Nervous about going for my Class 1 (C+E). Did anyone else feel overwhelmed before starting?
I’m thinking about going for my Class 1 (C+E) licence from a B licence, but honestly I’m pretty nervous about the whole thing and wondered if anyone else felt the same before starting.
I currently drive a Mercedes Sprinter/Vivaro type van for work, so I’m used to being on the road all day, mirrors, reversing, tight roads etc, but an artic still feels like a completely different world to me.
My biggest worries are things like:
Remembering all the driving hours/tacho rules and break timings
Using the tachograph properly without messing up
Coupling and uncoupling correctly
Reversing a trailer accurately
Remembering all the daily walkaround/mechanical checks
Learning all the extra safety stuff
The pressure of the tests themselves
Then actually being out on my own afterwards in a real job
I think part of it is that when you look into HGV driving there just seems SO much to remember compared to normal driving. It almost feels overwhelming from the outside.
I’m also worried I’ll pass the tests but still not feel confident enough afterwards.
Did anyone else feel like this before doing their training? How quickly did things start to “click”? And was the reality less intimidating once you actually got into training and real-world driving?
Just after some honest advice/reassurance from drivers already doing it really.