HGV and Bus Driving Experience Days in Kent

You can drive a full-size lorry or coach on a private manoeuvring area with nothing more than your car licence. No provisional HGV entitlement, no medical, no theory test.

People book these for two completely different reasons, and both are good ones.

Reason one: you have always wanted to

Some people have wanted to drive a truck since they were eight years old and never had a reason to. A driving experience is that reason.

These make unusually good gifts — birthdays, retirements, milestone presents — because they are memorable in a way that another voucher is not. We can hold a date without the recipient knowing.

Reason two: you are thinking about the licence

This is the underrated one. An HGV course is a real amount of money, and a small number of people discover, once they are actually in the seat, that the size of the vehicle bothers them more than they expected.

Far better to find that out in an afternoon than three days into a course. Most people have the opposite reaction — the nerves go within about twenty minutes and they book the licence on the way home. Either way you have your answer.

What happens on the day

You start with a walkaround so you understand what you are looking at — the size, the mirrors, the blind spots, the air brakes. Then you get in.

The driving is done on a private manoeuvring area with an instructor beside you, which is what makes it possible without vocational entitlement. You will get a feel for the clutch and the air brakes, the turning circle, and the strange business of steering something where the back end goes somewhere quite different from the front.

The vehicles are the same ones we teach on: modern full-size DAF and Scania trucks, and full-size coaches and minibuses for bus sessions. No simulators and no cut-down trainers.

What you need to bring

A full car licence and photo ID. Sensible footwear. Glasses if you wear them for driving.

That is genuinely all. You do not need a D4 medical, a provisional lorry entitlement or any prior experience.

Lorry or bus?

Both are available. Lorry sessions run on rigid or articulated vehicles depending on what you want to try — the artic is the one people find hardest and enjoy most.

Bus and coach sessions run on full-size vehicles and tend to attract a different and, in our experience, even more devoted crowd.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an HGV licence for a driving experience?

No. A full car licence and photo ID is all that is required, because the driving takes place on a private manoeuvring area rather than the public road.

Is it a real lorry or a simulator?

A real, full-size vehicle — the same modern DAF and Scania trucks we use for licence training.

Can I buy one as a gift?

Yes. Call us and we will arrange it, including holding a date without the recipient knowing.

Does it count towards my HGV licence?

It is not formal training towards a test, but it is genuinely useful preparation, and a lot of people book their Class 2 or Class 1 course straight afterwards.

Can I drive a bus or coach instead?

Yes, on the same basis and with full-size vehicles.

Where do the sessions run?

At our Kent training centre in Sittingbourne, with the same DVSA-approved instructors who teach our licence courses.

Booking one

Availability moves around because the same vehicles and instructors run our licence courses, so sessions are arranged rather than booked from a calendar.

Call 01795 667 008 for current availability and pricing, or to arrange one as a gift. If you are weighing up the licence itself, ask when you call — we will tell you honestly whether an experience session or a straight course booking makes more sense for you.