I don’t mind 15 hour days to be honest, especially when I’m on a container run and not the curtainsiders as invariably I’ll get at least one run into Pentalvers at Southampton with the 6 weeks of queueing 
Very rare to get over a 12 hour day on the curtainsiders though but as most of our drivers are on time and a half by Friday anyway which makes a decent hourly rate into an even better hourly rate, especially if I finish after 18:00 
I wish today I could of done a 19 hr day then I’d be at hme and not at Gretna services with a four hr run ahead of me tomorrow , I’d of only got 4 days pay but done 57 hrs already so wouldn’t be bothered…wouldn’t be so bad if I could get going at 4/5 ish but as I’ve done 3x15 got to have 11 off and can’t start to 8 am 
.
And now there ringing querying where I am , what I’ve got on , when I’m leaving and when will I be back , you think after running you everywhere , max hours they’d let you have a short last day , not he’s picked his sat load up fri so will pile something else on him , I got load early by chasing my ■■■ of , don’t see why they should benefit from it 
Gotta love the attitude of some drivers…
If you don’t want to work 75hrs+ a week then apparently you must have small testicles… !
Actually no. It’s a larger, more powerful brain we have, not smaller testicles… 
If it wasn’t for 15 hour days I would not have got home last night. I had 30 minutes spare. No chance ban 15 hour days!
Rowley010:
If it wasn’t for 15 hour days I would not have got home last night. I had 30 minutes spare. No chance ban 15 hour days!
Look, I’m not up banning ■■■■ all. But this whole “I wouldn’t have got home last night” is all ■■■■■■■■. If the regulations changed so would the way you are planned for the day.
I’m guessing you would be no more/no less likely to get home.
Rowley010:
If it wasn’t for 15 hour days I would not have got home last night. I had 30 minutes spare. No chance ban 15 hour days!
If you could work 24 hours your boss would give you a 23.5 hour schedule.
You’d still only just get home. Or not if things go ■■■■ up.
Terry T:
Rowley010:
If it wasn’t for 15 hour days I would not have got home last night. I had 30 minutes spare. No chance ban 15 hour days!If you could work 24 hours your boss would give you a 23.5 hour schedule.
You’d still only just get home. Or not if things go ■■■■ up.
Exactly!
This is what you are up against with drivers all the time.
ie. Not thinking things through, leading to a turkeys voting for Christmas situation.
Ok Boss keep giving me 15 hours shifts so I can get home in 14.55. 
robroy:
This is what you are up against with drivers all the time.
ie. Not thinking things through, leading to a turkeys voting for Christmas situation.
Ok Boss keep giving me 15 hours shifts so I can get home in 14.55.
^This.
Or must get back or parked up in time to start nice and early tomorrow after 9 hours off.
robroy:
Terry T:
Rowley010:
If it wasn’t for 15 hour days I would not have got home last night. I had 30 minutes spare. No chance ban 15 hour days!If you could work 24 hours your boss would give you a 23.5 hour schedule.
You’d still only just get home. Or not if things go ■■■■ up.
Exactly!
This is what you are up against with drivers all the time.
ie. Not thinking things through, leading to a turkeys voting for Christmas situation.
Ok Boss keep giving me 15 hours shifts so I can get home in 14.55.
Not thinking things through? Well if we don’t do the 15 hour days we don’t get paid as much when the majority of jobs are on hourly rates! If the maximum hours was put to 10 for the sake of argument then that would be 5 hours lost 3 times per week and 3 hours lost twice, total of 21 paid hours per week gone. I think I’ve thought that one through!
Rowley010:
robroy:
Terry T:
Rowley010:
If it wasn’t for 15 hour days I would not have got home last night. I had 30 minutes spare. No chance ban 15 hour days!If you could work 24 hours your boss would give you a 23.5 hour schedule.
You’d still only just get home. Or not if things go ■■■■ up.
Exactly!
This is what you are up against with drivers all the time.
ie. Not thinking things through, leading to a turkeys voting for Christmas situation.
Ok Boss keep giving me 15 hours shifts so I can get home in 14.55.Not thinking things through? Well if we don’t do the 15 hour days we don’t get paid as much when the majority of jobs are on hourly rates! If the maximum hours was put to 10 for the sake of argument then that would be 5 hours lost 3 times per week and 3 hours lost twice, total of 21 paid hours per week gone. I think I’ve thought that one through!
Yeh but have you.
I don’t know how long you have done the job, I suspect not long, as you appear to be a bit naive about it.
