I have a friend who has lost his leg in an accident. He has always wanted to drive trucks and now has some spare time on his hands. He cannot go back to his previous job as his disability does not allow him. I have told him that he could take his HGV licence as it is his left leg that he has lost. He is physically fit and there would be no reason he could not work on containers. I wonder how many other disabled people have ever thought of truck driving as a viable alternative?
i was trained by a bloke at Wilkinson transport rushden , and he didn’t have any legs , the were false ones from the knee down I think . cant remember his name though, then again it was 1977.
theres a dude in a wheelchair drives a volvo with the wheelchair lift to get him in and out of the cab,so 1 leg shouldnt be a prob to get the licence.
i think there was a topic or at least pics on here a good while ago.
When I was at Tandem Transport there was a guy there on local shunting who had a prosthetic left leg and we only had manual trucks, no special treatment was given or even wanted by him, you’d never know he had a prosthetic unless he ran and all that did was earn the poor bugger the nickname skippy. A real genuine top bloke had a real laugh working with him.
I lost my right hand when I was 15 and passed my HGV class 1 when I was 21, had to fight them to get it but my future wife fought them and I got it, that was in the 70s don’t think he would have a problem now as most wagons are autos
I remember a programme on TV, years ago, about a driver who had his legs amputated above the knees. He had prosthetic legs. I remember it, because of his laconic attitude. He drove a Mercedes SK cab, and commented that ‘thanks’ to his predicament, he was the only driver who could stand up in his cab and ‘walk’ around …
Over 40 years ago we had a bloke doing middle east with only one leg, Billy Hamm, AKA Bionic Bill.
That was in the days before auto gear boxes.
bestbooties:
Over 40 years ago we had a bloke doing middle east with only one leg, Billy Hamm, AKA Bionic Bill.
That was in the days before auto gear boxes.
Did he end up doing Austria as I met a bloke there, he was asking why I was limping, and showed me his prosthetic
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My answer to this question is the same as I give others who say I can’t do that I’ve lost a leg,
Douglas Bader, flew a spitfire in the battle of Britain, escaped from a prison camp, and after the war had a successful career, flying around the world for Shell, he lost both legs in a flying accident before the war.
My Grandad (who I never met, died in mid seventies 40+ years ago) drove removal lorries with wooden leg. So if he could do it then I’d say it’s probably a lot more easier now!
I Know quite a few drivers with false leg. one was on bulkers another drove a breakdown truck, another on containers so carnt see your mate having a problem. Most Trucks have auto boxes anyway so they nearly drive themselfs
I have a disability affecting my left side and I use a steering ball to drive but was told when learning to drive (car) that you only need two working limbs and it doesn’t matter which two with all the adaptations they have nowadays.
As said most lorries are auto’s now so with just the one leg your friend should be fine I’d have thought.
Well this is all positive and glad to hear that it shouldn’t affect him obtaining his licence, I was a little worried that I had given him false hopes as I wasn’t so sure I was correct. He will be delighted at the news as he has gone pretty much down in the dumps for over a year now. He thought that he was on the scrap heap for the rest of his life. I don’t know what his false leg is made of but I am sure that shouldn’t be a problem. Just wondering if different materials could be a hazard, explosion risk if it made a spark or something. I know he has a false leg from the knee but has a real foot.
How can he have a false leg from the knee…and a real foot !! this beggars belief and is not possible…but with only one limb, it shouldnt restrict him from getting a licence…so long as he doesnt end up legless…sorry, couldnt resist…but there are two types of legless…one gets you a licence, and the other…loses you a licence.
truckyboy:
How can he have a false leg from the knee…and a real foot !! this beggars belief and is not possible…but with only one limb, it shouldnt restrict him from getting a licence…so long as he doesnt end up legless…sorry, couldnt resist…but there are two types of legless…one gets you a licence, and the other…loses you a licence.
I was trying to picture that Bob,
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truckyboy:
How can he have a false leg from the knee…and a real foot !! this beggars belief and is not possible…but with only one limb, it shouldnt restrict him from getting a licence…so long as he doesnt end up legless…sorry, couldnt resist…but there are two types of legless…one gets you a licence, and the other…loses you a licence.
Yes that does sound odd but it is amazing what they can do nowadays. He has wooden legs but real feet. What I meant he has one real foot still on his good leg. So one false leg and foot and one real leg and foot. He can walk and you really wouldn’t know he has a false leg. Just a bit of a limp but nothing to stop him driving.
I once got recovered and noticed the recovery had a limp. Asked if he was alright and he just said his ankle is playing up. I asked if he sprained it and he turned round and said no he had his foot amputated due to some infection.
I just said so long as it’s not your braking foot we’re cool lol
But nah straight up, he even showed me. Recovery is hard graft and he managed it perfectly well so fair play.
UKtramp:
truckyboy:
How can he have a false leg from the knee…and a real foot !! this beggars belief and is not possible…but with only one limb, it shouldnt restrict him from getting a licence…so long as he doesnt end up legless…sorry, couldnt resist…but there are two types of legless…one gets you a licence, and the other…loses you a licence.Yes that does sound odd but it is amazing what they can do nowadays. He has wooden legs but real feet. What I meant he has one real foot still on his good leg. So one false leg and foot and one real leg and foot. He can walk and you really wouldn’t know he has a false leg. Just a bit of a limp but nothing to stop him driving.
toonsy:
I once got recovered and noticed the recovery had a limp. Asked if he was alright and he just said his ankle is playing up. I asked if he sprained it and he turned round and said no he had his foot amputated due to some infection.I just said so long as it’s not your braking foot we’re cool lol
But nah straight up, he even showed me. Recovery is hard graft and he managed it perfectly well so fair play.
I knew a bloke who lost his foot in an accident and had it amputated, he worked for a recovery company in Yorkshire. He was killed a couple of years ago when a car hit him
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They is a bloke on bulkers I’ve seen a fair few times, he only has one like and uses crutches’ does not stop him doing his job and i say fair play to the lad…
Aslong as you have a decent gaffer behind you, anything can be achieved if you want it