Assessments & Medicals discussion

[Myth_77]

Hi All, Wondering if anyone know if TOC will allow for a trainee driver to use hearing to reach the minimum hearing required in the medical?

 

[Gman1974]

If you have a look on the OPC website there are example tests. But normally they send you through some examples too before you do

I've got my stage 2 assessments coming up soon, and I've been practicing the dual hand coordination test, on some of the practice stuff the track disappears does this happen on the real thing too?

Where did you practise the 2 handed co ordination test about mate?

 

[lmw3003]

Hi,
Have completed a VSE test today. I was wondering if anyone knew the pass mark for it? Like do they allow for errors, if so how many? Just wondering what the pass mark is?

 

[JWS]

I believe it’s to do with following their instruction very closely.
To prioritise the task at hand etc i.e the track lights around the circuit ahead of the symbols.
Sometimes it is impossible to do both!

I still imagine you wouldn’t be allowed many misses on the circuit.

 

[Spincity]

Even if you knew the pass mark, you won’t find that info out, do you know how many mistakes you made. Just follow the instructions and do you best. You either pass or fail, I see no point asking about the pass mark, that’s not going to help.

 

[lmw3003]

Even if you knew the pass mark, you won’t find that info out, do you know how many mistakes you made. Just follow the instructions and do you best. You either pass or fail, I see no point asking about the pass mark, that’s not going to help.

Alright mate! Jesus!

 

[DontPlayBoxing]

Alright mate! Jesus!

Worded poorly, but they do have a point.

I've been there, I know how you feel, you're questioning if you've done enough, how many mistakes you made etc, but at this point what can you even do?

You can't retake it, whats done is done, it really isnt worth overthinking it once you're done with it, you just end up focusing on the mistakes and not how many you got right.

You have to accept you done your best and to just wait for the results.

 

[Spincity]

Alright mate! Jesus!

Sorry. Not having a dig. Trying to point out that even if you knew the pass mark, that’s not going to help. Do your best, no-one is going to make mistakes deliberately, you may not know you’ve made a mistake or may think you’ve made a mistake when you didn’t, knowing these marks is not going to make any difference, you can only do your best, and that’s all you can do.

 

[General1]

Hi all,

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well.

I am a new member and do apologise in advance if this question has been answered before.

I have a medical coming up to start as a trainee train driver with LNER.

Has anyone recently had a medical with them?

I have read that they test for diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 2 however have been under control with normal blood sugar levels. Is this likely to affect the medical outcome?

Also is controlled colitis an issue?

Many thanks in advance

G

 

[Ladder23]

I failed on this early this year, however I’m soon to do my retry.

Initially I had not been aware that time was a factor on this test, and between each test (10 total)? I sat, I had a breather, reset myself and took a good minute before doing the next..When I had finished I was way behind everyone else, maybe a good 5 minutes and I was called aside and told I had failed, I was then told after that maybe if I was quicker I would of been ok, my experience however was awful. I called the assessor twice in the exam and complained about my controls not moving even with significant effort, then all of a sudden the dot would jump and be way out of the shape, it would go from super sensitive to, nothing, like it was glitching. All I was told was they cannot do anything about it and to carry on, I spoke to two others that day one who had the same experience and someone else said there’s was fine, so I’m going into this again a little unsure on what to expect with the sensitive, and I never did find out if mine was faulty or normal. All I do know is to be quicker and not to worry to much if the dot strays outside the shapes, but to re yourself quickly.


can anyone give me some advices or words from there experiences with this test?

cheers

 

[TacoTraveller]

I failed on this early this year, however I’m soon to do my retry.

Initially I had not been aware that time was a factor on this test, and between each test (10 total)? I sat, I had a breather, reset myself and took a good minute before doing the next..When I had finished I was way behind everyone else, maybe a good 5 minutes and I was called aside and told I had failed, I was then told after that maybe if I was quicker I would of been ok, my experience however was awful. I called the assessor twice in the exam and complained about my controls not moving even with significant effort, then all of a sudden the dot would jump and be way out of the shape, it would go from super sensitive to, nothing, like it was glitching. All I was told was they cannot do anything about it and to carry on, I spoke to two others that day one who had the same experience and someone else said there’s was fine, so I’m going into this again a little unsure on what to expect with the sensitive, and I never did find out if mine was faulty or normal. All I do know is to be quicker and not to worry to much if the dot strays outside the shapes, but to re yourself quickly.


can anyone give me some advices or words from there experiences with this test?

cheers

It's hard to explain as when I sat mine I did it differently than everyone else.

But as far as the controls there is a deadspot to begin with then they become super sensitive so "significant effort" would make the dot fly off the shape as you mentioned.

For me, I did the shapes very quickly but every time it went out of the shape maybe 6-8 times per shape I immediately pulled it back inside and continued the shape.

Others did it slowly but with consistent pace to avoid going out the shape but to complete it within a minute or so.

So there are clearly two ways to tackle it. My best advice is that you don't need to take a breather or a rest for the computer tests they're really not that difficult and the joystick test is evaluating your speed, accuracy and reactions so if everyone's started the test and you're 5 minutes behind then you've instantly failed tbh.

Best advice: do them fast and reactive or slower and consistent but try and complete the shape within at least a minute per shape.

 

[Stigy]

Hi all,

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well.

I am a new member and do apologise in advance if this question has been answered before.

I have a medical coming up to start as a trainee train driver with LNER.

Has anyone recently had a medical with them?

I have read that they test for diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 2 however have been under control with normal blood sugar levels. Is this likely to affect the medical outcome?

Also is controlled colitis an issue?

Many thanks in advance

G

They’ll do a urine “dip test” which I believe is for diabetes. It’s neither here nor there for you really though, as you’ll presumably just be declaring it to them?

