I can trace my maritime family back hundreds of years, check my signature!!!
Do you honestly think the old sea dogs swear by Crosstaffs, Charts, Quadrants and Sextants in 2013?
Or have they absorbed the wonder of radar, sonar GPS etc
Get with it you dinosaurs, I bet you are still playing Glenn Miller 8tracks in ERFs
Every one on here had a first day & I bet most of them had problems. It’s a learning curve, very steep at 1st but it does get easier, don’t get too big headed, you will never know it all ! (I’ve been involved with transport/haulage since I was 12 & I’m 52 now, still learning !
Don’t expect to finish early (just because ‘Billy Bull ■■■’ gets done by 14.00 every day) take your time, make sure every thing is strapped/stowed/shut/secure.
Driving in the dark is all part of the job & you will soon get used to it, the wagon is still the same size, just use other peoples lights to judge what’s happening behind you, switch the radio off, open the window & listen to all the banging & clanging (landing legs, wheels scrapping as you spin her round, squeaking brakes, air leaking etc) to understand what’s going on.
All this takes time & you won’t learn everything on the 1st day, stick at it & in a couple of years you’ll be giving advice on here to somebody else !
chester:
I can trace my maritime family back hundreds of years, check my signature!!!Do you honestly think the old sea dogs swear by Crosstaffs, Charts, Quadrants and Sextants in 2013?
Or have they absorbed the wonder of radar, sonar GPS etcGet with it you dinosaurs, I bet you are still playing Glenn Miller 8tracks in ERFs
Relax, lad. Some of us prefer maps. That doesn’t need to affect you.
Oh, and to the OP … stick with it. You’ll not learn everything on the first day, as others have said. The first time I took an artic out I managed to put a hole in the side of a trailer trying to turn it round a corner as if it was the rigid motor I had been used to driving. Now, 15 years later, I can go for literally days without damaging anything*. We all have bad days, and they never stop happening completely, but they do get less frequent as you get more experienced.
*this is a joke.
Rhythm Thief:
Relax, lad. Some of us prefer maps. That doesn’t need to affect you.
And some of us prefer sat-navs, Iam sure I have never effected you in any way 
Hjhjk
vtrfire:
Hjhjk
That’s the sound my cat makes when she throws up a fur ball.
vtrfire:
Pretty sure before sat navs company’s useto write route plans? Using a map in limbo with a sat nav is a must. Don’t understand how just using a map works? What if your a tramper based in glasgow and get told you’ve got a drop at a local flower
Shop in small village in Somerset… I’d like to see you just use a map for that!
Why not? M74, M6, M5 Junction whatever, depending on where you’re going. So far you’ve used nothing more than a UK road map. Then open your Phillips county atlas for Somerset, bought at Michaelwood services after leafing through it to make sure the address you want is in it. I went all over the UK with nothing but a box of A-Zs and county atlases, adding to them whenever I went somewhere new.
I’d do it the same way again, too, if I ever went back tramping. I like maps and I think they give you a better grasp of your route than a sat nav does. But each to their own, and all that.
Rhythm Thief:
vtrfire:
Pretty sure before sat navs company’s useto write route plans? Using a map in limbo with a sat nav is a must. Don’t understand how just using a map works? What if your a tramper based in glasgow and get told you’ve got a drop at a local flower
Shop in small village in Somerset… I’d like to see you just use a map for that!Why not? M74, M6, M5 Junction whatever, depending on where you’re going. So far you’ve used nothing more than a UK road map. Then open your Phillips county atlas for Somerset, bought at Michaelwood services after leafing through it to make sure the address you want is in it. I went all over the UK with nothing but a box of A-Zs and county atlases, adding to them whenever I went somewhere new.
I’d do it the same way again, too, if I ever went back tramping. I like maps and I think they give you a better grasp of your route than a sat nav does. But each to their own, and all that.
I just can’t see the point of a tramper based in Glasgow justifying buying a A-Z to find a small flower shop in Somerset. Which he may or may not ever go to that area ever again.
Not saying A-Zs are bad in anyway, if your a technophobe than so be it.
An 10,7" x 7,2" unit the size of a DVD case versus a suitcase of A-Zs…?
As a agency driver who can find him doing a totally different route/job, UK or Europe then I know what I would rather carry about.
Yes I have a European Atlas before the flamers have a pop
Tom tom truck nav and use google maps on your phone make sure u can use street view on it, always handy to have a look at where you are going before you get there. Ive got a truck atlas never look at it handy as a backup tho.
Am sure everybody has some tales to tell from when they first started , I sure do jus keep at it and dont let mistakes get you down learn from them a makes you a better driver.
chester:
I just can’t see the point of a tramper based in Glasgow justifying buying a A-Z to find a small flower shop in Somerset. Which he may or may not ever go to that area ever again.Not saying A-Zs are bad in anyway, if your a technophobe than so be it.
A 4x4" unit the size of a DVD case versus a suitcase of A-Zs…?
As a agency driver who can find him doing a totally different route/job, UK or Europe then I know what I would rather carry about.
But I’m not, not really. I just prefer maps because in many ways, they’re better. (I bought a few which only ever got used once, but most of mine became very dog eared over the years … it’s a rare tramper who goes to an area once only.) Any idiot can blindly follow a sat nav and they don’t know they’re heading down a dead end road or a clifftop footpath until they get there and are past the point of no return … at least with a map you can see your entire route on paper before you start and, as I’ve said before, you have a better grasp of where you are and where you’re going. Sat navs would take the fun out of it for me; that doesn’t make me a technophobe.
andy12:
Tom tom truck nav and use google maps on your phone make sure u can use street view on it, always handy to have a look at where you are going before you get there. Ive got a truck atlas never look at it handy as a backup tho.
