Driver shortage

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
81

Dolph:
Some of you are like cry babies. “I don’t want to work nights, I don’t want to work weekends, I want to sleep in my own bed etc”.
Sometimes you can’t, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Even if its working on Christmas, like I have done in the past, because we can’t pick and choose, as we are small puzzle from the economy.

I used to work weekends then i stopped i want to sleep in my own bed because i paid for it yes sometimes i have to do things i dont want to do like do an extra run instead of finishing at 2pm we can pick and choose once youve proved yourself in a company that your an asset they wil work around your needs not the other way round. Or you can ve a yes man and sleep in your truck for £20 suit yourself

82

commonrail:

the maoster:

commonrail:
The drivers that are replacing them…won’t have nights out.

I would imagine that nights out can certainly be [zb]. It all depends on how you take your nights out tbh. We have guys where I work who’ll tell me that nights out are crap and when I ask them where they parked they will say “oh in a layby on the A blah blah blah, or in such and such services” and I say “yeah, they’re crap when you’re an idiot and park in them places”.

The secret is to not run until 9 hours 50 minutes and then look for somewhere to park, find somewhere earlier, park up, go for a walk, find a nice pub, have a meal and a couple of pints and actually talk to strangers! Yeah, scary thought innit? Seriously, nights out are what you make them, if you lack imagination or the bottle to go off the beaten track then they will be dismal and dreary affairs. You get out what you put in.

Spot on.
As soon as i get my job,i know where i want to be that night,and plan my day around it

I am the same, I would not last a week at this job doing it as some cretins do it, ie park up in the first ■■■■■■ lay by, unsuitable or otherwise ,…(.mirrors pulled in :open_mouth: ) curtains up and stopwatch set to 8hrs 59mins :unamused: ffs.

I see Mr Smokeymonkey is on another of his famous wind ups :laughing:
See your point Contraflow definitely, but being a lifelong tramper and knowing nothing else ( wife and home life ok thanks btw) I have always thought, rightly or wrongly, that nights out were part of the job… end of, and that day men were just playing at it.
Just my opinion no offence intended to you day men btw.

The way you deal with the nts out, determines if they are a necessary evil , or something you can use as an advantage to salvaging some kind of social side to the job ( after saying that I have had far more crap boring ones than brilliant ones)

Looking back I’ve spent years away and regretted a lot of it, but I knew this when I took the job on.

As for the thread…deffo a shortage of good professional real drivers, but they are all already in jobs.
No shortage whatsoever of f/ whits that have a class 1, but will never be a ‘driver’ as long as they have a hole in their arses.

83

3stepsaheaduk:

Dolph:
Some of you are like cry babies. “I don’t want to work nights, I don’t want to work weekends, I want to sleep in my own bed etc”.
Sometimes you can’t, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Even if its working on Christmas, like I have done in the past, because we can’t pick and choose, as we are small puzzle from the economy.

I used to work weekends then i stopped i want to sleep in my own bed because i paid for it yes sometimes i have to do things i dont want to do like do an extra run instead of finishing at 2pm we can pick and choose once youve proved yourself in a company that your an asset they wil work around your needs not the other way round. Or you can ve a yes man and sleep in your truck for £20 suit yourself

So you’ve ‘proved yourself’ to be an asset to the haulage industry as it’s number one driver.
And I’m a yes man because I tramp. :laughing: …ffs :unamused:

Come back down to earth mate and get real.
And why do you presume I am on £20, or does being a Trucking God give you powers of clairvoyance also.?

84

Conor:

James the cat:

Conor:
whilst I, the agency gimp with a limp and a headset,.

so, you do admit you actually have a limp and a headset.

Have a limp but no headset. Trucks have bluetooth head units fitted in them so no need to have the blue light of shame beaconing my status of agency ■■■■■ to everyone who overtakes me… :smiley:

No need anyway, you already advertise that fact by wearing your hi viz behind the wheel. :smiley:

Yeh I know I keep mentioning it :blush: …, but I can not resist, only because I know how much it annoys you agency types. :smiley:

85

Dolph:
Some of you are like cry babies. “I don’t want to work nights, I don’t want to work weekends, I want to sleep in my own bed etc”.

I think you have to appreciate that many drivers cannot do nights out due to family circumstances. That may be young children, long term family illnesses, being a part time carer, having pets to look after and many other valid reasons, including for some an evening job as well perhaps.

86

Contraflow:

commonrail:
If i wanted an everyday job,i’d go back to the factory.

Why not have the best of both worlds?

A ■■■■ easy job driving around listening to the radio all day and then home for tea every night?

I really don’t understand the love for tramping. You must have some real issues in your home life (or no home life at all) if you prefer to spend your free time in the same vehicle you spend all day in.

In my ‘other trade’ as an electrical engineer, the difference was when I had to stay out overnight on jobs, I would be booked into a hotel, with a proper bed, washing facilities with all my meals paid for as well as extra money in my pocket to cover incidentals.
Compare this to your average truck driver, parked up in some remote layby with no facilities, including nowhere to shower or even being able to have use of a proper toilet, stuck in a metal box and acting as an unpaid security guard all night long.

