Don't do it, mate. I've had my PSV,(all types of passenger vehicles) since 1978,and my HGV Class 1,(C+E now),since 1985. I started owner driving in 1994 and now have ten trucks on the road doing European as far as Russia,mostly concerts and exhibitions but a bit of UK general haulage,parcels night trunks etc Yes the money's not bad,yes you'll see a different view out of the office window every day,and yes you'll be one of a dwindling number of people willing to do the job.Also you'll be joining an industry that is absolutely vital to the economy and without which,(according to some eminent Oxford professor),there would be food riots in the cities within a fortnight of it stopping. But...do you REALLY want the snide remarks and open hostility from every joe and and their brother? Because they all think they can do it better than you,that their journey is more important than yours,and that they don't have to even bother looking out for you because,(although you are an uneducated bully boy with no skill whatsoever and your very existence is an irritation to them),you will magically have acquired all round X-ray vision/the reflexes of a panther so YOU avoid the consequences of THEIR idiotic behaviour. Additionally this country has no respect and very few decent facilities for truck drivers,(unlike throughout Europe),meaning you'll be "sleeping" in a crappy lay by on the A1 inches from passing traffic. Apart from having to get up in the night to piss against your front wheel because there are no toilets,you'll invariably tread in a shitty nappy dumped by some civilised car driver who couldn't be arsed to put it in the bin. However if you really are determined,first you'll need a medical,(don't use your GP he'll rinse you dry for it),and then you have to do 35 hours EU inspired meaningless classroom CPC training before you can apply for your digital tachograph card. It's all bollocks mate,road haulage and drivers have as many regulations as the aviation industry,you really don't want to get involved. Let the East Europeans do it,they pay fuck all for their training and they get exactly what they pay for,so let them take the blame and the bullshit...find yourself a proper job in a nice warm office,eh?
I almost came of my bike last year whilst avoiding a speed ramp sized turd left in a local truckers stop over.
Apart from the bit about wanting to work outdoors, or on the road, I'd have thought you could look for jobs involving writing - perhaps a political columnist? I know it can be hand-to-mouth, but look where it has taken Boris!
I appreciate your vote of confidence Recidivist but I'm not sure I have the skills to write for a living though its an attractive idea for the longer term, particularly as you can do it from anywhere in the world. Its not a job that ties you down to a particular place and that appeal enormously, even if I am rubbish with computers. Something to be pursued on the side perhaps but the pressing need right now is reliable income. I get what Lightening is saying but he has the benefit (or possibly disadvantage) of long experience in the haulage industry and has seen how things have changed. I'm coming in fresh and have nothing to compare the current conditions to. I will have to talk to more drivers.
Don't get me wrong,Gimlet,just because I say don't do it doesn't mean I wouldn't do it all again,given the chance. And on the rare occasion I get behind the wheel for a reasonable length of time,I still love it. But,(and this ties in loads of other threads on here,(Brexit/Trump/etc,etc),what I no longer care for is the attitude of the majority of UK road users,probably the population actually. Read some of the comments on here for example.The vast majority of Ducatis ,(as does everything else that you eat/sit on/wear/burn...almost EVERYTHING apart from the air you breathe),come up here by truck,either for the whole distance or by sea container,(factory-port/port dealer or factory-railhead etc).As do the spares/parts whatever. And yet the poor buggers that bring what we all want to where we live are a target for all the venom and abuse some people can muster.You don't get it in Europe,so why here? Is it because truck driving is predominantly a working class occupation,i.e invisible to the media and not a career desired by those with education,therefore not worthy of mention unless when apportioning accident blame,looking for a global warming scapegoat,or slowing the journey to Box Hill by a few seconds? . But...and it's a big but...I still love it. I don't know where you live man,but you are welcome to drop by my yard,(near Biggleswade),during the week and you can have a little bash at driving round the yard if you've not had a go in one already.Just tell me when you are coming and as long as I'm about we'll see how you get on. If you do go for the licence,there'll be a day when you can slide a trailer backwards into a narrow gap in one go,(with no shunting),in front of an audience of waiting motorists,and you'll get the best feeling in the world .
I used to drive hgv's for a living and finished up running three vehicles of my own, three was a bad number as there wasn't enough money in it for me to find work for three driver so I had to drive one and maintain all three after I had finished my shift, I had no time for myself outside of work so I cut back to one for myself to drive, most of my work was continental and a couple of years traveling to the Middle East, again no family life at all so I got a tipper trailer and worked out of the local quarries but that bored me senseless, three of for loads a day to a concrete or tarmac plant, but I was home every night, I got so bored with it that if I went anywhere near an airport i would say sod it i'll do this load and watch the planes for the rest of the day, eventually the short journeys drove me mad and as I was lucky enough to have a trade I went back to joinery and have never looked back, lorry driving isn't for everybody and I would still like to get behind the wheel again but wouldn't do it for a living. Steve
I don't do it for a living but I have a class 1 licence from a free course given to me in a previous life. Having done a few jobs for agencies, I did enjoy it but found that folk took the piss and asked more and more of drivers each time I did it. The maximum hours count for nothing if you spend 6 hours waiting to be loaded, meaning you can put in massively long days when added to your "driving hours". I also personally think that the ADR licence may be worth it as the rates of pay are better, but it's still not great money considering the hours. Suffice to say, I have had the licence near 10 years, and only keep my licence current with 5 yearly medicals, as a retirement job, a couple a days a week to give a reason to get out of bed, but not sure I'd fancy it as a full time job ??
Just let a customer down as 1 0f our drivers got arrested at the port for having illegal immigrants on board!
I expect not, he was bringing sheet material in from France, apparently there was a few of em, it would have been a 40ft curtain sider. Excuse my ignorance, I only sell the stuff!!
Nige, I'm feeling a bit short changed right now, don't you have a video to capture the mood of this moment? :Wideyed:
If he's done his checks/followed the Home Office nonsensical procedure* he should be ok. Otherwise it's a 2 grand fine for each stowaway for the driver,and the same again for the operator of the truck. *Health & Safety rules say a driver shouldn't get on to a trailer without a fall arrest system,(height from floor about 3 feet). The Home Office say the driver should climb up on the trailer roof to check they haven't got in that way-(height about 13 feet).
Same round these parts, if they actually turn up, you get bid in the bollox! 'Don't need the work mate'. Then if you're lucky enough for one of them to actually start a job, it's then any poxy little excuse to get more money!
Come up north , most of us are honest and do what we say we will, and turn up. I emphasise most of us!! Steve
