If you are a driver and under 35 are your long terms plans to stay in the industry or do you plan to move onto a different career? (I CHOOSE 35 as a age as most people are usually settled into a career by then and are less likely to change)
I think it’s quite a interesting question because the young drivers have to deal with quite a lot of things that are ahead of them that a lot of older drivers on here will probably not have to deal with.
Far more expensive HGV training as they have to do the class 2 training before class 1 unlike with some of you who only done class 1 and and cpc (inital cpc which is like £300-400)
I think I spent £3000 to 4000 getting my licence, CPC and everything else.
The threat of Automation is obviously inevitable but if we be realistic/optimistic and say full automation wont occur for 30 years it will still have a massive effect. The treatment of drivers is in my opinion shocking but it’s hard to put it into words (Imagine how a fresh faced 21 year old would take dealing with some of the stuff you have to) I can almost gauntee he would say F** that and go home).
*The money is often very poor in a lot of areas due to outsourcing drivers from other EU countries.
*The roads are getting worse and worse; sitting in traffic for 2 hours in the M25 zone is now considered common. Imagine what they will be like in 20 years.
Also if you are a older driver what would you do if you was 21 again? Would you see this as a career with plenty of life left in it or would you be looking elsewhere?
I may be wrong on this but a lot of the more experienced drivers I’ve spoken to have said they had it a lot easier in their day and they wouldn’t of bothered driving if it was like what it is now.
maga:
I started driving class 2 at 19 and at 22 passed class 1. I started a new job in a factory the day after my first class 1 run
i’m 26 now and still at the same factory and cant see me going back driving (bar the odd agency shift to keep my hand in) unless I’m made redundant.
being treated like complete crap by more or less everyone is what finished it for me.
I’m 26 as well.
Yep I feel the same I think 2019 will be last year I drive full-time. I may do some temp work though as my CPC doesn’t expire until 2021.
I was so much happier doing factory work then as a driver. Also if I done a 15 hour shift in a factory I would be thanked because it was so rare. If I don’t do a 15 hour shift as a driver then I get a phone call informing me you still have time left to do the drop then get back…
Also it really bugs me everyone calls me drive lol. I think it dehumanizes the drivers. When I was a forklift driver If I had to address a driver regularly I would ask his name or call him mate or something if I had to address him as a one off.
Driving a truck used to be a good job especially if you could get specialised work for a good company. The roads were far quieter, there were courteous drivers and all lorry drivers helped each other whenever they could.
Now a days the roads are chaotic, there is no courteousy , no manners and no patience. Drivers are treated like dirt and their reputation is in tatters.
If I had my time over there is no way I would drive truck for the above reasons but also the fact everything is changing so fast and the industry will be almost unrecognisable within 20 years with all the new technolgy and automation etc.
Steer well clear in my opinion. There are plenty better jobs nowadays.
I passed my class 1 at 21 and I couldn’t manage a weeks course so had a two hour lesson every week. Think it cost around £180 I found the job itself a lot easier than working in the shop job I had before. When I started doing overnights there was a good social life usually in some town centre somewhere - any night of the week. Nowadays, few drivers go out at night even for a stroll round. It seems the most important thing nowadays is keeping ahead of H & S ■■■■■■■■, rectifying defects, not making any mistakes with the tacho and securing loads that don’t need securing; actually delivering anything is of secondary importance. I reckon I saw the best days of the job in the late '70’s and through the '80’s. If I was 21 today I wouldn’t bother and hope I’d taken enough notice of the teachers at school to embark on a completely different career.
cypry0:
Im no expert, but i would think that automation will affect factory workers, long before drivers. so good luck there.
Automation will effect factory workers and it already has. (Go to any plant that makes cars)
My point is that for the younger drivers it is practically a given that it will happen at some point in the future and will affect us greatly.
If I was a parcel sorter I would be thinking the same as is not something I could do the rest of my life. Same with factory worker.
