I just can't do it. Respect to you who can

albion:
Yeah, but you and I are a bit special,

And to cheat… from Feb in a thread you weren`t contributing to a video of a rainy day…
posting.php?mode=quote&f=2&p=2446770
"And from one of my fav
youtube.com/watch?v=-7Hy7uAb_eU
[/quote]
"

Franglais:

albion:
Yeah, but you and I are a bit special,

And to cheat… from Feb in a thread you weren`t contributing to a video of a rainy day…
posting.php?mode=quote&f=2&p=2446770
"And from one of my fav
youtube.com/watch?v=-7Hy7uAb_eU

"
[/quote]
Not only literary allusions then!

I’m going approach this under the assumption that this is a serious post, since I’ve come across other drivers with similar complaints.

My first question is, at any point before acquiring your license did you actually ever look at a wagon? I mean, the fact that you’ll have to secure the load is self evident!
Did you not realise that there would be paperwork involved?! Or did you assume that suppliers would just take your word that you’d delivered their goods?

And for goodness sake!! You didn’t want to drive from highbridge to Scotland?! I know many drivers who’d kill for that run.

Yes, we are overworked and underpaid, especially with companies like keedwells, but you pay your dues and work up to the better jobs.

Honestly you come across as workshy and you’ll never be a lorry driver, sorry to be blunt but it’s the truth

In the same vein, did you look at the industry in any detail before you spent your cash on getting your licence

It’s a hard trade especially on general haulage, supermarket work is a doddle in comparison. Continental work is different as in my experience you are more of a professional and less of a navvy with a wagon. Things might have changed though since I did Continental with the EE influx

It’s a great skill which the general public take for granted, but don’t appreciate. I still look at the general incompetence of the car drivers in contrast to the skill shown by many a wagon driver

I look back on my short driving career as a great life experience. I got to drive some fabulous routes in quality kit, but it’s a young mans game

Wermy:
In the same vein, did you look at the industry in any detail before you spent your cash on getting your licence

It’s a hard trade especially on general haulage, supermarket work is a doddle in comparison. Continental work is different as in my experience you are more of a professional and less of a navvy with a wagon. Things might have changed though since I did Continental with the EE influx

It’s a great skill which the general public take for granted, but don’t appreciate. I still look at the general incompetence of the car drivers in contrast to the skill shown by many a wagon driver

I look back on my short driving career as a great life experience. I got to drive some fabulous routes in quality kit, but it’s a young mans game

“Young man’s game”? Why d’you say that?
The industry captains say loads of drivers are due retirement soon. (Ok, more about this “driver shortage”).
But no reason to say either it is or should be just for young people, of either ■■■.

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TaxiVader:

xichrisxi:

jbaz73:
Let me get this straight? … you want a job, where you don’t fill out an application form?

You want a lorry drivers job? That doesn’t involve working outside? That doesn’t involve much driving? And where you don’t have to secure your load?

Sorry dude, normally I can help people, but this one has got me totally stumped!

I wish you all the luck in the world.

They also expected him to drive somewhere I mean ffs what ever happened to workers rights :laughing:

It wasn’t any one of those things that stopped me, more a combination of all of them coupled with the fact I had already done 8 hours in the classroom and I had to set straight off for scotland to get there for 10:30. Another chap was given an 8:30 in scotland, he looked worried but I thought hey, I’ll get there when I flippin well get there, BUT the load strapping was like the tipping point. A tiny tiny thing that made me change my mind about the whole thing. I had already worked a weeks notice and handed in the keys to my bedsit. I was driving a taxi that very night with my old bedsit keys back on my keyring. I look into lorry driving about once every six months and nearly start work but never do. My Taxi gaffer says I will always have a job with him so I should just give it a try for a few months and then go back.

Have you thought of working for one of the supermarkets?
Clean work, depending if you’re doing store or trunking work a lot of the drives are 2 hours or less, especially on day shift you don’t touch the load too much, just put it on the bay, open the shutter and take the bars out, then get a coffee and read your paper, you may be better suited to it…

Chunkzilla:
I’m going approach this under the assumption that this is a serious post, since I’ve come across other drivers with similar complaints.

My first question is, at any point before acquiring your license did you actually ever look at a wagon? I mean, the fact that you’ll have to secure the load is self evident!
Did you not realise that there would be paperwork involved?! Or did you assume that suppliers would just take your word that you’d delivered their goods?

And for goodness sake!! You didn’t want to drive from highbridge to Scotland?! I know many drivers who’d kill for that run.

Yes, we are overworked and underpaid, especially with companies like keedwells, but you pay your dues and work up to the better jobs.

Honestly you come across as workshy and you’ll never be a lorry driver, sorry to be blunt but it’s the truth

No, I’m quite impulsive, I was living in an old ambulance at the time and thought to myself that I could live in a wagon quite easily and didn’t think about the job involved at all.

There are many ex wagon drivers on the taxis and all but one told me that I already had the best job in the world and they all say that they wish they had come into taxi driving years ago when I did (I have been doing it for 24 years) I rang a trainer and booked myself in for the following week, did my class 2 and then it went to the back of my mind.

Six months later i suddenly decided to do the class 1 and booked myself in for the following week. The lessons and tests were fun so I don’t regret spending the money, also I was doing 80 hours a week and taking home nearly 900 quid and living in an ambulance, so the money wasn’t a problem, I wouldn’t have that money now because money has never really meant anything to me, I put the hours in when I want something (like a wagon licence) and when I don’t need it I will just do a Saturday and Sunday night and just chill the rest of the time just jumping into the taxi when I feel like it.

As for the strapping of the load. On it’s own it wouldn’t have been a problem but I had just done an 8 hour induction where we had just been watching videos and signing forms. I was told that I would be with a trainer for the first week to learn the ins and outs of the job. Then I was given the key to a wagon and told to collect it from another yard.

Then I was told I wasn’t gonna be trained and I was going to scotland immediately, I didn’t even know how to use the tacho card, it was just saying DRIVING WITHOUT CARD. I was pressing all the buttons but couldn’t seem to get it to work. I didn’t know how to fill in the paperwork for hours/miles/defects I was hoping for a week on minimum wage to get to know all of this.

Then Chris Drake (good bloke) took me outside to show me how to strap the load and it just gave me time to think… And I said “it’s not for me mate”. So it wasn’t one thing. It was everything. I’m an old dog, I can learn new tricks but it takes time. It’s a shame for keedwells really because I dont like change, so a week of training would have landed them with a driver for life.
Never mind eh.