How much driving for Postmen/woman

Rainbowstars · Post by **Rainbowstars** » 03 Feb 2019, 12:58

Hello, I want to apply for the job as a postman but it states you need a full driving licence (I have a clean licence) but I haven't drove a manual in a while (I drive auto lol) so I will need to get a bit of practice but just wanted to know how much driving is actually involved? Do they test your driving on the interview?
Would the van be the small van?

Thanks a lot

itinerant · Post by **itinerant** » 03 Feb 2019, 14:11

Hi, it partly depends on the office. Where I am all but 2 of the duties are driving duties so you are driving a van once you are out on delivery. The duties at my office are all single duties (rural area) so each postie goes out on their own to complete the duty with the van. However many offices have shared duties where 2 of you would be in the van and so you may not have to drive as much.

No driving test at the interview although you would be asked some general questions about van checks to be carried out etc and I was asked to read a number plate from a distance. If you are successful you would go out on a driver training\examination session once you start (fairly straight forward, I had never driven for a living before and it was mainly common sense stuff).

We have mostly smaller vans + a handful of transit size vans where I work and I have driven both.

Hope that helps

Rainbowstars · Post by **Rainbowstars** » 03 Feb 2019, 17:50

Thanks for your reply, it states i would join a colleague in a van so would be shared, I live in London and the mail centre is quite a small one, I usually see them on foot. Is the van auto or manual?
Cheers

Post by **fb1969** » 04 Feb 2019, 07:13

I've never seen an automatic RM van, but they may exist.

The job is advertised as "with driving" as all staff (whose contract states it) can be expected to have to drive. Although the advert may state that you will be with a colleague there is no guarantee that that would always be the case, and no guarantee that the colleague would always be the driver. You wouldn't always be on the same duty, so the need to drive would always be there.