I remember when we managed ok in the days of 12and half daily spreadover, and I don’t remember taking my wages home in a wheelbarrow the first week the 15 hour rule came in.
In fact in relationship to prices and cost of living then and now, I would bet we were better off.
Wages would have to fall into line with the rule changes.
Other industries manage so what is special or different to haulage.
It has not always been 15hrs max, so don’t come back with the old ‘‘It’s always been long hours’’ mantra,.
Once over it had ‘always’ been child labour but that changed in line with the then modern times. 
Do those on here seriously think there going to be on the same money. 9 hr break is plenty. If you need to unwind due to stress it’s time to leave this job is easy. If you choose a job that’s 30 plus minutes away from your depot that’s your choice. Tachos were actually brought in to restrict drivers hrs and make sure they got a decent amount of rest per day. How much money would you loose per week if your only restricted to 12 hrs per day. You can bet overtime payments will disappear. To change hrs laws would need a change in eu law so that’s not going to happen soon.
Yes this job has always had long hrs due to it’s nature is delays at loading. drivers who don’t want to night out would be doing more nights out as they would be out of hrs. The it’s always been like that is not a mantra it’s just how Tue job works.
And before you start my work is not max hrs per day a 9 hrs break is a rarity in my job
robroy:
Right, I aint under the influence of Mr Becks this morning, so no more contradicting myself, and putting my foot in my gob like last night.Been thinking about this, and as I said previously, in my opinion 15 is too long. maybe not ban it, but change the max hours rules, with say concessions for catching ferries, and unforseens etc.
■■■■■■■■ to all the Big butch Supertrucker stars/ 24 hr day men
Well you know what? …it hasn’t always been like that!Some of us that have done it longer than 5minutes can remember a 12.5 spreadover with adequate rest ,(btw. so you don’t want to spend x. number of hours in your cab…ahhh! .well get out of your [zb] cabs like everyone used to, instead of parking in a [zb] lay by with your stop watch set to 8hrs 59secs
So when the 15 did come out I was an owner driver, didn’t give a [zb], and thought bring it on, more hours more money for ME.
At that time drivers, and before it, me as a driver employed, were on time and half after 8.The powers that be thought…
‘’ Whoa…hang on a minute we can’t be paying these drivers time and half after 8,. for a whole 7 hrs.per day.
That would mean us trying to negotiate new rates with customers, because Teddy Robarts and others the like will do the work for the same rate and we will all be [zb] ed…
So instead, let’s devise some system to screw the drivers, over. So we’ll give em time and a Pound after 10 hours, or I know,… pay them what they think is a decent rate right through, they are SO THICK they won’t notice, they will work every day to the max and not notice they are being turned over, by getting slightly more for longer hours worked.
( and this is the best bit) They will boast in 30 yrs time when internet forums are invented that they are on a good wage, even though the few sensible ones on there, who see the real picture know they are NOT due to the long hours’’
With me so far?They went on to say.
…'‘And the way their pay is structured, in reality they are not in fact paid well, but however on a wage they can live on.
We can get the same rates, the drivers will max out to 15 hours, we make more money, the drivers in real terms make less, but they will look at their top line and boast…hey everybody’s happy for the next few years, …and the next generation will think it’ s notmal as they will know nothing else except the new system… job sorted for us hauliers…yipee
Ok, I wasn’t in the same room and witnessed all this but you get the general idea eh?
Have I finally got through to the hard of thinking on here, who say if you don’t like the job go and work at [zb] Tescos etc etc
As for the day lads who worry about having to have a night out, if there was no 15 facility, your planners would have to get their arses into gear, do their job properly and plan accordinglly for a 13 instead or whatever the new rules may be.
You wouldn!t care as ideally your wage structure would be that so you could earn enough for a 13.Those that say if the wage structure changed ( so that drivers were no longer compensating hauliers for bad rates, and therefore subsidising their wage by not getting a realistic rate) That firms would go down, who actually gives a flying [zb] if a few 7 quid an hour cowboys went ■■■■ up.■■
Get the industry cleaned up in line with others so that we too again can have a reasonable working day, instead of a work/sleep endurance test type job like a lot ( on here evidently
Off for a coffee to sort my hangover out.
I’ve quoted my post on page 2 not because I’m on an ego trip, but because I can not be arsed to repeat myself, and we seem to have gone around in a complete bloody circle.
Some are making the same points as page 1, so for the benefit of Mr Alix …the quote is my answer.
