I don’t come from a transport background, but it’s something I wanted to do since I was a kid. I initially only did my HGV so I’d have something to fall back on should I need employment but I ended up sticking with driving.
I’m not someone for whom trucking is a “way of life” or “in the blood”, its just a job to me.
Don’t regret being a lorry driver at all.
I regret not upping sticks and moving to Oz and driving down there.
Don’t ask me why, I just do 
COOKiEEES!!:
:? bit harsh @ smallsie.Anyway, @ commonrail, I’d say that 7 years is more than an adequate length of time to have developed an accurate outlook. Unfortunately that outlook is indeed very very bleak, but it does not mean it’s not correct.
So I reject your accusation @ smallsie that I’m one of those who
“thinks because he spent mony on his license he should have walked straight into a job paying 15bucks an hour”Don’t make rash assumptions about people you do not even know.
7years and you’ve still not got on to artics?.. Your obviously doing something wrong then, probably your attitude…
No regrets. Best thing I ever did.
Ilona
LadyTrucker1976-2008:
No regrets. Best thing I ever did.
Ilona
+1
When I think about the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, people I’ve met and in some cases become long time friends with all over the world, all while being paid to do so, I don’t regret it for a second 
I still find myself smiling when I get behind the wheel today 
billybigrig:
LadyTrucker1976-2008:
No regrets. Best thing I ever did.
Ilona+1
When I think about the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, people I’ve met and in some cases become long time friends with all over the world, all while being paid to do so, I don’t regret it for a second
I still find myself smiling when I get behind the wheel today
+2
+3
Teachers at school were disappointed I didn’t stay on as they had me down for a levels an university but it just wasn’t me.
I wanted to drive lorrys since I was about 4 and loved going out with my dad in the lorry.
I have periods where I get fed up but I’ve had a good living out of it met some great people and md seen some weird and wonderful things.
I’ve ended up coming half way round the world to drive lorrys on another continent and in three months have done half the lower 48 states of America.
Maybe if I’d stayed on at school I would have got a job that landed me in another part of the world but I’d guess I’d probably be sitting behind a desk in some anonymous office looking at trucknet while pretending to be working.
So for me I’m living the dream even if sometimes it feels more like a nightmare.
kr79:
+3
Teachers at school were disappointed I didn’t stay on as they had me down for a levels an university but it just wasn’t me.
I wanted to drive lorrys since I was about 4 and loved going out with my dad in the lorry.
I have periods where I get fed up but I’ve had a good living out of it met some great people and md seen some weird and wonderful things.
I’ve ended up coming half way round the world to drive lorrys on another continent and in three months have done half the lower 48 states of America.
Maybe if I’d stayed on at school I would have got a job that landed me in another part of the world but I’d guess I’d probably be sitting behind a desk in some anonymous office looking at trucknet while pretending to be working.
So for me I’m living the dream even if sometimes it feels more like a nightmare.
But look at the time of year you arrived , couple of months time you’ll have a winter under your belt and be reveling in smiles per miles , as I’m sure your MB redneck mates have also told you . Roll on Spring
I loved It, although I don’t drive anymore…
Loved it when i first started, but after 30 years i am now really fed up. I now find myself stuck because its all i know.
COOKiEEES!!:
commonrail:
you havnt actually become a hgv driver yet...your just ■■■■■■ coz you havnt found a decent job yetAre you saying that unless you specifically drive an artic you’re not an hgv driver?
Anyway, who cares, as a matter of fact maybe you’re even right. I simply couldn’t give a toss either way any more to be honest.
But it is exactly that sort of “my [zb]'s bigger than yours” attitude from other drivers that I will certainly not miss if I’m ever lucky enough to make it out of this profession
Interesting. I wonder how many C+E licence holders look down on 7.5 and 12/18/26/32 tonne rigid drivers? Personally despite having an artic licence and pulling mainly DD’s over the last few years, I think they are more hassle than they’re worth. Give me a rigid (unless multi drop which I don’t do) every day. And you usually find that the artic driver taking the ■■■■ out of you is on 10p/hour more than you…so who is the mug given the artic licence costs a grand more to get?! 
