Not quite a trucking question, but still transport related :
I currently work for a charity collecting furniture using a Citroen Relay Luton Van. I’m paired up with another co-driver although we are both employed as drivers. Now, we have been working together for the last 10 months or so since we started at the same time and have got on really well during that time - we have our moments like anyone.
Now, we are supposed to take it in turns driving but we seem to have this ‘battle’ when it comes to me saying I’m driving because he seems to want to drive all the time. It didn’t bother me originally but comments have been made by other staff that I do not seem to be driving much.
I’ve made it clear to the other driver that I’m quite happy to take turns again rather than the occasional day here and there but it seems to fall on deaf ears - so much so he gets stroppy when he has to sit in the passenger seat and do the paperwork instead. When I do drive it’s as if he can’t relax as he’s not got a steering wheel in front of him - so he’s like a ■■■■■■■ driving instructor and tries to drive for you. I’ve never had any complaints from people about my driving before so it’s not me.
He’s really starting to ■■■■ me off now but don’t want to hurt the guys feelings as we have to work together all day. However, I’m getting close to telling him to p+ss off as I’ve had enough.
Mr B:
[zb] his feelings if he don’t worry about yours give him plenty back, ask of he’s a bit thick and that’s why he can’t do the paperwork.
We’ve talked about the paperwork yes and I think he is not keen on doing it to be honest. He’s not thick just stubborn as he used to be self-employed driving his own van delivering furniture etc. I’ve been self employed too but so I know how hard it can be to adjust to working with others.
Not quite a trucking question, but still transport related :
I currently work for a charity collecting furniture using a Citroen Relay Luton Van. I’m paired up with another co-driver although we are both employed as drivers. Now, we have been working together for the last 10 months or so since we started at the same time and have got on really well during that time - we have our moments like anyone.
Now, we are supposed to take it in turns driving but we seem to have this ‘battle’ when it comes to me saying I’m driving because he seems to want to drive all the time. It didn’t bother me originally but comments have been made by other staff that I do not seem to be driving much.
I’ve made it clear to the other driver that I’m quite happy to take turns again rather than the occasional day here and there but it seems to fall on deaf ears - so much so he gets stroppy when he has to sit in the passenger seat and do the paperwork instead. When I do drive it’s as if he can’t relax as he’s not got a steering wheel in front of him - so he’s like a [zb] driving instructor and tries to drive for you. I’ve never had any complaints from people about my driving before so it’s not me.
He’s really starting to ■■■■ me off now but don’t want to hurt the guys feelings as we have to work together all day. However, I’m getting close to telling him to p+ss off as I’ve had enough.
What would you do ■■
Even a charity has a hierarchy, you must have a responsible person, a manager or a supervisor. Put the ball in their court, ignore what the other staff say, it is none of their business. For instance who pays for the fuel, the road tax and the insurance? They will be the ones to make a decision. They may not care as long as the furniture is getting collected and sold on.
Not quite a trucking question, but still transport related :
I currently work for a charity collecting furniture using a Citroen Relay Luton Van. I’m paired up with another co-driver although we are both employed as drivers. Now, we have been working together for the last 10 months or so since we started at the same time and have got on really well during that time - we have our moments like anyone.
Now, we are supposed to take it in turns driving but we seem to have this ‘battle’ when it comes to me saying I’m driving because he seems to want to drive all the time. It didn’t bother me originally but comments have been made by other staff that I do not seem to be driving much.
I’ve made it clear to the other driver that I’m quite happy to take turns again rather than the occasional day here and there but it seems to fall on deaf ears - so much so he gets stroppy when he has to sit in the passenger seat and do the paperwork instead. When I do drive it’s as if he can’t relax as he’s not got a steering wheel in front of him - so he’s like a [zb] driving instructor and tries to drive for you. I’ve never had any complaints from people about my driving before so it’s not me.
He’s really starting to ■■■■ me off now but don’t want to hurt the guys feelings as we have to work together all day. However, I’m getting close to telling him to p+ss off as I’ve had enough.
[quote Like It! It’s weird really, you can sense that he’s hanging on to his seat for dear life for no apparent reason. [/quote]
This sentence has caught my eye: has this man been in a serious RTA in the last few years? This could account for his reluctance to let someone else drive. I was the same after I was severeley injured in a head on crash in 1990, (the reason I ended up an extrucker) and although now I can be ‘driven’ by certain people, I still ‘hang on’ with some drivers, and given the option of being driver or passenger I still much prefer to drive myself. Perhaps your ‘co-driver’ has had a similar experience - it can take some getting over. If you are OK with his driving, apart from wanting to take some of it on, I would let him get on with it, or as ‘selby newcomer’ has suggested, propose he drives in the morning and you in the afternoon.
I would explain to the gaffer I wasn’t driving much because he wanted to drive all the time…and I would let him and sleep…that way you earn the same for working less hard - always an intelligent move in my book.
