Hello, been registered on this forum for a while, I usually just browse topics but thought I’d toss my penny’s worth in...
I’ve been driving LGV’s (Large Goods Vehicles, the current definition of lorries, but HGV;Heavy Goods Vehicle is also valid) for over 20 years, passed my Category C (HGV 2) test first time, but took 4 attempts to pass Category C+E (HGV 1), the 4th attempt falling just after theory tests were introduced. From my point of view, speed awareness and hazard perception are crucial, most Modern vehicles are super-user friendly, gone are the days of using a clutch & splitter gearboxes with range change and no synchromesh, my Scania has a dinky little paddle on the steering column stalk. Choose drive, Rev away! As with any new vocation, it takes some acclimatisation, manoeuvring and reversing come with practice, but even after 20 years, I still stop, get out, have a look around. But by far the biggest hazard driving a vehicle up to 44tonnes is other BLOODY ROAD USERS!! There are so many impatient, selfish, self-centred fools we have to share the roads with who have no grasp that a wagon can’t stop on a sixpence like a car can. Driving during lockdown is heavenly, it’s like a perpetual Sunday morning!
And as for harder to drive than a train? No, not even close. The concentration required to drive a lorry isn’t constant, you can relax on motorways & quieter roads, there is definitely less scrutiny than driving a train (not that I’ve driven a train, but talked to people that have)