runing back up north ready to load after finishing my drops down south not getting on m25 unitll 9.00am by time reached collection point down to traffic etc was gone 3.30 and getting ready for a break .by time loaded it was getting close to 4pm
as far as i was aware was loading to go back to yard 50miles away but up on return to yard 5.15 was complained at because i had supposed to of run this load to shropshire 88miles away all A roads 40mph so can say over 2hrs if sticking to speed limits etc .so would of reached shropshire 6–6:15 then had 120mile run back to yard .
there calling up agency making up a load of crap etc saying i aint completed job i was given when its not even possible even if do 56mph on single cariage way .
put up good argument with the agency but they dont no arse from there elbow but then again in there eyes customer is always right .
basicly the company surley new it couldnt be done i was told to return it to yrd and did so within my 12hrs just .
what would other members of done in this situation
You have no choice, but to stick to the tacho rules. You rang them & told them the situation. It’s their fault they cant plan their runs correctly.
It’s you who will get an arse kicking if you ran bent & got rummbled.
Next time, see if you can record the conversation, & then ask for written instructions to break the law. Just so you can show the TC, & see what they say to that!
The only cause of complaint they may have is if you were told to go to Shropshire, not back to base. Again if they gave incorrect instructions their fault.
If your were told though, you should have gone , though it probably who have meant a night out in the cab.(again assuming you were informed you may have a night out before you took the job on
Having said that your max possible working day is 15 hours not 12, assuming you have had not done two other 15 hour days this week.
thats the problem just talking total rubbish they no most of the work they give cant be done on time give you not even close .
was speaking to another driver who told me they plan there routes etc on rac route planner to determine the times .
and this conversation was with the transport manger , most have to do 2hrs going to load up then run it back and stick another disc in to even be able to get anywhere close to getting back , same place everynight and other drivers are doing so
i dont mind the hard graft and running the odd 10mins extra to get me back to yard i no shouldnt be done etc but when other drivers are having to make first 2-3hrs go missing every day gets beyond a joke
and thats the problem i was informed to take it back to base there just talking rubbish so someone on nights had to sort the problem out , and already had done previos 15hr shifts.
i had stayed out night before due to out of time but they wanted it back to reload ready for that night .
if i was told to take run i would of done and told them they had to get someone out to rescue me when out of time but they make it clear they dont like to do that so better if i can get back .
psv8:
what would other members of done in this situation
Say the following very slowly and clearly so there’s no chance of being misunderstood:
“Under the terms of the Operating Licence, it is your responsibility to plan runs that can be completed legally without undue pressure on the driver. What you are asking me to do is an illegal request and as you are aware, I am duty bound to inform the Traffic Commissioner of all such requests.”
They shouldn’t plan you 15 hours work anyway, 12 max. Then you have 3 leeway if things go pear shaped, Companies can now be done for consistantly planning days that are too long.
psv8:
what would other members of done in this situation
Say the following very slowly and clearly so there’s no chance of being misunderstood:
“Under the terms of the Operating Licence, it is your responsibility to plan runs that can be completed legally without undue pressure on the driver. What you are asking me to do is an illegal request and as you are aware, I am duty bound to inform the Traffic Commissioner of all such requests.”
That’s almost fast becoming the most often thing I say.
“Them days is gone, Old Love”
I’ve even started using it other than in answer to “run bent requests”
One of my favourite times is in answer to buffoons believing they’re actually entitled talk to me as though I’m something they’ve scrapped from the bottom of their shoe
If there’s one thing worse than local multi drop it’s when someone tries to mix multi drop with long distance running.That’s where your problem is.Too many drops and too many miles together.Just look for a job where they run much longer distances but with one full load each way.If not the job’s often more aggro than it’s worth.
psv8:
what would other members of done in this situation
Say the following very slowly and clearly so there’s no chance of being misunderstood:
“Under the terms of the Operating Licence, it is your responsibility to plan runs that can be completed legally without undue pressure on the driver. What you are asking me to do is an illegal request and as you are aware, I am duty bound to inform the Traffic Commissioner of all such requests.”
That usually gets you out of it.
pmsl in a perfect world
Used it frequently along with my other pet phrase “Is that legally?”
It’s amazing how many transport co.s have planner & officer wallas who havn’t a clue about haulage.
They seem to think truck run at 70mph on an mway, are load/unloaded within 10 mins of arrive at a destination, & tacho regs are for “guidance only”.
All you can do is make sure you stick to the rules, & if they are always giving you greif move on elseware. Easier said than done at the moment I know.
You will probably find the angency are well aware of what they are like as they probably have has other driver making the same complaints.
When I was on the road I invested in a voice recorder, every time I phoned in for instructions I recorded the conversation, mainly to get re-load addressess but the amount of times it pulled me out of the [zb], when the transport clerks dropped B****cks, or told me Inadvertantly that I had to run bent, in order to get the job done.
