HGV Training Doesn’t Prepare Driver for Surprise

If you were to receive your HGV training in Derbyshire, you would learn things like traffic safety, load-balancing, preventing road crashes, and identifying possible hazards. However, nothing could prepare you for what happened to a lorry driver in Derbyshire late last week. That is, unless you are used to illegal immigrants traveling in the back of your vehicle.

The Derby Telegraph reported on May 17 (2013) that a local worker in Derbyshire observed a lorry passing by and heard loud noises coming from the trailer. The man apparently got in his car, followed the lorry, and managed to get the driver to pull over. When the driver opened the trailer, he found six illegal immigrants and subsequently called the police.

According to local police, all of the men are in their 20s and 30s and hail from Syria or Iran. They were immediately turned over to the Immigration Service; no further details regarding identities or what they were doing in the country have been released.

Talk about an exciting day! How’s that for the ever-challenging career of the professional lorry driver?

We are all relieved the incident turned out to be so minor and no one was injured. It could have been worse. An accident could have resulted in serious injuries to the immigrants while weapons and other illegal activity could have presented a danger to the driver and the worker who followed. Fortunately, the event concluded without incident.

We should point out that these types of happenings are unusual for the average lorry driver. That’s why HGV training does not spend a whole lot of time dealing with such circumstances. What training does accomplish is preparing the driver to safely and efficiently operate large vehicles on public roads.

We are not sure if the driver from last week’s incident received his HGV training in Derbyshire or not. Regardless of where he received it however, the process in the UK is always the same. The candidate begins by acquiring the correct paperwork needed for his medical exam and provisional entitlement.

The HGV Training Centre helps its students every step of the way, including acquiring and preparing this paperwork. While the provisional entitlement is being processed, we recommend the student study as much as possible in preparation for the HGV theory test; a 100-question multiple-choice exam divided into general highway safety and hazard prevention sections.

With a passing grade on the theory test, students are eligible to begin their practical skills training. The HGV Training Centre puts students through all the courses necessary to get them ready for the practical skills test. When it’s time to actually take your test, we’ll even send one of our instructors with you.

Although we cannot promise a driver will never find illegal immigrants in the back of a lorry, we can promise you the high-quality training our clients have come to expect over the years. Call us whenever you are ready to begin your career as an HGV driver.