Do you need to find an HR driving course?

If you want to embrace a career as a truck driver, then obtaining your Heavy Rigid vehicle (HR) licence is an essential first step. Earning your HR licence will allow you to look for work in truck logistics, mining, construction or driving dump trucks, among other things.

What can you do with an HR licence?

An HR licence will permit you to drive heavy vehicles with a mass in excess of 8000kg and which possess three or more axles. The licence will also allow you to tow trailers that have a GVM of 9000kg or less. The exact nature of the driving you can undertake will depend on the type of HR licence you obtain. Ideally, you should study advertisements for the type of roles you are seeking to fill and determine what type of HR is requested before you start looking for HR driving courses. In many cases, an unconditional HR licence is needed, but at other times, you may be able to find the role you need with either a 'Condition A' or 'Condition B' licence. In general, if the role you want involves driving vehicles with automatic gearboxes, in either the road haulage industry or as a coach or bus driver, then a Condition B licence should be fine. If you want to drive vehicles with crash gearboxes, then you should seek an unconditional licence.

Finding the right HR driving courses for you

Any HR driving courses you are considering should be offered by a recognised training organisation, but there is no standard format that those lessons must take. You should seek a training course that works for you. You might prefer to take training as part of a group of learners, or you could benefit from the extra attention of one-to-one tuition. If you need to gain your licence quickly, then look for HR driving courses that provide the opportunity to complete all the needed training in a single day.

What is covered in HR driving courses?

A good training program should cover all aspects of HR driving. HR driving courses will have to cover the operation of the gearbox, but you should ensure that this isn't the only thing they will cover. They should be an opportunity for practical testing on a range of heavy vehicles so that students can gain practical experience in a variety of vehicle types and using synchromesh, roadranger and automatic gearboxes.