The difference with them jobs is that they are mainly only stop-gap jobs or can be filled very easily by the large unskilled workforce so even if you decide to leave they can replace you quite easily.
24, been doing it 5 years. Hanging keys up next year, as said above treated like ■■■■ by literally everyone, both in manner and appalling customer site conditions.
axletramp:
I passed my class 1 at 21 and I couldn’t manage a weeks course so had a two hour lesson every week. Think it cost around £180 I found the job itself a lot easier than working in the shop job I had before. When I started doing overnights there was a good social life usually in some town centre somewhere - any night of the week. Nowadays, few drivers go out at night even for a stroll round. It seems the most important thing nowadays is keeping ahead of H & S ■■■■■■■■, rectifying defects, not making any mistakes with the tacho and securing loads that don’t need securing; actually delivering anything is of secondary importance. I reckon I saw the best days of the job in the late '70’s and through the '80’s. If I was 21 today I wouldn’t bother and hope I’d taken enough notice of the teachers at school to embark on a completely different career.
Have you seen how much companies are fined these days for h&s failures?
A couple of missed deliveries are nothing compared to that
Go away in January. Wouldn’t be surprised if I never drive a truck again after that.
Not for the reasons given. I am paid reasonably well for what I am doing right now. And overall I’m not treated as badly as some.
It’s just… well the novelty has worn off a bit. And it’s a bit boring really. Driving is great for the first bit. After that… well it’s just groundhog day.
Plus the idea you are a ‘professional’ is comedy gold. My partner is a professional. She works around drugs that if we were caught with would land us in prison for a very long time. And with stuff worth more than most high value loads - but if she were expected to press a randomiser and be searched coming out of work she’d roll on the floor laughing before walking off in disgust. If she were doing her job and she got the abuse a driver can get from security - then security or the police would be called to remove that person. I blame the older blokes who have allowed it to happen.
I’ll never regret getting my licences. I think it’s the best insurance policy a younger person can have. But it’s a pretty rubbish ‘career’ really - and I’m not really sure it is a career. Not exactly going to progress much in a meaningful way.
I am 36, started driving just over a year ago after 20 years in retail.
Better money and hours now. Personally I love my taco saying I need a break as you don’t have one in a supermarket.
I can agree with the RDC points that get raised and I have just gone on to tanks.
No-one asks for my keys, if waiting wait in the cab. Most sites that have a canteen we are welcome to use. Told my trainer about some places being funny over the toilet and he thought i was joking. Everyone is polite and even those having a “bad day” are better than the average RDC staff “good days”
I think there is plenty in driving for a younger person with few skills/qualifications and probably one of the few jobs that will enable them to buy their own home. However as is posted here repeatedly you need to do something skilled to go to these places
Yes. I hate doing anything in the UK, love international work and plan to do it for as long as possible or until I detest the bean so much that I refuse to even go through it.
I’ve done quite a lot in my time and sitting on my backside watching the scenery is the best and easiest money I’ve ever made. I enjoy what I do and I wake up looking forward to the day ahead.
The treatment of drivers here is shocking, I just don’t take any crap off of anyone. It’s not difficult to have a spine. The stupid rules that bellend places come up with get treating the same way as everything else; smile and agree then do whatever I was going to anyway.
Automation doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Traffic gets on my nerves but at the end of the day there’s nothing I can do about it.
cypry0:
Im no expert, but i would think that automation will affect factory workers, long before drivers. so good luck there.
Automation will effect factory workers and it already has. (Go to any plant that makes cars)
My point is that for the younger drivers it is practically a given that it will happen at some point in the future and will affect us greatly.
If I was a parcel sorter I would be thinking the same as is not something I could do the rest of my life. Same with factory worker.
The difference with them jobs is that they are mainly only stop-gap jobs or can be filled very easily by the large unskilled workforce so even if you decide to leave they can replace you quite easily.
I think you’d be surprised how little automation is involved in making cars and it certainly doesn’t worry me in the slightest at my place
I’m 30 and have no plans to give up. Maybe it’s because I passed when I was 21 and have never done general haulage and have only been to two RDC’s I think.
