What is an HC Truck License?
An HC truck license is one that is used by a heavy combination driver. A heavy combination driver is one who drives trucks that are attached to a single semi-trailer, a trailer with three or more axels, any towed vehicles with a weight of more than 9 tonnes, or a truck that is an articulated vehicle that has a pivot point that sits behind the prime mover. You need a special license to drive trucks such as these mentioned.
These trucks are used by a variety of professionals including agriculture, construction, and warehouse transportation. They all need to have a HC Truck Licence to drive these trucks for their jobs. These licenses ensure that drivers have the experience and knowledge that they need to drive one of these trucks.
This article will give you some information about an HC truck license. It will help you to learn more about the license and what you need to do to get one. You can also do more research to get the information that you are seeking.
Getting an HC Truck License
An HC license is one that is needed when you drive a heavy combination vehicle. It also fits in with the bigger group of heavy-duty truck licenses such as the LR, MR, HR, and MC. These are all for larger trucks and vehicles that you need a special license for.
An HC license is recognized throughout the country, but every state has different regulatory bodies. There are different things that you need to know in each state and each state has there own testing. There is also nationally accepted training in some states.
You can get unrestricted where you can drive a truck with a road ranger gearbox, or automatic license training where you can drive an automatic. A road ranger gearbox truck is difficult to learn and will take you longer to get the license. Learn more about road ranger gearboxes here. It’s different than learning to drive a car with a manual transmission and more difficult – you will lose the ability to drive one with a gearbox if you don’t use it often.
Most jobs will only require you to have an automatic license because that is the kind of trucks they have. You should only get an unrestricted one if you have a job lined up that requires one. You will need to put in a lot of time and energy if you want one that is unrestricted.
If you want to upgrade to a class HC one, you must first have an MR or HR one for at least the previous twelve months. Any time that you have spent on an HR or MR one counts towards the HC one. You may not practice driving an HC truck before you have the twelve months for the other licenses. You will need at least one year with a class C before upgrading.
Once you have the experience necessary to upgrade, you will then need to take a combination test that includes knowledge and eyesight. There are materials that you can get that will help you to study for the knowledge portion of the test. You can get these materials at your state department or from a school that trains you for this.
You also need to be proclaimed medically fit by your doctor before you can do this. If you have any medical issues such diabetes, epilepsy, or an eyesight disorder, your doctor must give you a medical certificate saying that it is okay for you to drive these types of vehicles. Without one, you will not be able to drive and get this license.
Once you have done these two steps, you will need to apply for the Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment, or HVCBA, Learners Logbook: https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driver-and-rider-licences/heavy-vehicle-licences/tests-for-heavy-vehicle-licences/heavy-vehicle-competency-based-assessment. You will then need to book a practical driving course and a competency assessment with an authorized heavy vehicle driving tester. When you are successful with these, you can then upgrade your HR or MR to an HC. With an HC, you can drive any lessor class of vehicles.
There are HC driving courses that last up to two days depending on what license you are getting. Both courses are conducted at the school that you are choosing to take your training for you. These schools usually have other locations that might be closer to where you live or work.
The cost of getting one of these varies depending on whether you want an automatic one or unrestricted one. If you want an automatic one, it will cost around eighteen hundred dollars. If you want the unrestricted one, it will cost you about twenty-six hundred dollars because of the two-day course.
Conclusion
If you need to get an HC license, there are steps that you must take to get one. There is testing that you must do that includes medical testing. It is necessary for you to do these tests so that you are safe and so are those that are around you as you drive.
