C+E Licence Run Out-Happy or Sad!

I reluctantly gave up driving for a job 14 years ago soon after getting a new transport manager who had phones and trackers fitted to all the fleet, and insisted on checking up on drivers the moment the wheels stopped turning. I went into quality Inspection work, initially for a “logistics” company, then for a precision engineering firm. The money was better, but the routine soon became boring so I semi-retired nearly four years ago. Now, I can’t imagine how I ever found time for a full-time job (plus lots of overtime). I still drive a couple of days a week, collecting and delivering for a charity as a volunteer, and I love the work. Gets me out and keeps me fit. I’ve got a Senior Railpass and my Bus Pass, a pushbike, a motorbike and a camper van and a whole nation to be explored, not just glanced at through a big windscreen whilst on the way to somewhere else. I still get up at 0-silly hundred hours in a morning, and still look out for bridge heights and weight limits out of habit and will usually stop to help a driver struggling with a manoeuvre, or let them out of a junction. I got my CPC “just in case”, and kept my HGV1 until last year. The prospect of enriching the doctor again for his signature on another medical certificate finally put the lid on it for me. Did I enjoy my driving years? There were some crap days, but most were good - yes, I did enjoy driving. Would I go back to doing it for a living? No, definitely not. The increasing bureaucracy and controls on the job (digital tacho, trackers, cab phones, must do this, can’t do that, must be there at such a time) would do my head in. I probably envy some of the modern drivers their quiet, comfortable and powerful new wagons, but I bet they can’t do a roadside fix to get them home when something goes wrong like we could. I’m not really surprised that there’s a shortage of drivers nowadays, and I wouldn’t choose lorry driving as a career if I was starting my time again.