If you own a car and drive it regularly, you will be used to the way it handles in most driving conditions. You will know how quickly it can accelerate and how long it takes to stop. You will be aware of how it handles on sharp bends and when moving among other traffic. If you move from driving a car to driving a heavy rigid vehicle, then you will find that the driving experience is quite different and more challenging. To drive heavy rigid vehicles, you will need to obtain a heavy rigid vehicle license.

What is a heavy rigid vehicle?

There is a range of vehicles that could fall under the technical description of a heavy rigid vehicle. In simple terms, a heavy rigid vehicle is one that has at least three axles and a gross vehicle mass in excess of 8 tonnes. Typical vehicles in this category would be large delivery trucks, tow trucks and coaches. These vehicles will often be found in the logistics and transport industries.

Manual or automatic?

You will find both manual and automatic rigid vehicles on the road but at least 90% of all new heavy rigid vehicles sales are for automatics. If you need training, it makes sense to look for an auto heavy rigid vehicle course. Large transport companies favour automatic vehicles since automatic trucks generally have a lower repair claim rate than manual trucks and driving an automatic over a crash box does not tire the driver so much and therefore saves lives. In most cases, passing an auto heavy rigid vehicle training course will still give you a condition B on your license so you will be able to drive any automatic or syncromesh manual rigid truck.

What's involved in an auto heavy rigid vehicle course?

Taking an auto heavy rigid vehicle course will provide you with the experience and skills you require to get a heavy rigid license. The course should teach you to effectively control all functions of the vehicle performance and manage properly any hazardous situations you encounter while driving.

Look for an auto heavy rigid vehicle training course that will give you experience in a truck that is similar to one you will be driving during your working life. The more experience you can gain in a truck with the right length and wheelbase, the better equipped you will be when it comes to cornering and manoeuvring a vehicle of that size on the road.