If you’re not insulin dependent, then I think you’ll be okay. Obviously every case is dealt with on its individual merits though. Good luck!

 

[Brum_AVFC]

I failed on this early this year, however I’m soon to do my retry.

Initially I had not been aware that time was a factor on this test, and between each test (10 total)? I sat, I had a breather, reset myself and took a good minute before doing the next..When I had finished I was way behind everyone else, maybe a good 5 minutes and I was called aside and told I had failed, I was then told after that maybe if I was quicker I would of been ok, my experience however was awful. I called the assessor twice in the exam and complained about my controls not moving even with significant effort, then all of a sudden the dot would jump and be way out of the shape, it would go from super sensitive to, nothing, like it was glitching. All I was told was they cannot do anything about it and to carry on, I spoke to two others that day one who had the same experience and someone else said there’s was fine, so I’m going into this again a little unsure on what to expect with the sensitive, and I never did find out if mine was faulty or normal. All I do know is to be quicker and not to worry to much if the dot strays outside the shapes, but to re yourself quickly.


can anyone give me some advices or words from there experiences with this test?

cheers

 

[General1]

They’ll do a urine “dip test” which I believe is for diabetes. It’s neither here nor there for you really though, as you’ll presumably just be declaring it to them?

If you’re not insulin dependent, then I think you’ll be okay. Obviously every case is dealt with on its individual merits though. Good luck!

Hi Stigy,

Thanks for your reply.

Of course it would be declared - thanks for your insight.

Best wishes,

G

 

[Peelay]

Maybe it's set up like that to see how well you react.

 

[TacoTraveller]

Exactly this!! Failed mine too with exactly the same thoughts, I know OPC are a professional outfit but the equipment is so old it must be possible that this happens?

It's set up with a deadspot and after the deadspot it's REALLY sensitive, it's testing your accuracy and reactions, which is probably the best way to test those skills which can be hard if you're not expecting a deadspot and oversensitivity.

 

[Ladder23]

Appreciate all the responses, I will aim to finish within a minute, which I know is very possible, I just purposely went so slow which is my own fault.. I'm glad to know others had a similar experience, for those who have sent PM's I will respond asap

 

[Midlands5678]

The controls are calibrated to make it difficult for you, stay calm, get it back on track. Speed AND accuracy.

 

[MiNi]

Hi all ,it's been over 4 years since my last assessment day for guard for swr. Does anybody know if The day still runs the same. Eyesight,maths,customer service scenario,scaatt,raatt,rvce & Tcst. Thanks

 

[Andrew Potts]

How many lines should I be able o complete for the bourdon test? Also does anybody have any practice materials that work on MacBooks ?

 

[Ladder23]

The controls are calibrated to make it difficult for you, stay calm, get it back on track. Speed AND accuracy.

Though I don't doubt that at all, the glitch type movement is what bothered me because when I asked some others if there experience was the same and some didn't have this, hence why I asked the assessor if it was faulty, the response didn't feel me with much confidence, but.. "you'll just have to get on with it"

 

[TacoTraveller]

Though I don't doubt that at all, the glitch type movement is what bothered me because when I asked some others if there experience was the same and some didn't have this, hence why I asked the assessor if it was faulty, the response didn't feel me with much confidence, but.. "you'll just have to get on with it"

Glitchy type movement can be interpreted differently.

Would I call it glitchy, not really I'd of said it mimicks more like lag in a computer game, you input get nothing then suddenly get it all.

You know what's coming, take your time and do it however you feel comfortable doing it, the pattern repeats so once you've done it the first couple of times it's easier to get into a rhythm until the end.

 

[Ladder23]

Glitchy type movement can be interpreted differently.

Would I call it glitchy, not really I'd of said it mimicks more like lag in a computer game, you input get nothing then suddenly get it all.

You know what's coming, take your time and do it however you feel comfortable doing it, the pattern repeats so once you've done it the first couple of times it's easier to get into a rhythm until the end.

Aye your right, I would agree with that,

Reality is there is no prep but I now know what to expect, and going in now knowing time is important I defiantly won't be sitting back taking all the time in the world like I did before!

 

[mike79yorks]

Is there any (ideally free) online simulator available to replicate this test?

 

[RyanC87]

How many lines should I be able o complete for the bourdon test? Also does anybody have any practice materials that work on MacBooks ?

There's no set number known. most say between 8 and 10 with very minimal mistakes.

Best advice is do it a few times a night. Not for huge amounts of time but over and over. You start to notice the 4dot sequence.

There is practice material on here, not sure if it works on mac

I practiced online personally. And as much as you do it on paper for real I found if helped me get in the swing of seeing the patterns quickly.

 

[Ladder23]

Is there any (ideally free) online simulator available to replicate this test?

I don't believe so

 

[feaky4]

How many lines should I be able o complete for the bourdon test? Also does anybody have any practice materials that work on MacBooks ?

See if the tool on here works on Mac and just use that, I ended up getting 14 lines each time with no errors and between 0-1 omission overall. I found the real test way easier as well

 

[JWS]

I play a lot of computer games and I think this helped me pass as I’m always using my fingers and thumbs on the controller joystick.

 

[Lanypauk]

Hello,

I have my computerised tests for trainee train driver coming up.

I have tests to practice on my computer from HowToBe.

I know these tests may not be identical but was looking for advice in relation to the WAVF test.

When I’ve been doing the practice tests it does not look like the square gradually gets darker and that it just automatically goes to black. I’ve been pressing the green button quickly but sometimes it’s saying right away that I’ve missed it.

I was wondering if on the actual test I’ll be sitting if the square does gradually get darker or if it just instantly turns black?

Thank you

 

[LoogaBarooga]

Aye it just flashes black so it's a test of concentration and reaction. The actual test lasts for half an hour.