Trouble with nights out nowadays, is that many hauliers would in days gone by only ask for one or perhaps two nights out per week, whereas now many seem to be obsessed with this tramping idea, even filtering down to rigids and 7.5 tonners nowadays.

I don’t do nights out anymore, as prefer to sleep in my own bed every night. If I want to go to the pub, go out for a meal, or spend quality time doing whatever, I am free to do it.

87

Methinks the lady doth protest too much! Or alternatively, why do drivers who don’t do nights out constantly remind everyone of the fact whilst the drivers that do them just quietly get on with the job?

88

mac12:

Taxibear:
Its simple . Do away with cpc training and stop putting hurdles up to make job difficult.

Why would £300s worth of CPC training cause a diver shortage? After some of the questions drivers put on here it should be 35 hours per year

A year? More like a month for some!

89

robroy:

3stepsaheaduk:

Dolph:
Some of you are like cry babies. “I don’t want to work nights, I don’t want to work weekends, I want to sleep in my own bed etc”.
Sometimes you can’t, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Even if its working on Christmas, like I have done in the past, because we can’t pick and choose, as we are small puzzle from the economy.

I used to work weekends then i stopped i want to sleep in my own bed because i paid for it yes sometimes i have to do things i dont want to do like do an extra run instead of finishing at 2pm we can pick and choose once youve proved yourself in a company that your an asset they wil work around your needs not the other way round. Or you can ve a yes man and sleep in your truck for £20 suit yourself

So you’ve ‘proved yourself’ to be an asset to the haulage industry as it’s number one driver.
And I’m a yes man because I tramp. :laughing: …ffs :unamused:

Come back down to earth mate and get real.
And why do you presume I am on £20, or does being a Trucking God give you powers of clairvoyance also.?

I mean tes man because the poster had put sometimes have to work Christmas because we cant pick and choose well we all have a choice to say yes or no no one or no comapny can make you do anything you dont want! And 20 pound a night is tge rough figure i see on most jobs advertised ii dont care if its 100 a night im not sleeping at work thanks

90

Got upstaged by a pair of golden retrievers in the end,but i’ll be back.

91

3stepsaheaduk:

robroy:

3stepsaheaduk:

Dolph:
Some of you are like cry babies. “I don’t want to work nights, I don’t want to work weekends, I want to sleep in my own bed etc”.
Sometimes you can’t, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Even if its working on Christmas, like I have done in the past, because we can’t pick and choose, as we are small puzzle from the economy.

I used to work weekends then i stopped i want to sleep in my own bed because i paid for it yes sometimes i have to do things i dont want to do like do an extra run instead of finishing at 2pm we can pick and choose once youve proved yourself in a company that your an asset they wil work around your needs not the other way round. Or you can ve a yes man and sleep in your truck for £20 suit yourself

So you’ve ‘proved yourself’ to be an asset to the haulage industry as it’s number one driver.
And I’m a yes man because I tramp. :laughing: …ffs :unamused:

Come back down to earth mate and get real.
And why do you presume I am on £20, or does being a Trucking God give you powers of clairvoyance also.?

I mean yes man because the poster had put sometimes have to work Christmas because we cant pick and choose well we all have a choice to say yes or no no one or no comapny can make you do anything you dont want! And 20 pound a night is tge rough figure i see on most jobs advertised ii dont care if its 100 a night im not sleeping at work thanks

Ok mate fair enough, but you came across imo as thinking you were above tramping and we we were beneath you.

As for the working Christmas example, of course you can pick and choose, I would certainly refuse Christmas unless I was stuck abroad or something unavoidable, and I’m the first to agree to not doing everything they try and tell you

. As for a firm working around you, I would not go that far as such, but in my situation my boss asks stuff of others that he does not me, so there can be an element of that in full time tramping.

Like I said I’ve always thought that sleeping out goes hand in hand with long distance haulage by it’s nature.

I just took offence at being called a yes man by you that’s all …In my case you could not be more wrong.

92

Contraflow:

muckles:
And if your home life is so great what are you doing up at this time on a truck drivers forum?

My wife is in a catatonic state after two bottles of wine and one portion of Contraflow. I’m not tired yet.

Never mind…the new series of strictly starts soon.
That should see you upto christmas :wink:

93

the maoster:
I’m gonna adopt you Pimpdaddy, and once I’ve got you under my wing I’m gonna shake that negativity out of you, get you unbelievably drunk, get you laid by a lady of questionable morals and show you that life can actually be a great deal of fun if you put the effort in. :smiley: :smiley:

Can I propose a few others for moaster therapy? :smiley:

94

cracker-bar:

Where have wages gone up well above inflation? I’m in the midlands and wages have been static around here for a long time. Agencies offer on average £8.50 per hour for days. I have seen jobs on offer for £11.00 on days but they are very few and far between, I have also seen minimum wage being offered.
[/quote]
Where in the Midlands are you, as most of the agencies round my way offer a minimum of £10ph?
[/quote]
I’m in Burton on Trent and yes I’ve seen plenty offering £10 plus. then you look in to the add and that’s the Sunday rate! As I said the average is around £8.50… that’s an average, some are more some are less.

