Been driving class 2 agency work for a couple of weeks now - licence since January.
In my short career so far, I’ve achieved the following milestones:
Taken out a transit van brake light with the end of my flatbed whilst manouvering around a small market square.
Had to reverse for ages along a B road after my sat nav tried to drive me through a low bridge.
Received bollockings off jobsworths for parking in the only available delivery bay at a drop off. I should have waited for another one (6 foot away, and opening into the same warehouse) to become free.
Finish every day feeling generally useless.
Does it get any easier? Or is this all standard newbie stuff?
I took out a brake light on a transit with a fork lift once.
I presume it was a customer moaning at you for parking in the wrong bay. If so who cares? Multi drop work = moaning customers. Just don’t worry about it there is nothing you can do about it.
At a guess you are one of those perfectionists types that want the job done 100% right all the time. I’d recommend chilling out. The fact that you care about this type of stuff (none serious) means you are better then 99.98% of all other agency drivers.
Been driving class 2 agency work for a couple of weeks now - licence since January.
In my short career so far, I’ve achieved the following milestones:
Taken out a transit van brake light with the end of my flatbed whilst manouvering around a small market square.
Only a light cluster? You’re not trying hard enough!
Had to reverse for ages along a B road after my sat nav tried to drive me through a low bridge.
You didn’t hit the bridge? See above!
Received bollockings off jobsworths for parking in the only available delivery bay at a drop off. I should have waited for another one (6 foot away, and opening into the same warehouse) to become free.
Only worry when you don’t get a bollocking!
Finish every day feeling generally useless.
Yep
Does it get any easier? Or is this all standard newbie stuff?
Cheers
All pretty standard newbie stuff. Just focus on doing your job and you’ll get better, or it gets easier, or you just stop noticing all the crap that goes with the job. One of them anyway. Not sure which one.
Now, crack on drive.
It does get easier as you settle into the swing into of things. In my first weeks of driving I ripped the bottom step off a wagon, dragged a 26t down the side of a Stobarts cab.
Once you’ve found the right job then you’ll feel better at the end of the day. Don’t give up, it does get better. Soon you’ll be doing the City Of London without breaking a sweat.
As above, yes it WILL get easier, the first few weeks are the hardest and most stressful!
Your mind is probably working overtime trying to ensure you get everything right, and you are probably still improving your HGV driving skills radically at the moment…
Hang in there, before you know it you will feel comfortable enough to relax and perfect your limp!
Radar19:
It does get easier as you settle into the swing into of things. In my first weeks of driving I ripped the bottom step off a wagon, dragged a 26t down the side of a Stobarts cab.
Once you’ve found the right job then you’ll feel better at the end of the day. Don’t give up, it does get better. Soon you’ll be doing the City Of London without breaking a sweat.
Been driving class 2 agency work for a couple of weeks now - licence since January.
In my short career so far, I’ve achieved the following milestones:
Taken out a transit van brake light with the end of my flatbed whilst manouvering around a small market square.
Had to reverse for ages along a B road after my sat nav tried to drive me through a low bridge.
Received bollockings off jobsworths for parking in the only available delivery bay at a drop off. I should have waited for another one (6 foot away, and opening into the same warehouse) to become free.
Finish every day feeling generally useless.
Does it get any easier? Or is this all standard newbie stuff?
Cheers
It does get a lot easier. In my first week i ripped the corner off the bumper and lost a pallet of flooring off the tail lift! Two months in and i’m feeling a lot happier and really enjoying myself.
Don’t worry about it.
Yes, it will get better and mishaps happen especially when you first start - so don’t worry! Just be careful, do your best and try to learn from each mistake.
In my first few weeks I …
Damaged some guttering at a customers premises trying to reverse down a stupidly tight entrance.
Bent the rear under run bar at a right angle after getting hopelessly lost and ending up in a residential area, I caught a wall with the tail swing trying to get out of a particular tight spot, I had to get the fork lift driver to push it back into place with the fork lift when I eventually got to the drop - he did a good job though, you could hardly tell it had been bent, not sure what state I left the wall in though as I didn’t stop to look.
Reversed into a business customers gate - it was dark and unlit and the stupid thing was painted black, I didn’t even know I had done it until I heard it go twang, the guy was an arrogant prick anyway.
Damaged the wind rear deflector reversing too far under a trailer (when new to class 1).
Plus getting lost, making a hash of reversing (both class 2 and class 1) and messing the tacho up on several occasions.
So you are not on your own struggling in the first few weeks, personally I found the first two weeks the most difficult - so much to get you head around and not just with the driving, the rules and regs, the pressure to try to do well etc.
No-one rocks up as a perfect seasoned wagon driver, that magic “2yrs experience” you no doubt will have seen on adverts doesn’t translate into “2yrs incident free driving” what you are doing now is getting the experience and it can be a school of hard knocks and being left feeling silly at times- even last Thursday I had a tail lift problem I should have known better about but luckily spotted my mistake before an expensive call out was made by the office.
I’ve knocked over a fence, been locked out of the cab with the keys still inside, took out a road sign in Slough all within 4 months of starting the job but the good shifts breed confidence and that’s when it gets easier
Been driving class 2 agency work for a couple of weeks now - licence since January.
In my short career so far, I’ve achieved the following milestones:
Taken out a transit van brake light with the end of my flatbed whilst manouvering around a small market square.
Had to reverse for ages along a B road after my sat nav tried to drive me through a low bridge.
Received bollockings off jobsworths for parking in the only available delivery bay at a drop off. I should have waited for another one (6 foot away, and opening into the same warehouse) to become free.
Finish every day feeling generally useless.
Does it get any easier? Or is this all standard newbie stuff?
A41, Baker Street, W1 City of London. Decided I didn’t want to go round the M25 to get to SW8 yesterday. On the Monday I had a delivery at SW4 at a residential address. The house cost £3.7 million to buy and they still had enough cash to hire an army of workers to gut the place and start again.
Been driving class 2 agency work for a couple of weeks now - licence since January.
In my short career so far, I’ve achieved the following milestones:
Taken out a transit van brake light with the end of my flatbed whilst manouvering around a small market square.
Had to reverse for ages along a B road after my sat nav tried to drive me through a low bridge.
Dont alway follow prat nav maybe a bridge hight map book will be a good purchase this weekend ( yep I have come close but not hit any didn’t have to reverse that far mind )
Received bollockings off jobsworths for parking in the only available delivery bay at a drop off. I should have waited for another one (6 foot away, and opening into the same warehouse) to become free.
Finish every day feeling generally useless.
Does it get any easier? Or is this all standard newbie stuff?