Hindsight is a wonderful thing as I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to find another I.t job when I was last made redundant as I would probably be earning 30k by now and not be away from home all week missing my family, but at the time I wanted the instant pay increase that a class 2 job gave over my job at the time.
I don’t regret becoming a driver. I regret the country going to the dogs via politically correct politicians across all parties, making it impossible for one of them not to be elected. 
i consider myself lucky cos i’ve always loved trucks but due to finances ended up in a tele flt and then went in the army and they gave me a class I so i got the best of both worlds cos i love driving them both
as for quitting it cost me a heap to get my forks lic, then i got banned from driving and it cost a serious wedge to get my class I again so no i wouldn’t part with it, i love the challenges that i’m set
i wish that the wages were higher, i wish that transport managers would actually go out on the road and experience the sort of $%^& we have to contend with, i wish that the rest of the staff that i get sent to work alongside weren’t so stuck up and disrespectful towards us agency staff, i wish that every car would just disappear leaving me in peace to do my job…
and pigs might actually fly…
dukeofdirt:
No, my dream job as a child. None of my friends ever achieved that! Ok, they say I aimed low but [zb] 'em! I love it.
+1 
joeyd:
Only been driving Class 1 for 8 years but have never regretted it at all. As a fairly new driver maybe I havent had enough time to get disillusioned yet but I expect it also works the other way too, maybe some people who have been driving for 20 - 30 years don’t realise how much crap you have to put up with even in the most basic jobs outside haulage these days, appraisals, targets, H&S etc. I was a Production Manager for years but by the end I was spending most of my time trying to make sure we were compliant with ever increasing bits of legislation and bugger all time actually running productionNow I have a crap hourly wage, work 60+ hours a week, but am a 100 times happier than I was in a Factory/office environment.
I’m virtually of the same mindset as this. I’ve only been tramping class 1 since July though.
Good post
YES…
I dreamt of driving a truck since I was a wee nipper, going out at 3 in the morning with my dad for 2 days. I was adamant that this is what I wanted to do for a living. I left school and done the usual factory crap and eventually worked offshore on the standby/supply ships. I was happy doing this until I met the woman of my dreams (cough). This put a massive strain on our relationship, so after many long discussions with my better half, I decided to bite the bullet and pay out for both my C & CE licences and set off on my childhood dream. I eventually found someone willing to take me on as a new driver. I loved my job, travelling up and down the country meeting new people and earning half decent money…
Then it all turned to sh… March last year, up in the morning after parking up in Oxford, 1 drop in Oxford centre and then one in Brackley. Lovely sunny day, great mood as I’d be home early. Travelling down the M1 past Newport Pagnell services, saw a car up ahead on the hard shoulder. What I didn’t see however was the woman that had picked out my truck to end her life…
I had a few weeks off to get my head round things a bit etc etc.
This one woman has destroyed my lifelong dream and any love I had for the job has gone! I am bitter and have my own personal reasons for regretting my career choice. In October, the company I was working for went bust and I was jobless and am finding it very difficult to find any motivation to look for another driving job, but its really all I’m qualified to do!
Apologies for my complete rant on my first post!!
No don’t regret it,it’s in the blood my dad was a lorry driver and i spent more time on the road with him than at home
loved it,as a kid i seen and done more than most kids my age (will try to put pics on)in proper lorrys in proper cafes.
thats when you could take your kids to work, good times .sadly times change it’s just a job now
firstly im a guitarist so my first loves muzic sorry i never kept up with the band scene years ago although my mate did and hes done some good gigs,if ive had a p155 nite then i curse it apart from that suppose i gotto do it keep the wolves at bay and there could be worse jobs i was doing than sitting on my a… for 10 hrs a night lol…