95

the maoster:
I’m gonna adopt you Pimpdaddy, and once I’ve got you under my wing I’m gonna shake that negativity out of you, get you unbelievably drunk, get you laid by a lady of questionable morals and show you that life can actually be a great deal of fun if you put the effort in. :smiley: :smiley:

If you are paying maoster I’m up for some of that under your wing stuff. Where can we meet?
You will be selective with the young lady though won’t you, I have got higher standards than your average trucker. Some of the ‘cab traffic’ I’ve seen lads go with over the years make a good argument for celibacy. :laughing:

96

LIBERTY_GUY:
In my ‘other trade’ as an electrical engineer, the difference was when I had to stay out overnight on jobs, I would be booked into a hotel, with a proper bed, washing facilities with all my meals paid for as well as extra money in my pocket to cover incidentals.
Compare this to your average truck driver, parked up in some remote layby with no facilities, including nowhere to shower or even being able to have use of a proper toilet, stuck in a metal box and acting as an unpaid security guard all night long.

I sometimes stay in hotels sometimes in the cab, depending on the situation, got to say hotels aren’t all they’re cracked up to be beds vary so much, some rooms are to light, some are to cold, some to hot, some to noisy.
Although I mostly drive in Europe, and I use the facilities provided for truck drivers. These always are places with good food, proper clean showers and toilets, not sure how practical this is in the UK these days.

As for acting as an unpaid security guard, no boss has ever asked or expected me to be responsible for theft from my truck truck whilst I’ve been on a night out. One boss made it quite clear that he’d rather lose a load than have a driver injured or worse because they decided to tackle the thieves.

LIBERTY_GUY:
Trouble with nights out nowadays, is that many hauliers would in days gone by only ask for one or perhaps two nights out per week, whereas now many seem to be obsessed with this tramping idea, even filtering down to rigids and 7.5 tonners nowadays.

Tramping has been going on for long before I started driving trucks, in vehicles of all shapes and sizes in smaller vehicle than artics. At least the modern trucks are better equipped for the job,

LIBERTY_GUY:
I don’t do nights out anymore, as prefer to sleep in my own bed every night. If I want to go to the pub, go out for a meal, or spend quality time doing whatever, I am free to do it.

Can’t beat your own place, I’d say can’t beat your own bed, but I need a new mattress, :laughing:
I love coming back home when I’ve been away for a while, but if I stayed at home for to long I’d need to start traveling again, just something in my soul.

Day work suits some or even many people, I’ve tried it but always want to go a bit further, next county, next country, but I wouldn’t criticise somebody who finds day work suits their needs we’re all different.

97

Contraflow:

commonrail:
Yes i go to the pub.i’m in the smithfields at uttoxeter atm and i’m odds on for a gummy ■■■■■■■■ off the hot gilf sat about 6 inch to my left

How many ales have you had? Are you sure that “hot gilf” sat to your left isn’t a bloke? Why are you on TruckNet? Doesn’t she/he object to your ignorance?

Just admit it. You’re in your cab Commonrail. When you get off here, you’re going to crack one out into your sock over a girl who briefly made eye contact with you in The Smithfield in 1998.

Bless. :laughing:

The Monkey has just made me spit my tea over a clean shirt !
Classic reply

98

Robroy i didnt mean to sound it like i thought i was above you i personally wouldnt do tramping for any amount of money but the money on offer at most places is an insult and i cant imagine many new drivers getting excited about tramping for the money they offer, therefore in the future i imagine there will be a driver shorttage especially in the long distance / tramping sector

99

3stepsaheaduk:
Robroy i didnt mean to sound it like i thought i was above you i personally wouldnt do tramping for any amount of money but the money on offer at most places is an insult and i cant imagine many new drivers getting excited about tramping for the money they offer, therefore in the future i imagine there will be a driver shorttage especially in the long distance / tramping sector

Ok mate no probs. :wink:
As it is I do actually agree with you on that. In this game you will always find somebody willing to work for ■■■■ all.
In a lot of cases for the misguided perceived kudos of driving a top range fancy motor, and looking at it as compensation for crap wages :unamused: but that’s another argument for another day.

100

muckles:
Day work suits some or even many people, I’ve tried it but always want to go a bit further, next county, next country, but I wouldn’t criticise somebody who finds day work suits their needs we’re all different.

I do day work nowadays, not just because I no longer want to do nights out, but because the type of work I do is more regionally based. The HGV work I am doing now, is all within 25 miles of my home and nearly all in rural areas, so no longer stuck on motorways, or gridlocked in city centre traffic jams. Being in the countryside or village centres every day wouldn’t suit everyone, but I am happy doing what I’m doing and enjoy being home at 4pm every day now.