I haven’t got that sort of phone. I tried a smartphone but didn’t get on with it at all. For me, a phone has to do one job, which is to allow me to make and recieve calls. Nothing else. My smartphone was actually very difficult to use just as a phone. I don’t need ot access the internet, or take pictures, or play music, or go on bloody twitter or facebook every five minutes to show the world pictures of my dinner, so I soon went back to my ancient Nokia which is one step up from an etch - a - sketch. Maybe I am a technophobe. 
Sorry, wandering OT a bit. 
We all have bad days they get worse but then they do get loads better. Sat navs are ok but map books are great to. But the best advice is don’t worry there is always another day, also don’t be afraid to ask for help whatever you need. Chin up you’ll have a great day and you’ll remember why you want to drive for a living.
then again some people are like James May and will get lost whether they have a map or a sat nav or both…
jay0:
went home really ■■■■■■ off and didn’t go in today because I didnt think driving a lorry was for me and I was going to quit and go back to my previous job but I decided to give it another try and hopefully it will get better because its something that ive always wanted to do and it was very hard to get having only a couple of months experience on rigids and being under 25 so im not going to write it off just yet and they said I can do an easy short run for a while until I get a bit more confident so im hoping it works out.
Don’t worry it will get better, first days on the job can be the day we all remember.
My first day (25 years ago now) is still stuck in my mind, was only driving a van but got sent to Brum got lost (no sat navs then)and pulled over and sobbed like a ■■■■■. Then found a taxi driver and paid him to lead me to my delivery address.
As anyone driving pre sat navs will already have a good working knowledge of the UK they will find them more of an option than a priority, as your new to this get one that you can enter your trucks dimensions into (cheap one off ebay or more expensive Tot Tom, Garmin, Snooper).
All have their pros and cons, me I use a Garmin 560 that I really like but also have a trusty mapbook and a few A-Z’s.
Once you know roughly what direction your heading you can always pullover and use all the tools at your disposal to home in on your destination.
A sat nav will never replace a map but if used together the job gets a lot easier especially for anyone just starting out.
Love it when my sat nav proudly announces ‘you have reached your destination’ and I look round and reply ‘I chuffin haven’t, you useless ■■■■■■■■■■■■■’- only argument with a woman I’ve ever won. Unless I’ve typed in the wrong postcode with me chubby fingers.
Chin up though and take your time, what doesn’t get done today can get done tomorrow.
Ian G:
Dark and raining? Yeah, definitely throw in the towel.
That’s really helpful, poor lad comes on here telling us about his awful first day & you take the ■■■■, not even in a funny or witty way & offer no further advice. What a ray of sunshine.
Jay,
You didn’t damage anything, so full marks for that.
Just chalk it up & move on, we all have appalling days & even me with 15 years experience sometimes find it hard to get to builders merchants in the arse end of nowhere in a we dont want your lorry here village with 28 tonne on.
Perhaps only accept trunking type jobs to begin with where you know you will only be going to large warehouses till you get your experience & confidence levels up, I appreciate this may not be practical. Most larger contracts/firms will only deliver to big places which are easier to find.
Get a truckers bridge height atlas & plan every route before you leave the yard.
Use sat nav as a helpful guide only, do not rely on it or follow it blindly as it will F you up. You can go into weight limits if it says it’s for access only as there may be no other way in to the premises. It’s a fine line between cracking on & getting the job done & deciding you’ll be up sht creek without a paddle if you proceed.
Get google maps app for your smart phone immediately as this pin points a firms exact location & you can view the actual road it is on before getting there & plan your attack.
Get the firms telephone number you are delivering to in case you aren’t sure of the approach.
Set your sat nav to quickest route not shortest route. Wider roads are better even if it takes you a bit out of your way.
Keep calm & carry on.
jay0:
went home really ■■■■■■ off and didn’t go in today because I didnt think driving a lorry was for me and I was going to quit and go back to my previous job but I decided to give it another try
Can I ask, do you still have a job to go back to?
I do hope so as I feel sure that things will get better, just take your time as others have said. The day I stopped worrying about time and rushing to complete a task was the day the job got so much easier for me.
Jay0, give yourself a break. Every new job has a learning curve and it’s always steepest on day one.
Don’t get drawn into the map v satnav debate, just go with what suits you.
Driving a truck is liked life in general, one day you will find yourself in a cul-de-sac, from that point it’s how you get out of it that matters not how you got into it.
Stay calm, take one day at a time and you will be fine.
Come on everyone this isn’t helping the poor lad. A sat nav is a map on a screen, nothing more nohing less. When I plan a route on the sat nav I look at the written instructions and if there’s any B Roads or less in there I go to the map to see if they are essential. The other tip is common sense, try and avoid driving down lanes, a sat nav doesn’t take you anywhere, you steer the lorry. Use a satnav, but I agree with the others, get a map of the UK to make yourself familiar with the road layout so when someone says ‘go to Doncaster’ you can see 90% of the route in your head. I don’t use any maps anymore but I started driving before satnavs so can still find my way around without them. A useful skill.
You’ll be fine once you settle into it. A first day at anything is daunting, let alone driving a lorry with a traffic office on your back. Try to relax into it. You’ll have more bad days, I still do many years later, but they are less likely to make you question your abilities over time. I remember my first week. Was really tough, and much as I felt I wanted to jack it in I didn’t and stuck with it. Now look at me today, I’m Europe’s best driver, if only my mother could see me now, that reminds me, I must ring her…*
*This is a joke, for the terminally humourless
Also practice planning your routes without a sat nav, its quite a skill to memorise A and B roads with the pressures of driving as well.
I would hate to think the UK came to a standstill if the GPS satellites had a wobbler.