Not too late?

I’m turning 43 soon and it’s time to think about going back to work after so many years staying at home with kids (I’m a mum of 5). And came up with an idea to become a lorry driver.
Already prepearing for theory but I have some doubts if it all makes sense. Who would ever employ a women my age as a lorry driver?
I could go the bus licence route and still enjoy driving a big vehicle but don’t fancy dealing with people.
I fear I may get C licence and end up not being able to use it at all which would be waste of money…
:neutral_face:

I passed my Cat C Jun 2017 and C+E in October 2017 at the age of 47. I then went job hunting in early 2018 by which time i had turned 48 and not driven a HGV since my test.

First company I visited gave me the start. I am from the Birmingham area which may have helped, as there seems to be plenty of work around here, as from what I have read on this forum certain area are easier to get the start than others.

Good luck

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Your age is no barrier to employment. You have the advantage of perceived maturity which could sway the scales in your favour.

All the best with it,

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Im currently working on tipper trucks class c , we have two ladies about your age doing just fine, as little interaction with the load and our customers shut their gates at 16-30pm, so home every night. Check them out in your area, well worth a try. Monika a polish lady and one british.

Your age really isn’t an issue, I took my test 3 years ago at 48 and still thoroughly enjoy the job. Definitely go for it as there will no doubt be employers in your area that will give you a start.

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I work in factory warehouse ( my main job at the moment ) and deal with deliveries every day. We see ladies driving lorries from time to time and your age is absolutely fine.

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The lady drivers i’ve worked with over the years have been very good drivers, not found at the precious end of work either, mucking in on the hard graft jobs (i’e worked with several on car transporters), what they lacked in sheer strength they’d find ways of working around.

Respected by both management and other drivers in the industry, the ones i work withed with have all been competent and well regarded, get no special treatment and expect none.
The few women who go in for lorry driving seem to be long term in the industry.

If you want to, go for it.

Age isn’t an issue in terms of driving and as mentioned I think a lot of companies would prefer to employ us “oldie” drivers since we’ve been there, done that, and got many t-shirts. Plus we don’t apparently complain as much as those young upstarts…really not sure where the manager got that idea from! :wink:

Work wise - well you’d need to start off getting your class 2 for the non bendy truck, but there’s quite a bit of work there. A lot will depend on what hours you can work as some jobs are more regulated and others can vary drastically.

Pallet companies aren’t a bad move, maybe not the best paying necessarily at around £9/hour, but they do tend to work relatively sensible hours such as 7am to 5-6pm. A lot of the stuff tends to be forklifted off these days although you do get people wanting stupid things pallet trucked off. Its getting less and less for the heavy stuff as people realise it’s actually quite dangerous and gets them sued.

There’s a possibility of supermarket work, although slightly less so with class 2 but it does exist assuming you’re near a depot. The smaller supermarkets such as coop, NISA, Iceland and such also need stuff shifting and they tend to use more class 2 trucks. Again depends a lot where you are.

I’d probably avoid certain jobs like the steelwork or most construction type jobs since I can tell you from experience, throwing chains over loads in the rain and snow isn’t fun unless you’re a lot more fit than me! Very very glad to be out of that stuff. Plus the hours are daftly long and very early starts.

Getting a start can be fun in this game, but a lot of that is due to insurance and people panicking about new drivers bashing up their trucks. The pallet companies do tend to take on a lot more newer people these days and people like COOP self-insure mostly so they’re not as worried. Once you get your foot in the door it’s much easier, plus age does help it seems.

You’ll find plenty of people around here our age and above, so welcome I’m guessing the 1975 drivers club! Sounds like a dodgy drinking group deep in the heart of parliament! :open_mouth:

PS: You don’t like people and thus no bus job…you’ll fit in sooo well into this job as so many people switch from the darkside too. :smiley:

Continuing from TrevHVS’s pertinent post, this lorry lark, especially if you take a pride in and do it well, the older you get the more employable you get.

Remember, you won’t :blush: , how even 20 years ago people in their 50’s let alone 60’s were terrified of getting made redundant, because the reality of being on the scrap heap was only too real.
The complete opposite applies in lorrying now, where if you have lots of years of provable lorry employment they’ll welcome you with open arms, and those coming up for retirement are being offered decent deals to stay on, even on a part time basis.

