Today I got a call at 7:45 in the morning and the voice on the other end asked me if I wanted a job today driving for on of their clients? And of course I said I would. So began a day I wouldn’t soon forget.
Some quick background info: The agency I signed onto said they would start be slow with only 1 or 2 pickups on 7.5t or a smaller class 2 vehicle doing just 1 or 2 drops to get me used to the job since I’m newly qualified. Now you know that, please disregard that completely and read on. 
First off was the bedlam that was getting my act together. I’d been asked to be at the yard by 9am. I chugged down my breakfast and cuppa, got washed and dressed and starting packing for the day. Everything was everywhere. Took me nearly 20 minutes to get my satnav, map, sandwiches, high vis vest. I thought I’d got everything but quickly remembered upon pulling into the yard my agency time sheet and gloves. Luckily I have the memory of a potato and a smartphone so was able to record my times and the chap in the yard gave me a pair of gloves which got soaking wet if you so much as sneezed on them.
So what was I driving? Well on my very first job after passing my test I was given a 9 drop run delivering steel in a 22 tonne semi-auto Volvo with a slight overhang over the cab and a pretty big one at the back. The chap in the yard said he’d come with me to my first drop which was only 10 mins down the road to see how I got on and this is where I made my first mistake - though I went through all the motions making sure the load was secure, tying a rag to the overhang at the back and confirming the vehicle checks had been done for the day I completely forgot to set myself up in the cab. I didn’t set my satnav up and forget to start my timer for keeping track of my driving time as I was eager to get out with the chap. I did remember to put my tacho card in at least. First drop was uneventful and took off the majority of the overhanging steel. After I dropped the chap back off at the yard I parked up to get everything set up.
It was then a 30 minute drive to my next drop on the docks. Found the place I needed to tip at after driving up and down the road a couple of times. 10 mins offloading, get the paperwork signed and off I go. This is where things start to go downhill. After another 20 min drive I got close to my next destination only to find a 7.5 tonne weight limit my satnav wanted to take me down. Okay, can’t go down there. I turn back around and head down the road for another 5 minutes to another road that leads to the village where I needed to tip. After about 200 yards I came to a manned swing gate level crossing. I pressed the buzzer but got no response. I pressed again and this guy emerged from the signalbox across the tracks and started shouting over “You can’t come across here with that, it’s too big!”. “But my wagon will fit between the gates no problem!” I replied. “Nope! You’re just gonna have to find another way around” and he marched back inside the signbox. I think he just didn’t want to get wet. So after a 20-something point turn down a B-road I got my atlas out and found the 3rd, and last road leading into the village. It was a good 20 minutes out my way but it was my last chance of getting to the drop.
So I get to my turnoff and find that it is also restircted to 7.5 tonnes. The road I was on was a busy A-road with no chance of turning around. After another 30 mins of driving I’d doubled back round most of the way, found a laybay and and called in. By this time I’d been trying but failing to get to this drop for nearly 2 hours. I decided to take my break then and set my tacho to rest. half hour later I idly checked it again and seen it had gone over the other work. I quickly set it back to rest but only had about 20 mins left on my break and I wanted to get on as I knew I was behind. I later made a not on the back of the printout about it.
My boss told me it was my choice to try and redeliver to the village again or move onto my other drops, though they were out of order on my flatbed. I decided to try and redeliver to the village. Avoiding Mr Grumpy in the signal box again I went past to the 2nd road, saw the 7.5 tonne limit and carried on round the back to the other 7.5 tonne limit - Why I did this I haven’t got a clue. I’d wasted another 50 mins trying to do this so I moved on to one of my other drops, got to the village it was at, but for the love of god couldn’t find the drop location itself. I got out had a wander round and eventually went into the local pub and asked some of the locals where it was and they kindly pointed me in the right direction. I got back to my truck and by this time it was starting to dawn on me I wouldn’t be able to complete all my drops, especially with it being a Friday afternoon. I rang my boss and he was a bit dismayed that I’d only managed 2 drops in almost 5 hours. I apologised and was genuinely upset/angry with myself as well since it was my job since passing my test and was getting a little panicky and dismayed about the whole situation.
Anyway, I soldiered on and got to my next drop 10 mins later. As my boss said, with the run being now out of order the steel wasn’t as accessible and what should have been a 10 min drop and go turned it 25 mins of wresting with a couple of tonnes of steel. I moved onto my next drop which was 5 mins down the road though this drop went a bit more smoothly. I called in and asked what orders were as my next drops were a good 30+min drive away and he decided to bring me home.
I got back to the yard expecting a somewhat irate chap but the guy was quite cool with me and told me not to worry about it when I apologised for not tipping all my drops. I unstrapped my load and was getting my stuff back together in the cab when he came back from downloading my tacho and asked me something surprising. He wanted to know if I did much work for my agency and I told him this was my first job since passing my test. After that he asked if I would like to come back next week and sit in with one of the regular drivers to learn some a drops - unpaid of course - and I said I was defintly interested and would give him a call after speaking with my agency.
Final tally 4 out of 9 drops delivered.
So overall, a mixed bag of beans. I’d gone through feelings of excitement, nervousness, dread and relief all in one day. His comments about coming back the following week certainly lifted my spirits and makes me look forward to more driving jobs in the future. I just hope I can find where I need to go.
Things I learnt:
- Always have your bag packed and ready to go. 90% of the stuff you take with you will never need to come out at home. Be prepared!
- Trust in your instincts. If your satnav tells you to go down a certain road and your reaction is ‘Does it really want me to go down THERE?’ then chances are you shouldn’t.
- Don’t be afraid to get out and ask. One of the problems I had was thinking it would be a waste of time going out on foot looking/asking where to find the drop location. You’ll probably waste even more time driving around in circles looking for it than you would getting out the cab and having a walk around.
- Mad respect to the old timers with their 2+ years of experience. I can see now why you’re favoured over newbies like me.
Questions I have:
- Is a weight limit on a signpost the same as a weight limit that is posted by itself at the side of the road? I’m beginning to think this is where I screwed up royally on the whole village drop.
Thanks for reading. Hope it wasn’t too boring a read. 
