Hello all, thanks for the add - interested to see I’m not the only one looking to jump ship - I’ve been in the police for 15 years and have pretty much had enough of listening to people moaning about Facebook to me for 10 hours a day…
No urgent rush so looking to do my CPC training, do a bit of 7.5t agency work on my days off and then take the plunge and get qualified.
Great to see many of the questions I had, being answered elsewhere so looking forwards to getting stuck in.
yeah looks like driving is becoming the last refuge of those disillusioned with dealing with the terminally thick members of todays public , 30 years in retail for me has made me decide to get a job where I don’t have to listen to the endless amount of people all claiming that whatever has gone wrong in their life is down to the last item I sold them not their lack of common sense or ability to read instructions or buy something that actually is designed to do what they need !
How do swindonshot
Just retired from the police after 30 years thankfully got the old pension.and now do a few days a month driving a tipper
I’m sure youve thought this through but wagon driving is not the best paid job especially in comparison to a cop with 15 yrs under his /her belt
Worth considering before you make the leap but suppose it all depends on your personal circumstances
Anyway whatever you decide good luck
Go for it, get your medical done and get the theory + hazard perception app for your phone(£6) and start learning the questions. Then apply for your cat C provisional.
If you don’t like listening to people moan, driving perhaps isn’t the best choice.
Yes, you’re on your own for much of the time, but when you’re delivering or collecting, you’ll still be hearing the whingers whinge.
bamberg:
yeah looks like driving is becoming the last refuge of those disillusioned with dealing with the terminally thick members of todays public , 30 years in retail for me has made me decide to get a job where I don’t have to listen to the endless amount of people all claiming that whatever has gone wrong in their life is down to the last item I sold them not their lack of common sense or ability to read instructions or buy something that actually is designed to do what they need !
I did 20 years in retail.
There’s not many things you can do these days that will earn 30k a year. Even less that you can train in 2 weeks and start earning straight away.
Driving about 18 months ago and wish I did it years ago
I’m sure you guys looking to move after many years of other jobs are pretty World wise and have done your research of the issues and problems in the haulage industry.
If you’ve had a bit of control and decision making in your job or management experience, you might find being spoon fed by some large logistics company a bit of a culture shock, especially being dealt with by some inept traffic planner.
Then you have the rest of the population, which mostly looks at trucks drivers as somebody not worth their time and trucks as a necessary inconvenience at best and probably a total menace that should be banned from the road and any layby, pot holed bit of tarmac, laughing called a service area or piece of wasteland you’re lucky enough to find to park to have you compulsory rests and breaks, this of course isn’t helped by some of your colleagues who fail to understand their selfish actions impact on us all, no point trying to reason with them as they are hard of understanding best course of action is to make your excuses and walk away.
Anyway welcome and good luck, 
After all the doom and gloom, there are many different truck driving jobs, its trying to find a job and company that suits you, so if the first job doesn’t suit you try a few others. When I did haulage I hated anything RDC related, but liked some of the flatbed work, although it can be a bit more physical then turning up and backing onto a bay.
I did work with an ex-detective, who just hated his job so much he got out and drove a truck, we didn’t think he’d last more than a few months, but he took to it like a duck to water, but then the company we worked for used to let us get on with the job with minimal interference and despite a few drivers being a bit wary of him because of his previous occupation, he soon became accepted and even used his police experience to help one driver fight some very serious allegations.
muckles:
If you’ve had a bit of control and decision making in your job or management experience, you might find being spoon fed by some large logistics company a bit of a culture shock, especially being dealt with by some inept traffic planner.
Sometimes those that have had control and decision making, responsibility for others etc are looking to let all of that go and as such can let being spoon fed or an inept planner go over there head that bit easier.