Introduction
My journey into becoming a HGV driver started after I was made redundant from Eastern Airways UK where I was working as a Cabin Crew member. After the airline collapsed, I started franticly apply to any airline that was accepting Cabin Crew applications as I wanted to stay in the industry.
With no job nor income, I quickly had to get another job to keep on paying the bills. This job turned out to be working for Amazon as a delivery driver through one of their partner companies. I hoped that working for Amazon would give me the time that I needed to figure out what to do next. It certainly did! Delivery parcels and spending my whole day on the road made me think about a career on the road, and after one lengthy route that took me down the motorway, the though of driving a HGV appeared.
It was at that point that I loosely began to look into the process of becoming a HGV driver!
The aim of this article is to hopefully help you see the entire process from start to finish with date stamps. No BS just what I experienced!
Overview
timeline TD title C+E LGV Driver Training section January 2026 Week 0 | Tuesday 13th: Looking for Quotes Week 0 | Monday 19th : Booking Course section Medical & Theory Tests | Febuary 2026 Week 1 | Sunday 1st : Medical Test Week 4 | Thursday 12th : Theory Tests : Multiple Choice : Hazard Perception : Case Studies section Intensive Training Begins April 2026 Week 14 Tuesday 21st : Module 4 Training : Module 4 Exam Week 15 | Monday 27th : First Day of Training : Driving Practice : Mod 3A Training Week 15 | Tuesday 28th : Module 3A Exam : Driving Practice Week 15 | Wednsday 29th : Driving Practice Week 15 | Thursday 30th : Driving Practice section May 2026 Week 15 | Friday 1st : Practical Drivng Exam : Module 3B Exam | First Attempt | Unsuccessful
13/01/2026 Initial quotes & Bootcamp
The first step that I took in the process was to call as many schools and providers in my area and ask for as many quotes and questions about the courses that I could. After each call I made, I took notes and moved onto the next provider.
I also looked into the HGV bootcamp that is offered by the UK government. If you don’t know, the government fund 100% of the training as long as you qualify for their very lenient requirement. This of course was very attractive to me as I would not have to invest any of my own money into my license. After calling provider after provider, I kept hearing the same thing: there are no more spots free and we don’t know when we will be doing another course. I later found out that this was due to them running out of funding in that tax year and they were most likely waiting to receive more funds.
My advice is to call HGV driving schools directly and not to go with a broker!! Brokers kept nagging me about booking with them and they have some ridiculous fees involved in working with them!
19/01/2026 Booking the course
With the bootcamp not being an option, I had to make the decision to invest my own money into this license!
After some more phone calls to schools, I decided to book with Boston LGV located in Boston, Lincolnshire.
I chose this school as it was one of the cheaper options and my local knowledge of Boston and the surrounding area meant that I didn’t need to learn a whole new city and road layout while learning to drive a HGV!
At the time of purchase, there was a sale on for the Essential Package which included the whole corse from B to C+E. The package was originally priced at £3,175 but was discounted to £2,795. To lock in the deal, I contacted Boston LGV directly and arranged to pay £1,000 upfront as a deposit and the rest 14 days before the start of my course.
As soon as the payment went through, I got an email with the details to my account so that I could begin studying for my theory test which was through Driving Theory 4 All. I also got in contact with the schools medical examiner to arrange my medical test.
01/02/2026 Medical Exam
My medical was very uneventful!
The doctor did some standard tests including: an eyesight test, blood pressure, diabetes; heart conditions; review of my medical history; mental health.
After some more questions about my health the doctor filled out the D4 form and I was declared fit to drive a HGV!
Immediately after the medical, I header to a local post office and filled out the D2 form which is the form to apply for a provisional HGV license.
I then sent off an email to the training provider to inform that I passed the medical test. After a quick exchange I was able to book in for my Theory Exams!
12/03/2026 Theory test
I took all three theory tests at once which included the multiple choice questions, hazard perception videos and CPC case study tests. Leading up to the tests I used the software that I was provided with and it worked perfectly covering all topics that I encountered.
