Right, i’m not one for whining and moaning but i feel the time is appropriate!
I’m 30 yrs old, driven a class 1 since 21 yrs old… Now when i got my class 1, my boss Stan Rawcliffe (Of Rawcliffes of Mawdsley, Lancashire) made me spend 2 weeks in the yard to see if i could handle an artic in parking situations.
Now in truth, in that 2 weeks i scraped a couple of trailers, releaved a couple of curtainsiders of their buckles etc. But after 2 weeks i set off down the road and all was well, i felt confident enough to get on with it!
Now to my point. MORRISONS at WAKEFIELD last monday AM. To those who know it its a pain in the arse, always 3-4 hours. So anyway having Que’d to get in i Finally get sent to the goods in canopy area where you sit in another Que waiting for your turn under the canopy. It aint a big yard but large enough to swing any artic and park apporopriatley.
My shock came when i was finally under the canopy and watching drivers coming into the yard being told to wait in the spaces opposite… SOME OF THESE GUYS CANNOT DRIVE!!! And thats not an exaggeration, people asked to put an artic into a hole the size of an artic COULD NOT DO IT! Not only that they had no idea of WHY, or how to position themselves to give them at least half a chance of succeeding!
I saw people trying to blindside (When they had failed to get in on their good side!). I saw people only stopping short of trashing other peoples pride and joys when SOMEONE ELSE made a judgement call and tooted their horn!
THIS SCARES ME, who the hell is sending people down the road without realising that they have NO IDEA of how to handle the vehicle that they are charged with driving■■?
Ha ha! 2 things, firstly i know what you mean about being carefull with tidy motors, all mine get polished/loved and i’d hate to ding any of them!
secondly, i do go and help, at the first opportunity, but that does not excuse an employer sending out a driver who obviously has NO IDEA what they are doing!
If anything i’m more thinking of your hard earned VAIN-MOBILE as some chump blindsides the front of your cab off!!!
dont think the test is up to scratch in regards to the reverse, the company i trained with actually gave you markers on the trailer and ground so you could get it in even if you where rubbish.
i dont envy anyone going straight from test to job.
i was a shunter for 2 years before i was let loose by my company and thank god i was too - some of the reverses you have to do is unreal , im talking blind reverses round corners with a million things you can hit and a banksman that thinks you can see him threw a trailer.
but i sppose we all have bad days aswell - like just yesturday in a customer yard - ive done it a ton of times a bit tight but nothing serious but something was different caused me to take 5 or 6 shunts at it - it wasnt till i was going out that i noticed he had moved all his pallets to the top of the yard where i usually stick the head of the cab - it must have put me off
i passed my class one in April and slowly but surely Im getting the hang of reversing, it might take me a little bit longer than the veterans out there but eventually I get there.
What makes me laugh is people see me struggle and do nothing to help, the occasional driver will help but to be honest Im alone. If I can help another driver I will do my upmost to help.
Saying that I was in Knights of old today trying to reverse into a spot and a Dutch driver helped me to reverse in.
MR VAIN:
You should try owning this! I have kittens almost everyday.
But of course you could always go over and help? But yes i know what you mean. Nobody’s perfect, i have my off days too.
No offence, personally i would prefer to spend my “hard earned” on more enjoyable things . . like beer and ■■■■ .
Tin hat ready
Do you think my own personal money was spent on my truck?
“You should try owning this”!
With a statement like that, my initial answer would be" yes"
I own the business that owns the truck. I get taxed for the privilage, the more i spend the less i pay in tax. My personal wage is not affected in any way. If anything i benefit. So my beer and ■■■ quota is uneffected. So maybe i aren’t the fool you think i am? No need for tin hat mate, so many have made the same comment in the past it’s becoming old and stale. Just thought i’d try to clear that one up.
back on topic.
think we all have our good and bad days.
sometimes i’ll get it into a spot, and will be quietly chuffed with myself, especially on the odd occasion, when a member of joe public, says too ya afterwards, “that was impressive mate.”
then, other days, like today, went too a poxy little estate in burnham on crouch, essex, drove all through the twisty lanes ok, backed in the tight gate ok, then had a dead straight reverse onto, 1 of those, see saw looking ramps, 5 bloody attempts too get it on
sometimes, the tighter the gap, the easier it is, imho.
The answer is simple The dsa and the training companies.
The main culprit being the dsa. The reverse exersise is not fit for purpose and never has been. The test is a lottery just the same as any other dsa test.
The examiners are box ticking idiots and have no idea about teaching.
Most dsa examiners are failed driving instructors. Thats how they like em.
Anyone who can teach is thrown out or their brain is removed at Cardington.
The dsa know f all about what goes on in peoples heads.I t is time they were replaced .
chilistrucker:
back on topic.
think we all have our good and bad days.
sometimes i’ll get it into a spot, and will be quietly chuffed with myself, especially on the odd occasion, when a member of joe public, says too ya afterwards, “that was impressive mate.”
then, other days, like today, went too a poxy little estate in burnham on crouch, essex, drove all through the twisty lanes ok, backed in the tight gate ok, then had a dead straight reverse onto, 1 of those, see saw looking ramps, 5 bloody attempts too get it on
sometimes, the tighter the gap, the easier it is, imho.
Yeah i can relate to that, a tight gap and i’ll get thru no probs, painted lines on the floor and i’ll ■■■■ it up! I once took a container to Bradford, had to back into a shed on to a ramp, no matter what i did i couldn’t get it right. The FLT driver eventually lost his rag, i jumped out and asked him what his problem was? He said he couldn’t understand why i couldn’t just follow the painted lines on the floor? What lines? i replied. Cos it was dark in the shed, the lines were a mucky white/grey colour, i couldnt see them. He dint smile much after i pointed out that i was colour blind ! After that he was quite helpful and we got on in one go. (colour blind? I know that red is red, but any colours that are remotely the same and i can’t see em)
The first few times were a nightmare for me as a newbie, bearing in mind just queuing outside was a challenge, making sure you didn’t block the access to Polestar (upset the Bedfords drivers) and West Yorkshire Police’s finest who had a habit of turning up when you were stuck on the last corner or reversing back and don’t forget the bakery artics trying to pull out against the flow!!!
And then when you were finally booked in and you were pulled into the waiting bays (by the short guy with the long hair and earring) opposite the unloading canopy, the worst one being at the far end, which was sort of like a blindside reverse if you weren’t parallel with the kerb, making sure you stopped short before your trailer wheels hit the kerb when backing in!
And then finally when you were called in, making sure you reversed into the gaps and not hitting the roof supports, all the time watched by your fellow drivers
i agree we all have our good and bad days, but there is also an element ou there who just cant drive, we have one bloke who workd for us, he is terrible, and he has been working here abiut 14 years, never improved, never will. one day one of the guys even made him practise his reversing in the yard, all afternoon, and it still hasnt helped, one of the subbies on this job brought a brand new trailer, this is its first outing and the guy who has it is another one who’s driving ant that good, and he has hit both sides so far!
Cambridge services has to be the scariest place in the uk to park, i’ve seen many trucks come to grief in there. I never leave mine unattended in there for any longer than i have too.
I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it as we all needed to learn at some point.
Unfortunately not every firm is willing to let you practice in their yard with their wagons.
The DSA test couldn’t possibly cover every single scenario a driver is likely to meet, but I do agree that the current reversing element needs revised.
I’ve found that a lot of drivers have a habit of watching things go horribly wrong instead of stepping up and giving their input. I’ve learnt quite a lot from other drivers or by asking the lads on the dock.