Alix mate, you are talking to the wrong man about ‘stress’ …I don’ t even know what that is, I’m more the couldn’t give a ■■■■/water of a ducks back type unlike some stressheads on here who are suicidal if they go over their time by 5 mins by accident., their 300quid ■■■■■■ sat nav breaks down or something equally as ■■■■ trivial.
Also the job is as ‘easy’ or as hard as you make it, or if you allow yourself to be pushed or not. So no need to try snd tell me that…been there done etc etc.
Your point about 9 hrs, maybe it is enough for you, maybe it’s enough for me, that aint the point.
What is the point is…is it realistic in today’s safety concious world, or is it a ’ When it suits’ hidden agenda by the powers that be.
For instance why is it potentially dangerous to climb on the back of my truck in some places, but not considered potentially dangerous to take out 44 tonnes on the road to do approx 5 to 600 miles with as little as 5 to 6 hours sleep in your 9 off.
As I said it’s a job not a ■■■■■■ endurance test.
I agree nothing will change anytime soon, …it is only an hypothesis, and a thread on a forum, but maybe it would be a start towards that goal if driver’s attitudes changed a little.
dozy:
I WISH TODAY I COULD OF DONE A 19 hr DAY then I’d be at hme and not at Gretna services with a four hr run ahead of me tomorrow , I’d of only got 4 days pay but done 57 hrs already so wouldn’t be bothered…wouldn’t be so bad if I could get going at 4/5 ish but as I’ve done 3x15 got to have 11 off and can’t start to 8 am
And now there ringing querying where I am , what I’ve got on , when I’m leaving and when will I be back , you think after running you everywhere , max hours they’d let you have a short last day , not he’s picked his sat load up fri so will pile something else on him , I got load early by chasing my ■■■ of , don’t see why they should benefit from it
I know it’s dozy, but that just about says it all.
What ■■■■ chance have we got 
With all the talk of testicles etc I’m sure I have ovaries I want:
13 hour daily limit on shift
Min 11 hour break everyday
None of this 70 hour plus business I’m hard done to if I do 55 hours
Me and my ■■■■■■ will now depart for another thread thank you.
Take no notice of all these fella’s, Gash. Erm sorry Freudian slip…I meant Lash.
^^^^
LASHHGV:
With all the talk of testicles etc I’m sure I have ovaries I want:
13 hour daily limit on shift
Min 11 hour break everyday
None of this 70 hour plus business I’m hard done to if I do 55 hoursMe and my ■■■■■■ will now depart for another thread thank you.
I could get down with that. 55 hours is a decent limit. Not fussed about daily limits but if companies want to push daily limits then they should restrict how many days it’s pushed for. 5x13+ is crippling for the social life of a driver and like you say, complain and you have no balls.
In reality it’s the other way round and that’s why we’re at the point we are now.
I’d actually prefer it if all shifts were 12-15 in length when tramping. It would need staggered start times throughout the week of course…
Compare that to say, a 9am start, work until 7pm, then be expected to hang around in some layby gassing at whoever will listen until it’s time to actually get your head down. Compare that during the shift with a short duration - you won’t ever be paid whilst asleep, whilst eating (since you’ll try and have a meal when you’ve gone off-duty!) and of course - you’re on perma-day-rate. Not good.
This also demonstrates why trampers get paid more than day drivers - but less than even weekend night drivers, at least around Kent. 
Rowley010:
Not thinking things through? Well if we don’t do the 15 hour days we don’t get paid as much when the majority of jobs are on hourly rates! If the maximum hours was put to 10 for the sake of argument then that would be 5 hours lost 3 times per week and 3 hours lost twice, total of 21 paid hours per week gone. I think I’ve thought that one through!
Like was said, not thinking things through. When the WTD was near being implemented the place I was driving at was looking at agreeing a 20% wage rise with the union so we’d earn exactly the same doing 48hrs as we did doing 60hrs. Then the PoA was introduced and that went out the window.
Fewer legal hours means more drivers needed to do the same workload means wages go up because demand outstrips supply. But nothing will change because people like you exist who would campaign to keep the ridiculous maximum 84hr working week.
Conor:
Rowley010:
Not thinking things through? Well if we don’t do the 15 hour days we don’t get paid as much when the majority of jobs are on hourly rates! If the maximum hours was put to 10 for the sake of argument then that would be 5 hours lost 3 times per week and 3 hours lost twice, total of 21 paid hours per week gone. I think I’ve thought that one through!. But nothing will change because people like you exist who would campaign to keep the ridiculous maximum 84hr working week.
I agree with Conor.
Wow! Did I really just say that
Just joshin Con me old mate.