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changeover/driving?

Forum for info, hints and tips about working for us through Royal Mail not Angard.This is an open forum.
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carlosevenos
Posts: 62
Joined: 15 Mar 2019, 23:55
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by carlosevenos »

Hello I just joined recently and I'm set to have a "changeover" driving test/training. I'm unsure what to expect? I know there's a couple of threads on this, but they are years back. So any idea what the format is now as of 2019?
Should I expect 3 hours of driving? Is it like a test format? I'm a little bit worried about driving the royal mail van, and hope I can make a good impression. I've got a driving lesson, but my driving isn't the most experienced. Hope I won't fail it.
thanks

misstmac
Posts: 86
Joined: 10 Jan 2019, 09:40
Gender: Female

changeover/driving?

Post by misstmac »

I did mine last week. You’ll spend an hour in the office (paperwork and a presentation) then 3 hours driving. It’s nothing like a test so don’t stress. You’ll literally just go out with the instructor and drive around for the 3 hours doing some manoeuvres along the way. The instructor will assess you driving along the way and at the end will put you as either low, medium or high risk. They’ll likely give you some advice on driving more economically as well but it’s honestly nothing to stress about. It’s actually the easiest 4 hours you’ll ever be paid for :Very Happy
EddieW1002
Posts: 5
Joined: 11 Jan 2019, 14:04
Gender: Female

changeover/driving?

Post by EddieW1002 »

I did mine about a month ago, and it involved and hour and a half or so going through a presentation (could’ve been a lot quicker but the guy was really slow). And then after that we went to the van and did a couple of manoeuvres in the yard and then about an hour driving on the roads. If you have a nice guy then the experience will be absolutely fine, I however, wasn’t so lucky.
PostmanBitesDog
Posts: 1428
Joined: 17 Feb 2019, 15:46
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by PostmanBitesDog »

Interesting. The presentation I was shown was only a few minutes with the instructor before doing my actual driving assessment on the roads. And no other postie in our office talked about a presentation at all. The driving time for me was only about an hour and forty-five minutes and all went well.
but my driving isn't the most experienced
One thing I would advise, carlosevenos, is to not let the assessor be aware that you've had minimal driving experience. They may use that against you if there are any minor errors in your driving assessment and put you down as a medium risk, which is a fail. They'll then advise your manager to do a follow-up test after you spend time gaining more experience in your own vehicle on your own time. If you have had a lot of driving experience, they may go easy on you depending on how well you do on the day.

I mention this because a couple of new hires went through this experience. One stayed on and did the assessment again and passed. The other decided to quit.
Danyp18
Posts: 2
Joined: 04 Sep 2018, 12:59
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by Danyp18 »

Don't worry about the driving, as long as you are not a "high risk" then it is fine. I had mine about 3 months ago and had not driven a manual car in over a year. I got "medium risk" as i was hesitant overtaking bikes and bin men but am still able to drive the vans. I am guessing that as long as you do not put yourself or others at risk then you won't get "high risk" and even then they will just let you do it again further down the line.

Just stay calm, don't overthink it and drive as you usually would (they will know if you aren't). Remember that it isn't a "test". It is just something they have to get you insured on there vans.
carlosevenos
Posts: 62
Joined: 15 Mar 2019, 23:55
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by carlosevenos »

Passed it succesfully with "low risk", despite feeling my driving wasn't the best.I'm relieved though. Turns out it was only about a hour indoors watching a powerpoint presentation, most of which being common driving knowledge. Then I had only about a hour or maybe slightly over driving around the road. Pretty much standard driving and then a few dual carrageway parts. It was overall really not that bad, even though I was nervous and didn't really need to be.
JPGlover
Posts: 3
Joined: 28 May 2019, 21:56
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by JPGlover »

misstmac wrote:I did mine last week. You’ll spend an hour in the office (paperwork and a presentation) then 3 hours driving. It’s nothing like a test so don’t stress. You’ll literally just go out with the instructor and drive around for the 3 hours doing some manoeuvres along the way. The instructor will assess you driving along the way and at the end will put you as either low, medium or high risk. They’ll likely give you some advice on driving more economically as well but it’s honestly nothing to stress about. It’s actually the easiest 4 hours you’ll ever be paid for :Very Happy
JPGlover
Posts: 3
Joined: 28 May 2019, 21:56
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by JPGlover »

misstmac wrote:I did mine last week. You’ll spend an hour in the office (paperwork and a presentation) then 3 hours driving. It’s nothing like a test so don’t stress. You’ll literally just go out with the instructor and drive around for the 3 hours doing some manoeuvres along the way. The instructor will assess you driving along the way and at the end will put you as either low, medium or high risk. They’ll likely give you some advice on driving more economically as well but it’s honestly nothing to stress about. It’s actually the easiest 4 hours you’ll ever be paid for :Very Happy
What sort or manoeuvres do you have to perform ?
misstmac
Posts: 86
Joined: 10 Jan 2019, 09:40
Gender: Female

changeover/driving?

Post by misstmac »

Parallel parking, reversing, turning in the road etc.
zplayford
Posts: 1
Joined: 17 Sep 2019, 10:39
Gender: Male

changeover/driving?

Post by zplayford »

Is the Drivetech assessment mandatory for each employer, or can we use info from a previous employer?
royalwisd5
Posts: 26
Joined: 01 Jan 2014, 14:59
Gender: Male

Re: changeover/driving?

Post by royalwisd5 »

going from a small combo to a transit do you need a changeover , if you are not happy driving a transit without training can you refuse until you have had some sort of training like familiarization training ?
Grumpyoldmailman
Posts: 810
Joined: 24 Nov 2019, 22:29
Gender: Male

Re: changeover/driving?

Post by Grumpyoldmailman »

royalwisd5 wrote:
29 Nov 2020, 19:05
going from a small combo to a transit do you need a changeover , if you are not happy driving a transit without training can you refuse until you have had some sort of training like familiarization training ?
No. Why would you need training to drive a transit, it’s just another van.
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