I was quite nervous about the tests going in but when I settled into the the 100 multiple choice questions, I was able to calm my nerves and work through the questions stress free. After the multiple choice, I was faced with the hazard perception videos which went well but on one of the videos, I used the double click method which I used for the whole test but was given 0 points as I “clicked too fast or in a pattern” so be careful on them videos! After the videos, I took a quick break, had a sip of water and went straight into the CPC case study questions. These went without a hitch and the training material prepared me very well for it!
If your interested I scored:
| Theory Test | Score | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Choice | 95/100 | 95% |
| Hazard Perception | 87/100 | 87% |
| CPC Case Study | 47/50 | 94% |
21/04/2026 Module 4 Training + Exam
The first day of practical training and exam at once!
Prior to the course starting, I was sent the mod 4 questions and answers to revise from. On the day, the instructor explained everything thoroughly and made sure I understood the material and remembered what points to cover.
The exam is relatively easy as long as you practice the questions and answers as they are the exact same as the actual exam. After around 2 hours of training, I took the exam and scored:
| Test | Score | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| CPC Mod 4 | 100/100 | 100% |
27/04/2026 First day of training
I was quite nervous for my first day of training!
When I arrived, I met the instructors who gave me an overview of how the day and the whole week would be structured. The instructor then gave me a demo drive of 20 minutes, pulled over and then it was my turn to have a go!
After an hour of driving, we went back to the yard, had a quick break and then started on some 3A Practice. The Mod 3A test includes an S shaped revers into a bay followed by a safe uncoupling then coupling of the trailer. At first, I found this quite difficult but after getting my reference points narrowed down I was able to consistently pass!
28/04/2026 Module 3A Reverse Exam
On the second day, the main focus was to nail down the Mod 3A and get it passed and out the way. The morning consisted of more practice manoeuvres before the exam just before lunch time. I was successful on my first attempt! The focus then turned back to the 3B test which is the on road practical driving exam.
We spend the afternoon with the instructor taking me though some test routes and first talking me though a junctions / corner then coming though later and allowing me to attempt it: stepping in where needed. We also cover a the weight restrictions that I may encounter on the exam.
29/04/2026 & 30/04/2026 Driving Practice
Day 3 and 4 were very similar to each other, the days consisted of more driving around the town in which I will be having me exam in, practicing turning and memorising the test routes. By the 4th day I was driving and making all the decisions for myself which relieved some of my worries about the exam the following day.
01/05/2026 Module 3B Practical Exam
The day of the exam!
Before my exam I had a final hour of driving then half an hour to go over all the show me tell me questions. The hour of driving was very good but nerve racking, the instructor just sat back and allowed me to drive, giving me some final pointers on areas that I missed.
After some practicing the show me tell me questions, I was ready! I met the examiner who introduced himself and how the exam will take place. He checked my driving license and Mod 3A certificate and then we went out to the vehicle. I was then asked the show me tell me questions which I answered correctly and we moved onto the exam. The majority of the exam went quite smoothly, up until the last 20 minutes of driving… This is where I got my 2 Serious Faults.
Undue Hesitation - I was on a main road turning into a side road, on approach I saw a car coming who was slowing for the junction. As i got nearer, the car slowed to a crawl and kept moving towards the junction. At this point I still had enough room to make the turn, but with them still crawling, I hesitated and by the time I committed it was too late and I had to stop on the main road and let the car though causing a dangerous situation for others.
Awareness / Planning - Further down the same side road I encountered another HGV coming the opposite way. The timing was such that we were both equidistant from the corner that we were approaching. There was not enough room for two HGV side by side so I held before the corner to allow the HGV to pass. Normally this would be the sensible option but due to a row of bushes next to me I was not able to move over far enough. The other HGV stoped in the middle of the corner as far over as they were able and I didn’t recognise that there was enough room around the corner for me to safely pass. The examiner stepped in and advised me to continue around and that there was enough room.
Unfortunately, due to these faults my exam was unsuccessful and will have to reattempt the exam.
| Practical Test | Amount | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Dangerous Faults | 0 | None |
| Serious Faults | 2 | Undue Hesitation, Awareness / Planning |
| Driver Faults | 4 | Observations, Turning Left, Undue Hesitation, Appropriate Speed |
14/05/2026 Driving Practice
Scheduled
15/05/2026 Module 3B Second Attempt
Scheduled
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