Well it’s taken a good few years to put one of my demons to rest.
My first ever solo run was a nightmare, S. London delivering milk in a bloody great six wheeler. Didn’t know the area, it was dark and cold and the dollies of milk seemed to have a mind of their own. One ran off the tail lift outside a shop about 11pm and I remember trying to clear up the mess whilst a bus went past. It was a very low point and I felt like throwing in the towel.
I’ve been haunted by that memory at the sight of every PCL truck since, until Monday.
Coming out of Colchester as I join the A12 at Spring Lane, there is a driver in lane one frantically waving people over to lane 2.
There in lane one is a tandem axle PCL trailer with it’s nose on the floor, legs collapsed and the unit about 50 yards in front.
Although I felt sorry for the poor ■■■■■■■ it made me feel better about one little dolly of milk
having only 6/8 months class 1 everytime i see a class 1 learner i have a little smile thinking to myself of that massive learning curve they have yet to go through i have far from perfected my class 1 skills but it still makes me feel a bit better
cliffton 27:
everytime i see a class 1 learner i have a little smile thinking to myself of that massive learning curve they have yet to go through
I have a few grand in the bank, I could get my dozy bint of a girlfriend as equally as qualified as the rest of us within a couple of weeks. Granted she dont even have a B provisional yet
My first solo run with Jewsons was a mare. I had to back the 6 wheeler of a very busy main road reversing around a hedge with mirrors folded in then sharp 90 degree turn around a garage!
The builder was meant to watch me back in but I ended up putting a nice grove into the carstone wall of said garage.
After getting in and setting up the hiab I then managed to split and spill a pack of bricks and also managed to break the pallet that held the cement resulting in broken bricks and cement all over the place.
I was gutted and I was going to throw it all in there and then but I carried on and learnt to say the immortal words…" I aint going in there mate you will have to handball your load after i have dumped them on the side of the road"
As will all jobs after a while it becomes easier and you learn what can and what cant be done and more importantley when to say NO!
I used to think the same while eating my lunch in Garrets Green and watching them reverse around the cones.
First time I drove an artic was for Brown and Poulson’s in London. I was pretty handy with a 4 wheeler so I thought if it bent in the middle it would be easier. They sent me, with a full load of baby food, to Boots in Bermondsey - just over Tower Bridge. This was a very tight yard with a blindside reverse in - I chickened out and got another driver to do it for me.
I passed my class 1 12 years ago. Within 3 days I found myself a full time permanent job (those were the days eh?). So I passed in what I think was a 26 foot twin axle trailer which was relatively easy, even for a newbie. But the company I landed the job with mainly used single axle 40 footers, with the axle fitted as far back as it could go. I couldn’t for the life of me understand what was happening when on my first run to Blackburn I struggled with every roundabout and sharp turn. Then came my first reverse. All over the place. I managed to back onto the bay in the eventualy, feeling a right fool. What really peed me off was another trucker was parked up watching me, and didn’t offer to help at all. I always assist if I can.
After a couple of years there it all came to me, and I found sigle axles easier to reverse than double/tri axles (no overhangs to worry about).
i have far from perfected my class 1 skills but it still makes me feel a bit better