I have a nice job nowadays after doing my time at the places with poor t&c’s, I get to travel plenty in Euro on 3 week trips during the summer and little trips like Ireland pretty regular.
axletramp:
I passed my class 1 at 21 and I couldn’t manage a weeks course so had a two hour lesson every week. Think it cost around £180 I found the job itself a lot easier than working in the shop job I had before. When I started doing overnights there was a good social life usually in some town centre somewhere - any night of the week. Nowadays, few drivers go out at night even for a stroll round. It seems the most important thing nowadays is keeping ahead of H & S ■■■■■■■■, rectifying defects, not making any mistakes with the tacho and securing loads that don’t need securing; actually delivering anything is of secondary importance. I reckon I saw the best days of the job in the late '70’s and through the '80’s. If I was 21 today I wouldn’t bother and hope I’d taken enough notice of the teachers at school to embark on a completely different career.
Have you seen how much companies are fined these days for h&s failures?
A couple of missed deliveries are nothing compared to that
Yes I have and rightly so if it’s justified.
But a company won’t get fined just because a driver rocks up with his hi viz unfastened and the wrong colour helmet which is the sort of ■■■■■■■■ I was meaning but didn’t make it clear.
The 24/7 world we now live in,expects the modern hgv driver,to work at any given time.
And all for 50 bob an hour extra…or even better…salary,where you can race about like a ■■■■ on a weekend night for £0 extra.
I sacked tautliners about 3 years ago.
Best move I ever made.
Just wondering why those that have given up or are going to give up in the near future are on this website.
Honest question, I don’t understand why you would spend time on something you don’t like. I (mostly) like being a driver, I come here because I can choose who I communicate with. In real life, I go out of my way to avoid talking to other drivers, lest the cone story comes out again and I feel the need to batter the teller with something blunt
axletramp:
I passed my class 1 at 21 and I couldn’t manage a weeks course so had a two hour lesson every week. Think it cost around £180 I found the job itself a lot easier than working in the shop job I had before. When I started doing overnights there was a good social life usually in some town centre somewhere - any night of the week. Nowadays, few drivers go out at night even for a stroll round. It seems the most important thing nowadays is keeping ahead of H & S ■■■■■■■■, rectifying defects, not making any mistakes with the tacho and securing loads that don’t need securing; actually delivering anything is of secondary importance. I reckon I saw the best days of the job in the late '70’s and through the '80’s. If I was 21 today I wouldn’t bother and hope I’d taken enough notice of the teachers at school to embark on a completely different career.
Have you seen how much companies are fined these days for h&s failures?
A couple of missed deliveries are nothing compared to that
Yes I have and rightly so if it’s justified.
But a company won’t get fined just because a driver rocks up with his hi viz unfastened and the wrong colour helmet which is the sort of ■■■■■■■■ I was meaning but didn’t make it clear.
They will if the forkie runs over the driver who has just turned up and hasn’t got his hi Vis done up and says that’s why he didn’t see him.
That’s before a “big” boss sees something not right.
Reversing without a banksman (if identified as a requirement for some reason) and not doing hi Vis up. One is clearly more dangerous than the other but both are possible breaches of h and s and staff will be jumped on for both as letting the “little” issue go undermines action taken over the big issue.
We brought it on ourselves when we decided to start suing for anything and everything…
I found the job itself a lot easier than working in the shop job I had before. When I started doing overnights there was a good social life usually in some town centre somewhere - any night of the week. Nowadays, few drivers go out at night even for a stroll round. It seems the most important thing nowadays is keeping ahead of H & S ■■■■■■■■, rectifying defects, not making any mistakes with the tacho and securing loads that don’t need securing; actually delivering anything is of secondary importance. I reckon I saw the best days of the job in the late '70’s and through the '80’s. If I was 21 today I wouldn’t bother and hope I’d taken enough notice of the teachers at school to embark on a completely different career.