The only problem with that was when you had used it against them a few times they would always find something else to have a go at you for. In transport, as a driver you are always in a no win situation.
rocky 7:
When I was on the road I invested in a voice recorder, every time I phoned in for instructions I recorded the conversation, mainly to get re-load addressess but the amount of times it pulled me out of the [zb], when the transport clerks dropped B****cks, or told me Inadvertantly that I had to run bent, in order to get the job done.
The only problem with that was when you had used it against them a few times they would always find something else to have a go at you for. In transport, as a driver you are always in a no win situation.
As an employed driver that’s often the case but owner drivers can pick and choose what jobs they take on and how they want to schedule them.In my experience this job is no good if you’re an employed driver I came to the conclusion after 20 years that it’s work as an owner driver or don’t bother.
rocky 7:
When I was on the road I invested in a voice recorder, every time I phoned in for instructions I recorded the conversation, mainly to get re-load addressess but the amount of times it pulled me out of the [zb], when the transport clerks dropped B****cks, or told me Inadvertantly that I had to run bent, in order to get the job done.
The only problem with that was when you had used it against them a few times they would always find something else to have a go at you for. In transport, as a driver you are always in a no win situation.
As an employed driver that’s often the case but owner drivers can pick and choose what jobs they take on and how they want to schedule them.In my experience this job is no good if you’re an employed driver I came to the conclusion after 20 years that it’s work as an owner driver or don’t bother.
I take it from this post you are an owner driver■■?
rocky 7:
When I was on the road I invested in a voice recorder, every time I phoned in for instructions I recorded the conversation, mainly to get re-load addressess but the amount of times it pulled me out of the [zb], when the transport clerks dropped B****cks, or told me Inadvertantly that I had to run bent, in order to get the job done.
The only problem with that was when you had used it against them a few times they would always find something else to have a go at you for. In transport, as a driver you are always in a no win situation.
As an employed driver that’s often the case but owner drivers can pick and choose what jobs they take on and how they want to schedule them.In my experience this job is no good if you’re an employed driver I came to the conclusion after 20 years that it’s work as an owner driver or don’t bother.
If you can run like (some ?) o/d’s then good luck to you, I’m up against them all week and have admitted defeat on that front
Thankfully my boss knows the strokes, and will remind planners that while it’s not in my interest to hang a job out, I do have a limiter and a tacho
Carryfast:
If there’s one thing worse than local multi drop it’s when someone tries to mix multi drop with long distance running.That’s where your problem is.Too many drops and too many miles together.Just look for a job where they run much longer distances but with one full load each way.If not the job’s often more aggro than it’s worth.
Id agree with this statement 100%,im in this situation at the moment where youre running your socks off all day covering 20-25 drops and covering 200-300k. It doesnt work and the more you do,the more they put on yer wagon. My attitude is changing totally from this week,stick to the speed limits and no more flogging on at each drop.Keep myself legal and take drops back if necessary or keep the wagon out overnight in order to complete the run. Either way the message will get itself across and i`ll keep hold of my licence
rocky 7:
When I was on the road I invested in a voice recorder, every time I phoned in for instructions I recorded the conversation, mainly to get re-load addressess but the amount of times it pulled me out of the [zb], when the transport clerks dropped B****cks, or told me Inadvertantly that I had to run bent, in order to get the job done.
The only problem with that was when you had used it against them a few times they would always find something else to have a go at you for. In transport, as a driver you are always in a no win situation.
As an employed driver that’s often the case but owner drivers can pick and choose what jobs they take on and how they want to schedule them.In my experience this job is no good if you’re an employed driver I came to the conclusion after 20 years that it’s work as an owner driver or don’t bother.
I take it from this post you are an owner driver■■?
Not yet is the honest answer to that.I’m retired since 1999 but when I went off the job through a back problem I’d already reached that conclusion having been working as an employed driver long enough to think that running as an owner driver must be better and certainly could’nt be any worse.Unless there’s any owner drivers on here who can tell me different it’s a case of here’s the load and I want it delivered to x,y,or z.It’s up to me then to ask is it a full load,is it going to not be another boring run in the UK,will it pay me enough miles for the week and decide wether I want the job.If or when I decide to go back that’s the way I’ll be working.I’d had a gutful of the employed uk driver scenario from the time I started to the time I went off the job.
I was put in an impossible situation whereby the only way I could meet deadlines, was to run bent. I walked away from the job and the company attempted to sue me for ‘breach of contract’. The company wanted £3k, fortunately I had excellent legal representation and they backed off before it went to court (which was a shame). It was put to me that I would never get a job in transport again, which turned out to be true as I’ve not worked since March 08. This was a national company, so it goes to show that it’s not just small company’s running bent, the big boys are probably worse and think they can get away with it
but then again in there eyes customer is always right .
