russjp:
was irrelevant anyway cos as a newbie with no experience I messed up on the reverse on my driving assessment - first time in an auto and first time doing a 90 degree reverse into a space where i wouldve struggled to get my car in - ho hum but i suppose its all about getting the practice in
And they told you to sod off because you couldn’t jacknife it into a tight bay with no experience? Sounds a bit harsh if they already knew you were a newpass
So are they saying you only pay for damage if it involves no other vehicle, ie you hit something innanimate that could only have been hit through your fault, still sounds like a daft policy to me, it’s not like you’re getting paid a sky high wage so can afford it, that’s what they have insurance for surely.
you hit something innanimate that could only have been hit through your fault
To be fair, how could hitting something inanimate NOT be your fault? Hell, I drove into the Dartford Tolls a few weeks ago because I got startled by another wagon’s airhorns. Still my fault though, shouldn’t have got so wound up earlier in the day as to be made to jump by something like that.
Not truck driving at the moment, but i want for a job coach driving.
Ten pounds an hour advertised.At the end of the interview it was sneaked in that two pounds fifty of the ten was a bOnus which you lost if there was any damage to the coach and this was deductable up to a maximum of SIX THOUSAND POUNDS.
Evening Gents,
I was looking into doing a bit of part-time work for R&B and all this has come as a bit of a shock. In some ways it looks an okay company to work for, local and tidy units etc. But as you all have pointed out, you need to look a bit closer than that!
Regards Smokinbarrels.
russjp:
was irrelevant anyway cos as a newbie with no experience I messed up on the reverse on my driving assessment - first time in an auto and first time doing a 90 degree reverse into a space where i wouldve struggled to get my car in - ho hum but i suppose its all about getting the practice in
And they told you to sod off because you couldn’t jacknife it into a tight bay with no experience? Sounds a bit harsh if they already knew you were a newpass
So are they saying you only pay for damage if it involves no other vehicle, ie you hit something innanimate that could only have been hit through your fault, still sounds like a daft policy to me, it’s not like you’re getting paid a sky high wage so can afford it, that’s what they have insurance for surely.
Wen I tied the guy down to an answer what he said was “we look at every case on its merits and if a driver has had a few tups in tight spots we would probably chase him for something toward the costs”
By this stage I had turned off the idea and was quite open with my questions,in the end he said that it was working well with £40 plus thousand being recouped from drivers.
“we look at every case on its merits and if a driver has had a few tups in tight spots we would probably chase him for something toward the costs”
unreal If the same driver has had a few scrapes then he needs re-training or sacking , but hey …lets just send the guy a bill for the damage
Im seriously thinking of a career change at the moment , and I love driving trucks but things like this really do make me wonder where this industry is going to end up.
russjp:
was irrelevant anyway cos as a newbie with no experience I messed up on the reverse on my driving assessment - first time in an auto and first time doing a 90 degree reverse into a space where i wouldve struggled to get my car in - ho hum but i suppose its all about getting the practice in
And they told you to sod off because you couldn’t jacknife it into a tight bay with no experience? Sounds a bit harsh if they already knew you were a newpass
So are they saying you only pay for damage if it involves no other vehicle, ie you hit something innanimate that could only have been hit through your fault, still sounds like a daft policy to me, it’s not like you’re getting paid a sky high wage so can afford it, that’s what they have insurance for surely.
To be fair they didn`t write me off, they have offered me free training on saturday mornings to perfect my reversing skills at no cost and a job at the end of it.
Examples of damages to be put to the driver with regards to contributing towards repairs were mostly daft things that occur in the yard and included things like drivers knocking off mirrors, leaving number plates on trailers and then losing them (£18 for a replacement which they make themselves which i thought was a bit steep)and when i was there they had had a spate of drivers reversing units into large concrete stantion blocks they have in the yard. Procedure is to get the driver in and discuss how much the driver was at fault,price of repairs and repayments to be made ( usually £5 or £10 a week) if the driver WAS to blame.
From a personal point of view, as an unexperienced driver, i fully intend to take them up on their offer of free training as it would cost me £70 a lesson to go back to my driving school to do this and as i`ve not signed any kind of agreement to do this, i can walk away at the end of it and not have to take the job.
I had to do the reverse in an 06 plate volvo auto, now i learned in a 4 over 4 range change x reg volvo and learned to reverse by applying no revs and letting the clutch do the work and control the speed so going from that to an auto was a bit of a culture shock to say the least - nice piece of kit though
i think the problem is 99 % of jobs these days are like r.b,s , the other 1 % that are good youre not going to get as there taken and there a list as long as your arm trying to get in.
how many would say theyve got the perfect job, not many if they were truthfull.
you hit something innanimate that could only have been hit through your fault
To be fair, how could hitting something inanimate NOT be your fault? Hell, I drove into the Dartford Tolls a few weeks ago because I got startled by another wagon’s airhorns.
I did mean that if you hit something innanimate, it could only be your fault, I just worded it badly
Russjp, it does take a little bit of getting used to reversing in the Auto, I had to switch to Volvo autos not long after passing and found it a bit jerky trying to reverse slowly using the accelerator, due to you having to give it a few revs to get it moving and then it tends to lurch a bit and shoot off a bit too fast. It was also the first time i’d ever driven an automatic vehicle of any kind (other than a brief stint in an Auto hire car).
The effect tends to be wrost if the unit is cranked at an angle to the trailer when you start, it can all happen a bit quicker than you expect and send you off course. It gets easier quickly, and as you get used to the auto clutch and throttle sensitivity you can keep reversing to one constant movement rather than stopping and constant slowing/speeding up.
To be honest - i drive an auto all day at the moment as i`m sill on buses but we spend very little time going backwards in them.
I think the point i was trying to get across was that learning to reverse an artic is a difficult enough skill to master in whatever vehicle youre learning in but without the experience, its very difficult to just jump in a different type of vehicle/gearbox and be able to crack it so easily.
