pierrot 14 yes I will let you know, I have a night out Wednesday night but that is on the outskirts of North London…they are slowly working me inside haha
Hog umpteen lanes & skew across the carriageway if necessary when approaching any yellow box if there’s the faintest sniff of congestion: London traffic is devoid of all manners & doesn’t give a stuff to carve themselves into any/every space you may have an eye on taking, whilst the inevitable cameras are hot to nab a day’s wage as a fine for any rear axle, etc left behind in one 
Carryfast:
Vid:
‘London’ is a collection of towns and villages that are really close together and can be a bit busy at times, don’t sweat it, know your route and follow it, however long it takes.That might be correct to an extent in the case of ‘outer London’ ( actually just the urbanised parts of the surrounding counties which were then taken over as so called ‘Greater London’.Ironically also with some parts of ‘Greater London’ actually still being more rural than some other more urbanised areas outside of London’s borders such as comparing parts of Chessington/Malden Rushett and parts of the old Middx around Harefield and Ruislip v the urban sprawl of Molesey,Walton and Thames Ditton for example.
But ‘inner London’ ( mostly anywhere within the old LCC borders let alone anywhere within the ‘proper City’ itself) really is as bad as its reputation suggests.It’s a traffic clogged,over regulated,space limited bleedin nightmare just to drive a car in.Let alone a truck and it’s been that way for decades let alone the present day.To the point where I can understand anyone refusing to go there.
Done the lot of it over the years (but not these days) mainly in a rigid, sometimes W&D or artic, but attitude is key to not pulling your hair out, traffic is what it is at whatever time of day you’re in there, it takes as long as it takes, accept it, plod on. Boss decided to reroute me on the Friday before Xmas from Eltham to Edgeware Road for a drop I’d planned for the Saturday and said I had to be back to the Eltham area by 6 for the next drop, I got there before 6, 6am Saturday morning! He never changed my route on me again 
Happy Keith the agency bloke got fined just before xmas for rear axle in the box…his days wage gone with a £130 fine.
Vid as for traffic that is not an issue to me as I am laid back to sit in it anyway, getting stressed etc is not going move it any quicker is it I just do not want any fines etc or wrong turns haha, I do find it strange though that a couple of people mention about Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester etc but I guess they feel about those places as I do about London, the joys of driving eh 
Happy Keith has given you a great tip for avoiding box junction fines just straddle both bloody lanes and make sure you take a good chunk of lane 2! Those who say London is a dawdle I can only describe as arrogant…I passed all my tests while living in London and lived and worked there for 30+ years doing everything from multi-drop parcels upwards so I know it very well and don’t have any problems with it but for anyone coming into London with no previous experience of the place that’s an entirely different matter but attitude is all important. Basically, it gets there when it gets there! Is the height of your vehicle going to cause you any issues? There are lots of bridges in London. Ask your mates for route recommendations ( that should start a few arguments!) and don’t rely too much on the sat nav even if it is a truckers version. I could go on but I’m looking forward to your reports after you’ve been there! 
You should look up weight heights restrictions off all the bridges if you cross the river. Best advice I can offer is before you venture in to far make sure you have had your break .leave plenty of time as parking is almost non existent… but mostly beware of bikes pedal and motor. The cut you up on both side weave in and out.
I used hate London at 1st. Go there a lot in 26t truck .but now I just find it interesting watching everyone rushing around in a rush.
Lewy:
Hi allNewbie here so be gentle haha, I have only been driving Class 1 for a few months and got to say i love my job, it helps that the company I work for are easy going and that i know the Transport Manager and I have two mates who work there too, anyway I have been told I may be sent into London soon as we do that twice a week which involves nights out, to be honest i am quite nervous about it as I have been told it is a different world down there, never even been around there in a car so you can imagine why I am concerned, any advice would be greatly appreciated?
Cheers
In London nothing special for truck drivers.Truck can stuck in London or Penzance ,Thurso or any town.Check mirrors,take break advance and all will good.
Good luck Lewy…i think the best way is to ask your fellow drivers how they do the runs…take note of what they say as to routes in, best way etc…and you will be fine.
If you type “truck driving in London” in YouTube search box,you’ll get a collection of vlogs from various truckers.
Might give you some indication of things to come 
Just to confirm what others have said,get your 45 in at the last possible moment…time flies in London Town 
My own experience is that people tend to be more forgiving - when you need to do that last minute lane change etc.
As said, don’t sweat it.
I used to love delivering around London, it became a daily challenge. Since moving to the north east USA the thought of delivering in NYC terrifies me, I am actually based in Yonkers / Bronx but rarely deliver in that area so I just drive in and out but sometimes I do get sent into the Queens or Brooklyn areas, I hate those days, at 64 years old with over 40 years driving trucks those days put the fear of God in me. When I am back in the UK I love driving through London LOL.
