hi im from kirton nr boston lincolnshire i passed my lgv class c licence in july this year and i have done my initial 5 day(35hours) cpc training i also have my digicard.The problem im facing is that there is alot of driving jobs out there but doesn’t seem like anybody is willing to take on new drivers i need experience in all aspects of driving ie tachographs driving hours loading unloading in general but how can i achieve this if all employers advertise for at least 6mnths to 2 years experience minimum i put myself through the test to offer an alternative career for myself, i mean i cant even get anywhere at weekends to gain experience because of limits on driving hours i work 44 hrs a week so im unable to do any driving you know like 1 day a weekend any help or advise would be much appreciated thanks graham…
There’s nothing to stop you getting some experience at weekends, I don’t know what your usual job is but even if you want to fully comply with the regulations you can probably do at-least 1 day every second week.
Have you tried the agencies for weekend work ?
It’s very true that a lot of companies won’t take “newbies”, but reading these forums daily it seems there are still plenty out there who are willing to give us all a shot. Some people say talk to the large companies, but I’d actually start with the smaller ones as you can usually get closer to the person running the operation and as long as you’re enthusiastic they might see some potential in you.
My strategy at least to get a job works something along the line of:
- Go for the smaller companies first.
- Avoid the corporate lines about teamwork, stratergies etc.
- Show that you understand that ultimately you’re the customer facing part of the business.
- Show them you’re not a timewaster as I booked and paid for everything yourself.
- Admit there’s a lot you don’t know, but have researched and keen to learn from other drivers.
Agencies are another option, although the trick there seems to be increase your experience level a touch as most don’t appear to care that much, then hopefully you can learn from the other drivers.
I don’t know what the work is like in the Boston area, although I’d have thought there would be a lot of farmers and transport companies around there considering the number of large farms. Also wondering if Scotts (makers of Miracle Grow) have their own drivers or use a 3rd party. If you’re able to drive to Lincoln, there are a few companies around there who run class 2 trucks and might take on new drivers.
Going by what’s been said on here, people like Jewsons & Grahams are also potentials along with food distribution companies although they seem to be a very mixed bag of good and bad in those jobs.
I can say from having done the career change thing previously, it can be demoralising contacting 50 companies and being ignored by most, but then you get a single one that is willing to give you a chance!
mawbs69:
i mean i cant even get anywhere at weekends to gain experience because of limits on driving hours i work 44 hrs a week so im unable to do any driving you know like 1 day a weekend any help or advise would be much appreciated thanks graham…
Your obviously thinking of the 48 HR average working week … I’m not going into detail but read up on the WTD it’s an average that means it’s spread over weeks not just one week but many.
As for the catch 22 no experience keep knocking on doors and sign on every agency going and ring them weds and Friday for work
Hermes all ways want weekend drivers as they run 24/7 this time of year if you get a night job with them it’s only shifting pallets to sub depots
plus most of their fleet are auto daf lf’s 12t and 7’5t all ryder trucks
nick2008:
mawbs69:
i mean i cant even get anywhere at weekends to gain experience because of limits on driving hours i work 44 hrs a week so im unable to do any driving you know like 1 day a weekend any help or advise would be much appreciated thanks graham…Your obviously thinking of the 48 HR average working week … I’m not going into detail but read up on the WTD it’s an average that means it’s spread over weeks not just one week but many.
As for the catch 22 no experience keep knocking on doors and sign on every agency going and ring them weds and Friday for work
hi thanks for reply as for the hours im talking in regard to the cpc training that you can only drive 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks including other work.I got in touch with browns(turners) at bicker bar swineshead and was told the same that i couldnt do any day at the weekend because i do 44 hrs a week in current employment + i would need to do 2 week training course before they would let me in their lorries,previously they said they had 3 lgv c class lorries which two of their drivers were going in for their class 1 and if they passed i could see about one of their positions but when i rang up they told me they had filled positions in house so what can i say.
tachograph:
There’s nothing to stop you getting some experience at weekends, I don’t know what your usual job is but even if you want to fully comply with the regulations you can probably do at-least 1 day every second week.Have you tried the agencies for weekend work ?
hi thanks for your reply my job is the last 20+ years working on the land ive had no lorry experience other than passing my 4 day lessons and test no tacho or driving hours nothing so i wouldnt think agency’s would give any training or help they would expect ready to go??
mawbs69:
as for the hours im talking in regard to the cpc training that you can only drive 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks including other work
There’s no such rule, you can only drive for 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks but that does not include other work.
Without knowing what hours you work Monday to Friday it’s not possible to say how many days you could legally drive HGVs, but most people in your situation can legally do 1 day every second weekend.
Don’t tell anyone this, but just between me and you I suspect some people work weekends and just don’t tell anyone they also do a Monday to Friday job 
mawbs69:
tachograph:
There’s nothing to stop you getting some experience at weekends, I don’t know what your usual job is but even if you want to fully comply with the regulations you can probably do at-least 1 day every second week.Have you tried the agencies for weekend work ?
hi thanks for your reply my job is the last 20+ years working on the land ive had no lorry experience other than passing my 4 day lessons and test no tacho or driving hours nothing so i wouldnt think agency’s would give any training or help they would expect ready to go??
