There,s a driver who,s working days driving a Hgv with us then ,working nights doing taxi,s 
And the worst thing is he ain,t the only one, 
,another driver,s doing mobile disco,s etc etc.
We all need money ,but it gonna catch up with themā¦
it happens but having seen my old mans health suffer from the age of 55 onwards I know what I would rather do.
if he had his time again I am sure he wouldnāt have kept up the 70-90 hour weeks.
work to live not live to work.
How many people who feel āforcedā to work 70+ hour weeks will end up voting for āmore of the sameā come Mayās election I wonder?
If this āextra incomeā were all declared, the additional taxes payable would pretty much nullify any extra earnings, once any āpaying to go to workā gets factored in as well.
In my mind, any form of āProfessional drivingā - that is where you are paid to drive - should fall under ādriverās hours regulationsā with no exceptions.
Itās only a matter of time until someone whoās had no sleep for 24 hours ends up killing someone, perhaps in the taxi rather than the truck as well.
If Dvsa or the old Vosa pull him in on a multi agency checkpoint, get a good solicitor.
They can find out from the date of birth and National Insurance number how much he earns at night and how many hours were worked.
It has been known for absent fathers to cough up for arrears in child maintenance on a truck checkpoint, when the driver has lied about a change in circumstances.
Benefit scroungers are caught too.
If the taxi driving is cash payment, then there is no paper trail.
The authorities can look in bank accounts and seize savings and assets if caught.
Expect a long prison sentence if he falls asleep driving the lorry.
Cctv is used to check work activity at night and bank card purchases leave a paper trail.
One of the poorer DCPC ātrainersā that I had the misfortune to have to listen to told the drivers about his bro. in law .The man is a policeman but does some shifts on the agency.My p%% just about boiled I asked if he kept his tachos in order and was the Inland Revenue and the Chief Constable up to speed about his activities.When my licence was new I tried to get work and was being turned down because there were plenty of police and firemen practicaly on call.We have daily and weekly rests for good reason.
I know a guy who drove trucks as his main job and taxis at the weekends too. Doesnāt do it anymore thoughā¦ He gave both jobs up and now work for a local heavy recovery company.[emoji1] [emoji1] . I think Iād have taken my chances and stayed on taxis and trucks. Probably less hours that way.
Winseer:
How many people who feel āforcedā to work 70+ hour weeks will end up voting for āmore of the sameā come Mayās election I wonder?If this āextra incomeā were all declared, the additional taxes payable would pretty much nullify any extra earnings, once any āpaying to go to workā gets factored in as well.
In my mind, any form of āProfessional drivingā - that is where you are paid to drive - should fall under ādriverās hours regulationsā with no exceptions.
Itās only a matter of time until someone whoās had no sleep for 24 hours ends up killing someone, perhaps in the taxi rather than the truck as well.
The tax isnāt that bad. I paid additional Ā£1200 on Ā£6500 earned
In a previous life, I have worked 2 jobs. It was great money, one of the jobs I was working for myself. I would work 6 days a week. Whatās the point in earning all that money and not having any time to spend it?
I lasted 6 months.
maestegboy:
There,s a driver who,s working days driving a Hgv with us then ,working nights doing taxi,sAnd the worst thing is he ain,t the only one,
We all need money ,but it gonna catch up with themā¦
before you know it itās all over the kids have grown upā¦ if your lucky your marriage survives, your health definatly suffers and for what?
we all like and get used to money but when do you say hang on a mo what about having a good standard of life,? 15 hour days year in year out wear you outā¦
i took 12 months out through an accident .although back lorry driving the days of the rat race are well and truly behind meā¦thats the joys of agency and it has probobly saved my marriage
Didnāt a guy last year get jailed because he plowed into the back of someone after being up all night doing a second job?
Radar19 , I also heard about the vehicle that ploughed in to another, the guy involved was working over the hours.
The Selby rail crash, Gary Hart fell asleep at the wheel, from chatting all night to a woman he met off the internet.
His Land Rover and trailer ended up on the line, resulting in the collision of a 1800 ton freight train and passenger train with fatal results.
Another case was Boyles transport Ireland, drivers coerced in to working 21 hours without rest.
The two brothers were jailed for five years.
A multi agency investigation prooved the time, place of drivers and vehicles that did not match up to work and tacho records.