Happy Keith:
Hog umpteen lanes & skew across the carriageway if necessary when approaching any yellow box if there’s the faintest sniff of congestion: London traffic is devoid of all manners & doesn’t give a stuff to carve themselves into any/every space you may have an eye on taking, whilst the inevitable cameras are hot to nab a day’s wage as a fine for any rear axle, etc left behind in one
If you’re approaching a crossroads, with box juction in stop-start traffic with numerous sets of lights… Eg. Eversholt Street-Woburn Place/Euston Road…
You’ve pulled up at the lights, because you cannot get across the box, as there’s only room for one car beyond the box, and the traffic has stopped for the next set of lights further up (wb Euston Road)
The lights go green for you, but the stream in front hasn’t moved on yet. the traffic in front moves forward one artic length, and stops again. Cars to your right, swerve over in the box, and fill the gap made, so you’re still high and dry, unable to move ahead at all, because there isn’t enough room to get the whole artic across the box at once.
I’ve highlighted the advice that seems to fit this occasion…
My question is: Do the camera monitor people, and fine those who are lane hogging when you try to shut out all the idiots jumping into what needs to become your space to get across this box junction?
Hi Lewy
Dont be frightened it is no different to Birmingham Manchester or Liverpool, they will try to cut you up, but rember youve got a lot metal around you more than they have, go with the flow they will back off. Cyclists they are different they think they own the road, keep your eye on nearside mirror because they will appear from no where.Try and get a rough idea where your aiming for, and remeber Sat Nav does not always work. Sit back enjoy it you get a tour of London at no cost to you
Mick
Pat Hasler:
I used to love delivering around London, it became a daily challenge. Since moving to the north east USA the thought of delivering in NYC terrifies me, I am actually based in Yonkers / Bronx but rarely deliver in that area so I just drive in and out but sometimes I do get sent into the Queens or Brooklyn areas, I hate those days, at 64 years old with over 40 years driving trucks those days put the fear of God in me. When I am back in the UK I love driving through London LOL.
A few years ago on a visit to the north east US as part of our tour we drove across Manhattan from the Lincoln Tunnel to the Queens Midtown and then onto the LIE as we were staying at Hicksville.
(Named after a guy called Hicks who built the Long Island railroad).
We watched the Mets play the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium - gone now of course.
London is just like any other major city, every class of road user hates every other class of road user and blames them for all the traffic problems.
It’s bigger than than other cities so takes longer to get out of once you’re done.
Don’t rely on a sat nav, they do break down or crash. Get a decent Collins Master Atlas of London and keep track of your progress as you go. Last thing you want is the sarnav crashing and you not having a clue where you are.
The only issue I had in recent years was the attitude of the majority of the cyclists, over a period of years they went from being scared of trucks and keeping well clear of them to this current incomprehensible attitude of almost daring you to kill them.
They will swarm around you at traffic lights and junctions happily sitting in your blind spots safe in the knowledge that if/when they disappear under your wheels that they will be deemed to be ‘in the right’ and you WILL be found at fault and prosecuted.
Quite how this makes them feel any better about being on the coroners slab is beyond me.
I don’t wish to alarm you or put you off, I spent the majority of my driving career in and out of London and I loved it, it’s great fun when you get to know your way around, but watch out for the cyclists.
Adjust your mirrors to cover as much as you can from the seat, when pulling away always move around in your seat to get a better more complete view down both sides, and the front, don’t forget the front. If necessary stand up or get off your bum to get a better view before moving. An in the worst case, just don’t move away until you’re happy all the lemmings have gone from the danger areas.
I’ve sat at a set of lights for a complete cycle because I had push bikes come up the near side and get stuck between the trailer and curb, they wouldn’t move because they were scared of being crushed, and no way would I move while they were there.
Other than that, sit back, relax, enjoy the views and look forward to the summer when the bare legs and bare chests come out (depending on your own personal preferences ).
Some drivers say London is no different from any other city. It’s just a road and all that.
Personally I think it is worse. There’s more low bridges than anywhere else, more weight limits than anywhere else, London lorry ban and timed weight limits, less patient car drivers than anywhere else, more cyclists than anywhere else, more red routes than anywhere else, less roundabouts than anywhere else so if you do make a mistake it’s hard to find somewhere suitable to turn it round, less places to take breaks than anywhere else. So yeah, whilst some drivers will tell you it’s no different…I hate the place and if I found a driving job where I never had to go there again I’d see that as a massive bonus for that job!
It is worse.
That’s if you’re actually going to London… and don’t class Tesco purfleet as such
You go into the city,and you’ll fight for every inch of forward travel gained.
You’ll watch a set of lights sequence…6 times,and nobody moves an inch.
Complete ■■■■ hole
Box junctions lol
There will never be enough room on the far side of the box junction,to fit an artic.
Boris bikes…■■■■ em
Sadiq Khan… .■■■■ him
Lez…■■■■ it
commonrail:
It is worse.That’s if you’re actually going to London… and don’t class Tesco purfleet as such
You go into the city,and you’ll fight for every inch of forward travel gained.
You’ll watch a set of lights sequence…6 times,and nobody moves an inch.
Complete [zb] hole
Yes I think some drivers say “well I didn’t think it was that bad” because they think something that is just a mile off the M25 is classed as London.
No. Try delivering to a builders yard just round the corner from kings cross station pulling a 15’10 trailer. Then the stresses of London driving in a truck become very real.
Or try getting from east to west south of the river with anything higher than 15ft, and try and find somewhere to take your break while your doing it.