(15 Dec 2018, 10:42 pm)makem1 wrote Sorry you are totally wrong with this statement, first to get behind the wheel of a bus you have to be a qualified driver and as such should be well used to hazards   on the roads, you are being trained to handle a larger vehicle NOT learn to drive. Trainees are taken all over the north east to learn situations such as you describe, they cannot just learn the test routes. When I trained we went over the test routes a few times but usually we just headed where the instructor felt comfortable

Ever driven in the car in a strange city? On roads you're unfamiliar with? Getting in the wrong lane by accident?
You get honked at, get gestured at or in a worst case scenario, metal hits metal. 
Imagine doing that in a vehicle you've not much experience in, several times the size of your car, in test conditions, knowing your future is on the line... 

Nobody has said they have to just learn all of the test routes. It's impossible to teach all of the test routes. Jamie pointed out himself that there are variations and deviations. 

The instructor is coaching someone to pass a test.  His/her job is often based on success rates. Just like a teacher at school. 
If an instructor doesn't tell someone or show someone a stretch of road, that is likely to pop up during the test, then the chances are that a minor fault will happen. At the very least. 

I agree that during the sessions with the instructor, that the trainee is being trained to handle a larger vehicle.
However as you know having apparently passed your test, that while on the test, they're also being tested on road sense and road positioning amongst other things. 
I've known people with a car licence who have been turned away from upgrading their licence due to their inability to not only handle the bigger vehicle, but drive in a safe manner. 

Haddricks Mill causes issues with people in cars, vans, lorries or buses. 
People have failed their test because of a dangerous manoeuvre at that roundabout.
It is just a few miles from the test centre and is (or was) on the test route.