I’ve been driving Class 2 for 2.5 years now so I’m still a newbie in relative terms but this is something I’ve encountered on a fairly regular basis throughout my time driving. Not from our arctic drivers who are all pretty sound but just in general.
I’ve seen it mentioned a few times on here and to be fair people seem pretty reasonable. Last time I saw it discussed people were giving the example that a Class 1 driver might be delivering for example a non time-critical load of ping pong balls to an RDC as opposed to another driver delivering 32t of milk down tight country lanes and having to deliver it rain, sleet or snow. A fair point but there still seem to be a fair few smug gits out there in the real world.
I kind of understand it as all Class 1 drivers have a Class 2 license so there’s an element of ‘been there, done that’. It didn’t used to bother me as I always had the aspiration of moving up to Class 1. However, now I’m fairly settled on the dustcarts it seems to bother me more, perhaps because I take pride in the skills I’ve acquired.
This may be a somewhat bold claim from someone that can’t drive an arctic but I often reflect that my typical day could well be harder than a lot of Class 1 jobs, and I’m not just talking about physical graft which isn’t really a factor when collecting cardboard. Arctics are unquestionably harder to manoeuvre and it’s gotta be a nightmare when one gets stuck in a tight spot. I also do believe that the specialist side of Class 1 is likely the very pinnacle of truck driving (ice road truckers lol). But from my perspective lots of the guys I see at the RDC’s I service look to have it fairly easy.
I’m a ‘catch up’ driver working nights on the commercial recycling side. This means that over 80% of my jobs are unfamiliar to me and involve lots of tight manoeuvring in the dark, with me usually doing about 50-60 jobs in an evening. The other day was a good example. Was in a 4 axle dustcart and first job was a site which (as with many of my customers in the Warks countryside) can only be accessed via ‘unsuitable for HGV’ roads. Problem is I didn’t know which of the three roads in was the one which I could get down and with the usual day driver being in bed hours ago and uncontactable I had no choice but to chance it, which resulted in me getting ‘stuck’ and having to reverse half a mile in the dark with a stone wall literally inches from me on both sides.
Upon arriving at the site (a listed building) I had to do a 90° reverse into an entrance with stone pillars, with again literally inches on either side. It was lashing with rain and the outside spotlights made it really hard to see due to reflections, and my mirrors were so wet I could barely see anything anyway. I was out the truck about four times trying to ensure I didn’t catch the wall as I turned and in the back of my mind I’m thinking ‘still got 59 jobs left to do’ so couldn’t take too much time.
I have a lot of jobs like this. Crappy little industrial estates with loads of scrap cars parked everywhere and corner shops in tight city streets where you’ve only inches to spare as you turn right due to parked cars. Sites which I need to access via bridges which are marked as lower than my truck clearance meaning that I’m out the cab trying to eyeball it in the dark and judge whether I’ve got a couple inches clearance, all whilst I’ve got irate cars waiting behind me. And yet I should bow to the fat man who spends most of his day driving in a straight line on the motorway.
Tailschwing:
And yet I should bow to the fat man who spends most of his day driving in a straight line on the motorway.
Uhhh, no. I don’t know where you got that from When I’m in a rigid I do notice a difference in how I’m treated for example when overtaking artics will rarely flash me in, maybe 3 times out of 10 but in an artic it’s 9/10, also in a rigid after say a roundabout if there are 2 lanes artics will try to shoot past me, sometimes (rarely) will overtake me while still inside the roundabout and that’s about it. Hardly worth bothering about imo. With all that said, I do catch myself looking down on class 2 drivers but I can’t help it as artics cabs are higher (taller?)
What a load of absolute bollox! You’re the one calling yourself a “class 2 driver”,
Your inferiority complex is of your own making! Grow up little boy! Daddy will get you a bigger toy if your good and eat up all your porridge.
Must admit the two types I’ve found have the worst attitude are the dustbin drivers “wait there for three hours while I reverse” lads and the dreaded “highway maintenance” boys on 20 quid an hour who won’t acknowledge a single other driver on the road but demand every courtesy they never give.
No offence I suppose it’s just as in all things some people are sweet and some are sour
I think you should change the Topic title from “Class 1 superiority complex” to “Class 2 inferiority complex” - that would reflect the message you are putting across far more accurately.