Paying for ā ā ā ā or coffee at the fuel station is proof where you were, along with Cctv that is everywhere.
Cameras on roads that read number plates.
Weighbridge evidence, POD notes and Cmr dates and times.
The Police join the dots up in the puzzle.
I know him !! His wifeās on the game and kids are in care, but hey, heās happy, toot toot
What it boils down too isā ā ? 
we should be getting paid a lot more Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£,s for what we do for this very reason! 
got us by the short and curlies 
so far he CHOICE is yours 
war1974:
it happens but having seen my old mans health suffer from the age of 55 onwards I know what I would rather do.if he had his time again I am sure he wouldnāt have kept up the 70-90 hour weeks.
work to live not live to work.
Same here buddy my old man was on the trucks for over 50 years. Boy has it taken itās toll on him. He did 6x12 hrs night shifts every week for 15 years straight. I reckon his average week over his whole career as a lorry driver would be around 65 hrs a week. He is now 76 has hearing aids probably listening to them old 8 LXB Gardner engines roaring along at 70 mph flat out.
He was diagnosed with parkinsons a couple of years ago. He is a shadow of his former self TBH. On saying this he didnāt retire until he was 71.Then all the ailments kick in.
Winseer:
In my mind, any form of āProfessional drivingā - that is where you are paid to drive - should fall under ādriverās hours regulationsā with no exceptions.
Any kind of employment counts as āother workā and must therefore be accounted for in the driversā hours calculations. It may not classify as driving, but you cannot work beyond the overall working hour limits doing other jobs. In theory it should therefore not happen that someone has no sleep, because they are obliged to have a minimum of nine hoursā daily rest every day.
The problem is as long as the wages in this industry are poor people are going to work excessive hours just to make ends meet simply because you do what you have to to get by its a viscous circle im afraid and i really dont see any significant improvements any time soon
keepthefaith:
maestegboy:
There,s a driver who,s working days driving a Hgv with us then ,working nights doing taxi,sAnd the worst thing is he ain,t the only one,
We all need money ,but it gonna catch up with themā¦before you know it itās all over the kids have grown upā¦ if your lucky your marriage survives, your health definatly suffers and for what?
we all like and get used to money but when do you say hang on a mo what about having a good standard of life,? 15 hour days year in year out wear you outā¦
i took 12 months out through an accident .although back lorry driving the days of the rat race are well and truly behind meā¦thats the joys of agency and it has probobly saved my marriage
Well said , Iāve done it , I was doing constant night shift , a very cushy job . So ended up doing stuff during the day I.e fixing cars , recovery work as had my own wagon as well as some van driving up to Inverness or Aberdeen. Money was great, but slowly my happiness and my marriage was only going one way . At the end of the day "money doesnāt bring happiness " , just have to earn a decent way and remember what is important . So here I am with class 2 licence getting couple of ā ā ā ā shifts a week with agency , but still happy lol .
It seems to me that in most cases, a drivers spending power has dropped considerably since I was working over there. What can you do about it though ?
Probably have a hard time finding good wages without being away all week or more, or you could leave driving and look for something half decent in a different industryā¦ good luck with that.
Same as over here; we all know there are well paid jobs out there, but how many are dead mans shoes.
Nothing will change while youāve got too many people in the country. Looking at it from the outside (expat still with connections), maybe youād be better off out of Europe and back with the Commonwealth.
I was speaking to a driver that worked for an
international coach company on long distance, two driver teams, day and night.
He said some drivers burn out after a few years living on caffeine and nicotine.
Their nerves get fried in the end.
I have found this A LOT during DCPC courses on drivers hours where people often own up to the two (or more) job scenario. Many work Monday to Friday then ādriveā at weekends. I have met some doing day and night shifts with plenty falling asleep in the classroom by 9 am (I know - I know, itās DCPC what else do you expect!!)
I found the PSV/PCV industry to be the worst and in particular 16 seat mini-buses. Often operated by taxi firms and often not owned by a native of the UK (trying to be careful there). It is very common to drive the taxi all day then do the mini bus stuff in the evening and early morning.
Of course the 16 seat is usually in scope of tachographs - do they carry records of their other work - no chance. They operate 1 or 2 mini buses on a restricted PSV operator licence (easy to get) and claim they donāt know.
Worst I met was an Asian guy whose regular shift was 21 hours most days.