on will show that they have a "high degree of skill" but the examiner will also consider the possibilities of another vehicle not behaving as expected and the possibility of accidents.
Smooth, steady progress
A driver must aim for smooth and steady progress. I thought that I was going too slowly on my run with the Motec instructor but he said there were times when he considered I was going too fast: I was paying particular attention to holding the steering wheel but he said that I crossed my hands a couple of times (on the manoeuvring test) and let the wheel slip through my hands at times could not recall having done so, but the wheel must be held by at least one hand the whole time); I thought that I looked in my nearside mirror rather more than necessary, but it was not enough to satisfy him.
These are some points a driver needs to watch and he must also bear in mind the recommendations in the Highway Code. A driver is not expected to give arm signals for the whole test and there will be situations where giving such a signal would be less sensible than using flashers: when turning left Out of a roundabout, for example, where the most important thing is that the driver should be completely aware of traffic on his nearside. But the examiner will want a demonstration that the driver is capable of giving correct hand signals, not just a bit of hand waving.
The examiner will be aware of the possibility that a driver is nervous on his test and the best advice is that he should not be preoccupied with errors he imagines he has made. This will only make him commit more errors and the MoT understands that this is a danger with the better driver who "thinks" his driving and knows what is right and wrong; the bad driver will be oblivious to errors, full of confidence that he is doing well.
It will be easy to fail the test—and expen sive—so it is essential that adequate preparation is made. This does not end with the driver, for unless the vehicle complies with conditions listed in the test booklet, the examiner may refuse to conduct the test. There are five points in the list. For example, the vehicle must have enough fuel for a tesi lasting up to 2hr, it must be in a thoroughly roadworthy condition and (obviously an essential) have a seat for the examiner. The vehicle also has to be presented in the unladen condition and obviously of the class foi which the licence is required. And if the drive, holds a provisional h.g.v. licence the vehicle has to carry the special h.g.v. "L" plates tc the front and rear.
Application forms for the h.g.v. driving tes. are available from money order Post Office: and MoT traffic area offices. The form is relatively straightforward and apart from requiring the inclusion of the candidate's name and address, date and centre at which he wishes to be tested, there is a section where details about the vehicle that will be driven or the test have to be entered. The test can be taken at any centre and the completed form has to be returned to the Traffic Area Office running the centre.
When a driver fails the test he will be giver a Statement of Failure and while he canno. discuss errors with the examiner he can writE to the supervising examiner (driving tests) a. the Traffic Area Office for explanation of am points he has difficulty in understanding. If driver feels the test was not conducted ir accordance with Regulations he has the righ of appeal to a magistrates' court.