08/05/2026
Every pass is satisfying, and I enjoy sharing the joy of passing with all my students. This one was a bit more satisfying than others. If you want to know more about Joel's journey, please read on.
Firstly, a massive well done to Joel on passing his Cat C test at the first attempt. Well deserved after the week we have just had.
We started Monday, the goal to begin with was a C+E novice course. Day 1 and 2 went well, we boxed off the reverse manouvre, the uncouple/recouple and we got a good few hours of driving done. Once we started to cover more difficult routes, Joel started to struggle with positioning the trailer and found himself concentrating that hard on positioning, he was frequently not focusing on other vital parts of driving. We persevered until Thursday morning, and after discussing options, we decided it would be in Joel's best interest to switch to Cat C. Immediately Joel felt more relaxed in the C and was driving at a much better standard. This decision wasn't taken lightly and I left this as late as possible in case it all started clicking in the C+E. It was the right decision as Joel has come away from his week with me with a Cat C licence, it could've quite easily been nothing at all. Joel can now go and get some Cat C driving experience and revisit gaining his C+E licence at a later date.
Car to artic is a massive undertaking, and on rare occasions we have to take steps to ensure the student is ready for the test by adding more hours, or rescheduling the test. In Joel's case, he works away a lot, so more hours/rescheduling wasn't a viable option. So, I'm very happy with how Joel's journey ended.
If you want to come on a journey with me, get in touch.