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From 2009, every UK truck driver will need to complete
Page 63
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35 hours' training every five years. Andy Salter has tried out the type of course MAN will offer...
When the Driver CPC directive becomes mandatory in three years' time, ongoing driver training will be compulsory. And they do mean compulsory: any driver who fails to log up 35 hours' training over five years will be off the road and out of a job.
The Driving Standards Agency hasn't yet revealed the exact requirements for these courses, but a number of companies are devising suitable training programmes.
The truck manufacturers are responsible for a lot of on-the-lob driver training, so they are likely to play a significant role in the training regime post-2009. In Germany, MAN already offers a one-day workshop on safe driving; this may well become one of the accredited courses for the CPC entitlement. Each year MAN puts about 1,000 drivers through the scheme, which is some way short of the 500,000 or more UK drivers who are going to need at least one day's training a year.
On the track
The main objective of the MAN course is to recognise, avoid and overcome dangers.
To achieve this I was put through a series of practical and theory sessions which introduced some new techniques, as well as reminding me of some of the old ones.
Out on the test track in a series of MAN vehicles I was brought u o to speed with their limits and shown how to stay within those limits while driving in a number of situations.
One point which was emphasised in the practical part of the workshop was calculating stopping distances in widely differing situations. It was alarming how much these distances varied depending on the road surface.
The German equivalent of the AA has its own test tracks around the country. These are used by car and motorcycle clubs at the weekends: MAN rents them for its courses.
They're impressive affairs, featuring slippery road surfaces, water obstacles, a9% downhill run with a slippery surface, bends and circular tracks to test vehicle control.
The MAN instructors demonstrated that in emergency braking it's important not to forget the clutch pedal. Failure to do so will make the engine stall, which in turn affects the power steering and will cause the rear axle to lock.
The technical development of truck braking systems has led to a major reduction in the braking distance. For example, a drum-braked MAN F90 from the early '90s took about 60m to brake from 80km/h to zero; an F2000 with disc brakes on the front wheels needed 45m. The current MAN TGA with disc brakes all round comes to a standstill after just 39m provided that the driver steps vigorously on the brake pedal.