Thanks for all the answers! That’s very encouraging.
I’m in very rural north Scotland, actually cannot be further north:) But we are planning to move somewhere, actually we don’t mind where as long as not extremaly rural. We have one training company up here, not sure if they are worth anything… But filling the forms tomorrow and booking medical to start with. And doing theory practice on-line.
When mentioned to my husband that it’s time to start getting back to work slowly, he said: “bus or lorry cos you can’t do anything better than driving” :slight_smile:

While I agree with the others your age is no problem, but you say you have 5 children how old are they, do you have someone to look after them, will you mind maybe not seeing them for a few days? Truck driving will involve early starts and late finishes

There’s a few lady drivers on 7.5 Ton, Class 2 and Class 1 at Royal Mail.

All work is on yorks so you’re pushing or pulling a max weight of 250Kg each - Most weigh nowhere near that.

Really hard to get into Royal Mail but each Mail Centre/VOC have agency drivers, usually via Manpower. The work seems to have dried up for now on agency though - It should pick up around March time with a bit of luck

mac12:
While I agree with the others your age is no problem, but you say you have 5 children how old are they, do you have someone to look after them, will you mind maybe not seeing them for a few days? Truck driving will involve early starts and late finishes

Youngest will be 4. The oldest old enough to be with them if necessary sometimes.
So hoping for a job 9-5 if my husband becomes a “housewife” or maybe part time at the beginning and work it out between my husband’s job. Depends where we move.

If you think you are old getting into this, I turn 55 next month and am just starting out. I did my CPC 35 hours just before Christmas and now have my provisional Class 2, My CPC card and my Tacho card arrived in the post today. Hope to finish Class 2 in the next month or two.

I had major concerns about my age but I’ve had nothing but positive comments when asking the same question as you. All the best.

I started this process when I was 55 late last year. Passed class 2 in November with Peter Smythe, doing class 1 next month and I am now 56. Like the above poster I have had nothing but positive comments about age in this industry, so go for it!

Nooseladder:
I did my CPC 35 hours just before Christmas and now have my provisional Class 2, My CPC card and my Tacho card arrived in the post today.

So when do you do CPC35hrs - I thought it’s after the practical test?
That’s the bit I don’t understand.

I’m preparing for theory now and have medical tomorrow.

dead.duck:

Nooseladder:
I did my CPC 35 hours just before Christmas and now have my provisional Class 2, My CPC card and my Tacho card arrived in the post today.

So when do you do CPC35hrs - I thought it’s after the practical test?
That’s the bit I don’t understand.

I’m preparing for theory now and have medical tomorrow.

You can do it anytime providing you have Category C1 on your license. I have what is called ‘grandfather rights’ which automatically gives me C1. That’s where you have passed your car test before January 1997. There’s also the option to do CPC module 2 and 4 instead. Mod 2 is the Case Study questions and Mod 4 is the practical walk around. Maybe you are thinking of that? I’m no expert but that is what I remember the trainer telling me.

So when do you do CPC35hrs - I thought it’s after the practical test?

One way or another, you’ll need driver cpc. Potentially, there are two routes available to you. Firstly, if you passed your car test before the end of 1996 you will have a C1 licence already. That being the case you simply need to complete 35 hours of periodic training which is often classroom based and most good trainers will be able to offer this. You will then gain the card which is valid for 5 years, during which you will need to complete another 35 hours to cover you for the subsequent 5 year period.

The other route is Initial Driver cpc. This starts with a theory test known as Case Studies or Module 2. They are one in the same thing. Having passed the Mod 2 test you will need to pass the Module 4, otherwise known as the Practical Demonstration Test. These tests are not difficult and good trainers will be able to sort this for you. Some trainers, including us, have qualified assessors on staff thus eliminating waiting times.

To muddy the waters a little further, if you already hold C1 you can go down the Initial route but it can be a nightmare booking the Module 2. I suggest you go onto the gov.uk site for theory tests and see if it showing as available to you. If it isn’t, there is a procedure to follow but it can be frustrating and time consuming.

Hope all this helps,

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Thanks:) I understand now. Unfortunately I passed my B category later than 1996. Ok, so case study that I will bkok with my theory is also known as cpc 2.

You can do modules 2 + 4 before passing C but the DQC will not be issued until you have passed C