Ergot2005:
Evil8Beezle:
What a lot of green Newbie’s don’t appreciate when they first pass, is that not only are they learning the skill and requirements of driving an oversized and heavy vehicle, they are also having to adapt their decision making process. They are nervous, excited and want to get the job done like a regular/pro, as that is what they gauge themselves by…
Well sorry Newbie’s but that’s an unrealistic expectation! 
You SHOULD be slower than a regular driver, you SHOULD be cautious and prepared to accept it’s beyond your capabilities. Not once did I get chastised for bringing a pallet back saying I didn’t like the look of the access… It’s a lot better than saying; can I have the accident forms please? 
So what if a drop went out the next day on a different or smaller truck, no one will hold that against you. However staring at the battle scars of your truck will eat away at you…
Newbies have to learn their capabilities, both in driving ability and decision making.
As long as you’re learning, that’s all that matters…
So make a mistake once and move on. Just don’t repeat it! 
the [zb] chastised me when i worked for palletways… can you not try■■? we wont get paid for delivery now !!! it looks big enough on google maps you’ll be fine !!! artics go down there all the time!!! man i’ve heard it all… i really have. at least i had the balls to stand my ground and give them [zb] back when they where being arses probably what lost my job haha 
their the first ones to judge if you have a scrape ohhhhh i wouldn’t have gone down there it looks tight DUDE you told me to go down there only last week!!! morons i swear
So they did you a favour in letting you go, and you already know that was a crap company, with a thick TM by the sound of it.
My experience on pallets was that in an artic I only got sent to drops they knew they could get an artic in, and this was down to having a good router who worked out the runs each morning. God knows how he did it, but I’ve a lot of respect for that bloke as he did a brilliant job. However when he was on holiday you really appreciated him, and I ended up at a few drops where I was cursing the stand in router!
It was a bit different on class VAN though, as a non regular drop would generally automatically go on a rigid, and it was up to the driver to decide whether they could make the drop or bring it back for it to go out the next day on the 7.5t or 3.5t VAN. As such I’d park up my 26t rigid when I didn’t like the look of a drop, and go scout it out. And if I didn’t fancy it, I could advise the office on what to send. This is where decent office staff come in to play, as they should listen to their drivers. Sadly though this isn’t always the case as I think you now know! To start with I always called the office to advise them that I couldn’t do a drop, (delegate responsibility up the chain! 
) but over time that changed to me just failing it and making a note on the paperwork on what to send it on next time. The reason for this was that trust is a 2 way street, and they also knew/learnt that when i said i couldn’t do it, I meant it and I wasn’t going to change my position on that! #
Yes a Newbie will get pressure from the office staff to make drops, as they don’t know if you’re just being a bit of a fanny or not. But the second you inform them that if damage occurs, you’ll be putting in the report that they the office instructed you to make the drop against your advice, they do tend to back off!
So again, accidents aren’t necessarily down to your driving ability, they are ofen down to your decision making…
And this will improve in time Newbies!
As such I’d suggest fresh starts start off cautious and build from there, as before you know it you’re relishing the challenge. And I really do mean that, as I’ve driven into crappy little back street industrial estates before (where I’ve known I shouldn’t go…), just for the fun of it!
