New driver

Hi everyone my names barry, just passed my class 2 on friday and got call on the sunday night from agency asking if i fancied two week stint doing multi drops i jumped at chance and said yeah only 2 days after i passed.

So started monday morning, but yesterday i done 14 hr shift doing between 17 drops breaking down pallets and today im out on another 14 hr shift with same amount of drops, is this normal for a brand new driver as im still gaining confidence with driving but now gave all sorts of paper work to fill out and rushing about its hectic,

Basically im looking for bit of advice, would i be better looking about agencys once this 2 weeks job is done, and try find a job that will help me hone and build confidence for my driving side of things or is crazy multi drop where ill need to get my experience ? Any advice would be appreciated thanks

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Stick at it and gain some experience, you will end up in a better job but this is the way to learn


:smiley: :smiley:

As wheelnut says.
What area r u in ?

Thanks for the replies [emoji16] im based in Scotland

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Congrats on the pass br, you’ll be getting the jobs more experienced drivers avoid, because that’s what they did when they first got a start.

Stick with it, it’s experience and a few more days you’ll be getting used to it and finding the shortcuts.

your agency,so go at your own pace and take undelivered drops back as your only there for two weeks because they cant get anyone else to cover the crappy shift.
anythings better than nothing,but no point rushing to keep them happy and then take the side out of something cos your under pressure.
your a bum on a seat and completely unimportant to them and will be forgtton about at the end of your last shift.unless,you wreck something.
plob thrugh the shift and take back what you cant be bothered delivering.

as dieseldog999 says do not fall into the must go faster trap, do each drop on its merits, keep a diary of time at each drop, stop for your breaks, (taking a break whilst unloading is only putting money in someone else’s pocket and you not getting a rest) I know some people say it suits me and so be it, but things like that grow into 15 hour days, one hour more and its a normal working day for two people, I am not saying slow down passed what could normally be expected, just work smarter not harder.

Thanks people for advice really appreciated [emoji1362]

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If you’re going the Agency route then don’t wait until you finish this job to sign up with em. Get signed up with a least 4, more if you can.
Meanwhile, you can still look for permanent jobs at the same time.
But you’ve more chance of actually working, and making money, with Agencies at the start.
Good luck.

Thanks stevie [emoji1360]

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I spent a couple years on multi drop class 2 and class 1 when I first gained my licences look back at it now and think it was bloody manic in comparison to what I do now but definitely worth the experience, you get all the crap that guys with experience don’t want but it soon changes as the experience level goes up.

Stick with it and get what you can from it as something is better then nothing, when the time comes move on! Happy days.

Good luck!

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As a new driver, you shouldn’t be doing 14 hour shifts. You could get tired and have an accident.

When I first started, I insisted that the agency gave me a driver’s mate. I just drove the truck and at every drop my driver’s mate did all the work. I also insisted on no more than 8 hours work.

On the second day, the company that the agency had sent me to tried to pull a fast one by telling me I was going out on my own that day. A quick phone call to the agency to let them know that I wasn’t going to do the rest of the week unless I had a driver’s mate soon put paid to that idea.

Admittedly it did help that the agency were really short of drivers that week as it was the summer holidays, but the moral of the story is that if you let an agency walk all over you they will.

carlston49:
As a new driver, you shouldn’t be doing 14 hour shifts. You could get tired and have an accident.

When I first started, I insisted that the agency gave me a driver’s mate. I just drove the truck and at every drop my driver’s mate did all the work. I also insisted on no more than 8 hours work.

On the second day, the company that the agency had sent me to tried to pull a fast one by telling me I was going out on my own that day. A quick phone call to the agency to let them know that I wasn’t going to do the rest of the week unless I had a driver’s mate soon put paid to that idea.

Admittedly it did help that the agency were really short of drivers that week as it was the summer holidays, but the moral of the story is that if you let an agency walk all over you they will.

The agency have absolutely nothing to do with supplying drivers mates or shift lengths.

I’ve also walked because I wasn’t given a mate. However, that was different. The client told me I’d have one the day before. I didn’t get one so said goodbye. The agency might be able to exert some pressure - but it’s not up to them if a mate is provided.

As for max of 8 hours. That is delusional. If you hit traffic, or have other problems times go to hell. You can’t know or garantee a shift end time - unless you are a grumpy git sat in a tug. It’s just how it is.

If he starts making those sort of demands he will look a fool and have no work. I actually prefer long shifts. I’d rather to 4 15 hours shifts a week than 6 10 hour ones. But that’s just me. As far as all the multidrop goes - as others have said, he is doing it becasue more established blokes say no. It will get better for him - and the learning he will do now on those horrible runs will set him up nicely for a decent career.