Looking back at some pictures of the older trucks I used to drive, I started thinking back to the way things used to be and how the industry has changed over the years.
The other drivers used to be a different breed in those days and would willingly help a new or struggling driver out, showing them how to rope and sheet in a better way, or how to best secure an unusual load. You’d get the odd ‘brown noser’ but drivers stuck together in those days and all helped each other out, even out on the road and at delivery destinations all over the UK. It was quite normal to help another driver struggling with a big tarp on a windy day, or help them fold it up on the deck.
Years ago there were no mobile phones and drivers would call from a phone box if they had any problems or if they were empty. Drivers didn’t have people ringing them in the cab all the while, distracting them when concentrating on their driving (how many accidents has that caused?).
Drivers didn’t have trackers watching their every move, as hauliers had an element of trust in their drivers and knew the driver would crack on and get things done. They respected their professionalism. Vehicles didn’t have telematics reporting harsh braking as a misdemeanour, rather than an aware driver saving injury to the pratt that just pulled out in front of the truck.
Hauliers didn’t mind if you ran the engine for five minutes to heat the cab whilst waiting in a four hour steel queue outside, it was winter in sub zero temperatures after all. They didn’t mind if you took a two mile detour to avoid a traffic gridlock as they trusted your integrity in keeping the truck moving and back to the yard. They didn’t have inward facing cameras in the cab as they had more respect for their drivers. They realised it was hard out there some days, challenging, tiring and didn’t interrogate drivers about petty things upon their return, but instead said “thanks for that today” and asked if you were doing anything nice that weekend.
Years ago virtually nobody started work at 2am in the morning and there was almost no lorries on the road of a Sunday. There weren’t many lorries on the road during the night either.The only drivers that were out all week long, were those on international runs, the term tramper wasn’t in use as even the distance drivers typically only had a couple of nights out per week.
If I look back on times past, the only real improvement in life I see for the HGV driver (personal opinion) was the invention and availability of the satnav. It was nothing back then to spend an hour driving somewhere and another hour just trying to find your destination. Stopping random strangers in the street and asking them if they knew were something was, being the norm and you weren’t always pointed in the right direction.
There was traffic queues, accidents and adverse weather in those days, just like there is now. If you wanted aircon you opened the window, but you did have a gearstick and were far more in touch with the machine you were sitting on, unlike the auto boxed, cruise controlled machines you just steer nowadays. The police and ministry of transport used to have pull ins, but as long as something was not serious or dangerous, they would often ask you to “get that fixed when you get back to the yard”, or next time don’t do something in a certain way advice. You weren’t see as a ‘cash cow’ back then, you were a driver that needed guidance. The cowboy operators would still get a hammering though, as would drivers just taking the pee.
This all brings it back to the modern day and the alleged ‘driver shortage’. I can look back of previous times and have happy memories of some of the places I worked, the banter and fun with some of the old time characters. I wonder if today’s drivers will have any such memories in future years?
Times change and the transport world has changed too. Nowadays you potentially have to carry a wad full of cards around in your wallet. Driving license, CPC, digi tacho, hiab, adr, cscs, quarry card, ports card. In theory you must be better qualified, more professional so hence regarded higher than previous drivers in years gone by?
A lot of folks see the driver shortage as just being about money, but it is not. It is just as much as about respect, dignity, professionalism and a sensible work-life balance.
I am still a qualified HGV driver, but I wonder how many of the existing drivers out there, would enter the industry as a newbie nowadays and shell out thousands to get a license? Personally I’d struggle to see the attraction.