It is quite a natural thing really, I will give an example. My car is a range rover sport that I drive daily. If I borrow my wife’s car, she has a fiat 500. I don’t really feel any different in my actual social standing, nothing to prove here attitude. If she borrows my car, she realises that her car may not be up to scratch. Same applies to lorries in the same respect.
It appears that you are giving this far too much thought. It is true that a minority of “class 1” drivers look down on “class 2” drivers as somehow inferior. The narrow mindedness that makes them feel this way most likely rears it’s ugly head in many other aspects of their life also, probably making them miserable people to be around.
If you drive in a courteous, safe and thoughtful manner most drivers will treat you with the respect you deserve regardless of which vehicle you happen to be driving.
Honestly the last place I worked, the rigid boys and the drivers mates were all top notch guys, very helpful, very decent. But they warned me about the Class 1 lot.
Then when I started to be trained to drive the Class 1 and got to know them… oh my God. Absolute bunch of ■■■■■, apart from one or two. Snobby ■■■■■■■■■ They couldn’t drive past a rigid driver in the yard without making a derogatory comment. They weren’t too fond of me either as a new pass… I wouldn’t have been worthy for years… they made it a horrible place to work. The superiority complex is very much real. Hope I never turn out like that.
To be fair, this thread was never to go down too well being of an inflammatory nature, so I apologise for that. I’d had a pretty bad day to be fair, missed a job due to rushing and had to go an hour’s round trip back on myself to do it as was a missed service which had been escalated.
Then when I’m getting the cardboard at an RDC (stored by the gate) I get some knobhead in an arctic laying on the horn because he was apparently too important to wait 30 seconds for me. At that point I could’ve quite happily pulled the fat prick out the cab so I just gritted my teeth and ignored him as is usually best in these situations.
You should do what every other rigid driver I have ever met for 30yrs does.
Make a point of telling the artic driver (whether he could give a ■■■■ or not ) you…
Usually drive artics/just on this while my motor is getting repaired/on holiday relief, and can’t wait to get back on artics/doing my mate a favour.
Every ■■■■ time !
As I’ve said before, nothing clever in driving artics.
Unlike once over they’re just like driving a big car that bends nowadays (the reason that you get the type of knobber that you mention now driving them)
Give me the same money, and I’ll be on a rigid like a shot.
All I will add, and I’ve driven plenty of rigids and you’ll always be flashed back into place after an overtake -yes theirs plenty of bad drivers on the bendys-
BUT…
A large percentage of Class 2’s get ridden around like their transit vans, I often Wonder if the driver forgets their still in a HGV; you’d hope as a fellow trucker you’d receive the understanding of time and space you need to leave a fully laden wagon more so than a Mavis in her Kia Rio…
It can kind of impact the respect some have for the good drivers.
We look down on you class 2 because we are the bread and butter of haulage. Supplying in bulk so you peasents can do the rat run supplys around town and lug everything about handball.
Class 2. Ppffffftttt. Wouldnt have you on the bottom of my shoe.
cgscott:
We look down on you class 2 because we are the bread and butter of haulage. Supplying in bulk so you peasents can do the rat run supplys around town and lug everything about handball.
Class 2. Ppffffftttt. Wouldnt have you on the bottom of my shoe.
Ps. Im not fat either. Thanks.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+1
thats the winer right there.
if you have a class 1 and drive a clsss 2,then its similar to having a 12 inch ■■■■ and a woman with a 5 inch jack and danny…
obviously the same logic applies to those ex professor phd advanced retired classically trained fridge engineers and similar self imposed titles that drive trucks to pass the time of day.
why belittle yourself
Being quite frankly one of this countries finest class one drivers I feel I’m quite within my rights to look down on everyone. You’re all scum in my eyes.
Class 1 superiority complex ? More like artic driver syndrome ,just to add when I park on the services in my rigid & trailer in the marked bay designed for mr artic my cab sticks out approx 6 ft odd more than the maximum length artic
When I’m in a rigid I do notice a difference in how I’m treated for example when overtaking artics will rarely flash me in, maybe 3 times out of 10 but in an artic it’s 9/10, also in a rigid after say a roundabout if there are 2 lanes artics will try to shoot past me, sometimes (rarely) will overtake me while still inside the roundabout and that’s about it. Hardly worth bothering about imo. With all that said, I do catch myself looking down on class 2 drivers but I can’t help it as artics cabs are higher (taller?)
) you…
