You’ve overegged the troll pudding with this one UKtramp.
I thoroughly enjoyed the years i spent driving Rolonoff rigids on tip work, paid as well as the artic work where i was and home every night, i’d quite happily go back to such work if my present number vanished.
Never once have i come across the attitude you describe…
no actually i tell you a lie, back around 1973 and a mere 18 year old i was driving a ■■■■■■ van and had a delivery of chemicals to a nice little agricultural merchants, which is still there, at Wisbech.
A Ford D series artic with low loader trailer turned up, and the driver told me i’d have to shift me van cos, and i quote as it’s still there in memory as statement from prize ■■■■, ‘‘i’d hate to hit that little van and flatten it’’…i thanked him for the warning about his driving competence and did indeed shift the van, not sure if he was sharp enough to realise what i’d said mind, if you recall The Parable of the Sower ‘‘and some fell on stony ground’’? 
i suspect my comment did indeed fall on unfertile ground.
That’s brought back some memories too, back driving ■■■■■■ vans.
That same van i used to leave my house at Welwyn between 1am and 2am and no M25 of course wend my way down via Rickmansworth, Denham, Slough, Windsor, to the A30 and then brach onto the A303 for the run down to Exeter for my delivery.
I’d do this run at least once a week and sometimes twice a week, the van was signwritten old school.
Well in those days night trunking lorries were few and far between, but the original Wincanton Transport were one such company, when they passed each other going the other way they would give one flash of the RH indicator as hello acknowledgment.
My van mush have stuck in their mind because after a few weeks they would also acknowledge my mere little van with the single indicator flash, which i obviously answered.
Which only goes to show, that any sort of pseudo hierarchy which drivers of artics might feel, is contained within the tortured mind of the sort of people who have far too big an opinion of themselves.
As for me, i’m only too pleased to see someone driving any vehicle of any size or configuration who can actually drive for toffee.
