AUTOMOTIVE-SERVICES-AUTO ACCESSORIES

Step 1 – Find a training provider

Find a suitable LGV training provider, there are many available online. I’d advise you to be careful as there are a few different types of training providers, firstly there are actual training schools who will require you to do your own research and submit your licence applications and book your own theory test. Secondly you have training brokers who will dedicate staff to help you through the steps and book your theory test and practicals for you. Unfortunately amongst the brokers there are a few fraudsters, so please be aware and always research he companies reputation before you hand over your money.

Step 2 – Your medical

It’s important you get your medical form filled in by a doctor after they’ve performed a medical check on you. The medical asses your general health to see if you are physically fit to be driving long hours for work. You can either get your own D4 Medical form or your LGV training provider may supply it for you. Medicals will cost you around £40 – £180, if your local GP quotes you on the higher end of the scale, remember you can always shop around. I managed to find a doctors surgery who did it for me for £40.

Step 3 – Apply for your provisional LGV Licence

Yes, even though you’ve got a normal car licence, you still have to apply for a provisional Cat C licence. This can be done by filling in a DVLA D2 form and then posting it back to DVLA Swansea. In the meanwhile its wise to start revising for you theory test, you can buy official DSA theory training books, CD’s or even revise online.

Step 4 – Theory Test

You will eventually receive your provisional licence from the DVLA at which point you should hopefully be ready to sit your theory test at a DSA theory test centre. The theory test can be booked by yourself or your training provider may book it on your behalf and cover the costs within the training package that you have purchased from them.

Step 5 – Practical Driving Test

Once you’ve successfully passed your theory test, you can begin your practical driving. Depending on your experience, confidence and ability you should usually be able to pick up everything you need in a 5 day intensive LGV training. You will then have to perform a one and half hour driving test at the end of your intensive LGV training.

Step 6 – Practical Test Associated Knowledge

This is an official test you will take at a DSA practical test centre that will need you to demonstrate and explain matters regarding being professional while being a lorry driver, so it’s a test more about things such as secure loading, dealing with emergency and pre-checks etc. You will need a passmark of 80% to pass this test.

Changing your location due to work or for any reason? One of the biggest and the foremost concern is how to transport the entire house. We are sure that you are able to comprehend the enormity of the situation when one says that he is shifting. The problem lies in the fact that when you put the entire house items in boxes, it becomes quite a load and the steel tarps may not be able to cover it all. But of course, there are myriad options of making sure that the goods that you are covering are secured well enough so that there is nothing to worry at all. Let us check a few of them.

• Steel tarps have metallic grommets with them. They are also called D-rings. Use them to fasten your goods. Do not use to fasten in a method where they are apart. The more closely you will bind them, the more secure it will be.

• While using those heavy duty steel tarps, one imperative aspect is that buy tarps which are lightweight. These should also be able to provide complete protection.

• Another tip in this regard is about putting the boxes in the right fashion. Do not just dump them. Think again and put large boxes first. Thereafter in the spaces left, you can fit in the smaller ones. In this manner, there will not be much of a space which is left. Your goods will not move during transit causing lesser damage to them.

• Use chock blocks in order to stall your vehicle for truck to make sure that the vehicle does not reel under the impact of the weight of goods and starts shifting from its place.

• It is imperative to secure your cargo well to make sure that they don’t move. Irrespective of the weight, secure your cargo with at least one restraint on the heavy duty steel tarps if the goods are over 1,100 lbs or under 5feet long. Using this as a criterion, use as many fastening as you want to.

• Use ratchet load binders, bungee cords etc with your steel tarps to secure your goods. You can either use the manufacturer’s tips for securing them or else listen to your own self. Be smart to comprehend the entire scenario and make a sophisticated judgment. We are sure that you are the best person to decide as these are your belongings and you surely do not want any harm to befall.

Depending upon what you are carrying, the next course of action will be determined.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration division is the one responsible in this regard. In other words, there are several methods of securing the cargo depending upon two factors enumerated below:

• What you are carrying
• How far you have to go

You can use steel tarps to fasten your cargo in such a way that it does not fall off or the goods in it come out loose. The above mentioned tips are practical tips so that when users use heavy duty steel tarps, their consignment of belongings are safe and they do not have to worry at all regarding the safety and security.

We’ve all been there. You’re careening down the M1 and you begin overtaking an Eddie Stobart lorry on your left hand side. As you pass the huge haulage lorry, which is probably undertaking some arduous return loads or freight forwarding work, you chance a look at its fabled name plate. Just as you begin deciphering the contrived, tiny combination of girls’ names – I highly doubt anyone out there’s actually called ‘Mary-Lou Vanessa Jessica Anne’ – you realise that you’re swerving wildly and irrationally between the lanes, and finally, as common sense prevails, you decide to stop endangering your life like some kind of foolhardy stunt driver.

Eddie Stobart spotters

If anyone says, ‘What, by gum, is an Eddie Stobart lorry?’ then they obviously have never been on a motorway in the UK; because Eddie Stobart lorries are, night and day, constantly chugging along undertaking road haulage and return loads work to various parts of the British Isles. And, because of their distinctive green, red and yellow livery and the tradition of naming the lorries with girls’ names, they have become popular with the public who often collect sightings of the different lorries and their monikers. What’s more, there is now even an official Eddie Stobart fan club, where you can buy an annual membership and receive a log book to tick off the names of the various lorries you have seen. The club also arranges tours of depots and provides Eddie Stobart collectable toys and models.

Eddie Stobart In popular culture

As well as presenting a chance to alleviate the boredom of a motorway journey for passengers, the ever-growing fleet of ES drivers have captured the imagination of singers and writers up and down the land. The British Scumpy and Western band the Wurzels wrote a song called ‘I want to be an ES Driver, which romanticises such things as back and return loads and other haulage work, as well as advocating the contentious notion that ‘Eddie Stobart rules the motorway’. In addition, Sheffield’s own electronic-based music group, I Monster, have written a song about the popular haulage company called Stobart’s Blues.

Other famous haulage companies

ES lorries are not the only lorries to capture the devotion of enthusiasts across the UK. The Shore Potters Society, thought to be the oldest removals and haulage company in Britain, is a popular target for lorry spotters. They originated in 1498 using horse and carriages, and their liveried vehicles today are extremely rare. Also popular with UK lorry spotters are the Prestons and Norbert Dentressangle lorries, which, like the ES vehicles, can also be found on the UK’s various motorways undertaking freight and return loads work.