Agencies won’t give you any training but when they’re desperate for drivers they will give you work, with the seasonal rush now is a good time to be registering with agencies.
A lot of new drivers gain experience by working for agencies, you will be thrown in at the deep end and it’s a quick learning curve, but with some prior study and research most new drivers seem to get through the experience OK.
If you’re relying on finding a company that will train you I’m afraid you’re limiting your options, the good news is that if you’re prepared to learn there are plenty of people on this board who will help you as much as we can
tachograph:
mawbs69:
as for the hours im talking in regard to the cpc training that you can only drive 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks including other workThere’s no such rule, you can only drive for 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks but that does not include other work.
Without knowing what hours you work Monday to Friday it’s not possible to say how many days you could legally drive HGVs, but most people in your situation can legally do 1 day every second weekend.
Don’t tell anyone this, but just between me and you I suspect some people work weekends and just don’t tell anyone they also do a Monday to Friday job
mawbs69:
tachograph:
There’s nothing to stop you getting some experience at weekends, I don’t know what your usual job is but even if you want to fully comply with the regulations you can probably do at-least 1 day every second week.Have you tried the agencies for weekend work ?
hi thanks for your reply my job is the last 20+ years working on the land ive had no lorry experience other than passing my 4 day lessons and test no tacho or driving hours nothing so i wouldnt think agency’s would give any training or help they would expect ready to go??
Agencies won’t give you any training but when they’re desperate for drivers they will give you work, with the seasonal rush now is a good time to be registering with agencies.
A lot of new drivers gain experience by working for agencies, you will be thrown in at the deep end and it’s a quick learning curve, but with some prior study and research most new drivers seem to get through the experience OK.
If you’re relying on finding a company that will train you I’m afraid you’re limiting your options, the good news is that if you’re prepared to learn there are plenty of people on this board who will help you as much as we can
Hi i appreciate your help im not looking solely for a company to train me obviously i do need some training but i have been told by companies that training is necessary before they would allow me to take out their trucks, im a bit confused as far as driving hours i do 44 hrs over 5 days and sat morn i am more than willing to learn
i dont know if you can see these pics regarding driving hours
Maybe getting confused between “driving” hours and “other work”.
As mentioned, you would normally be able to drive 1 day on alternate weekends.
Pete 
You can do 56 hours HGV driving a week and 90 hours in a fortnight, the 56 hours a week driving and 90 hours a fortnight is actual HGV driving time, for EU regulations driving time is what’s recorded by the tachograph as driving which is basically when the wheels are turning.
Assuming that your current job has nothing to do with HGV driving (which it can’t) then the hours you do in your Monday to Friday job do not count towards the maximum permitted driving hours.
In any week that you drive in-scope of EU regulations any other work you do will count as other work, for instance lets suppose you work in a warehouse Monday to Friday then drive a HGV vehicle on Saturday, the 44 hours you do in the warehouse work will count as other work for the EU regulations, so if for instance you did 9 hours driving a HGV on Saturday then in that week you would have done 9 hours driving and 44 hours other work, as I said before other work does not count towards driving time.
So your Monday to Friday job is very unlikely to stop you driving HGVs at the weekend.
However in any week that you drive in-scope of EU regulations you must comply with the weekly rest requirement, in any week you should have a 45 hour weekly rest period, this can be reduced to 24 hours every second week.
So if you can do a shift driving and still have 45 consecutive hours rest you could work a day every weekend, however most people who have Monday to Friday jobs can only do a shift and complete a 24 hour reduced weekly rest period, as you’re not allowed to have a reduced weekly rest period more than every second week it means most people who work Monday to Friday can only do 1 HGV driving shift every second week.
I work for Hermes (Sheffield) but they do take on newly qualified I got a 40 hour contract 3 weeks after passing my test. Mainly driving 7.5 but odd occasion driving the 12t but same money which ever I drove so don’t mind.
Hi to all with regards to driving hours and digital tachographs i was wondering if there are any books/hand or pocket books explaining these topics as i have downloaded these to my laptop but i cant get on reading of a screen i would prefer books i have looked online but there are many different ones and none seem to be recently dated.Ideally i would prefer mp3 like i did my theory revision, surprising how much more the info stays in your head listening via mp3 but having said that i dont think there is any such thing for driving hours etc i thought about printing off what i downloaded but hell of alot of pages be like carrying round a wallpaper sample book any help would be appreciated thanks.Graham…
There is a leaflet that someone posted on here a while back pocket size and it had all the basics I can’t remember the link though I’m sure someone will post it up
matt.robb2:
There is a leaflet that someone posted on here a while back pocket size and it had all the basics I can’t remember the link though I’m sure someone will post it up
I gotcha, buddy.
Dan156:
matt.robb2:
There is a leaflet that someone posted on here a while back pocket size and it had all the basics I can’t remember the link though I’m sure someone will post it upI gotcha, buddy.
Think it was probably this one.