New driver and anxious

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

hello to everyone :smiley: new to this forum

il start by talking abit about myself recently lost my job at JLR after 4 years ,decided to go down a new career path class 2 is where im at passed it 1 month ago tried getting work nobody wants to give me a chance as iv got no experience, tried direct with company’s realized they wont give me a chance ,even agencies want experience aswell aha

rewind to Friday when i chased up an agency following a sign up few days previous, anyways they said they’ve got a job for me starts monday they want a confident driver bla bla i said i am confident. 6am start can be nationwide delivery delivering insulation to building sites 5-6 drops a day 6am to 4pm 10hr shifts etc it looks like its the 18 tonne king span curtain siders is the most common vehicle for this work, i called back the agency an hour later and said to them maximum driving hours i could do is 9 hours extended to 10 twice a week lol

he kind of said its going to be an easy shift and its not going to be 10hrs of driving time lol which i said yeh of course not agreeing feeling like a noob he said do you know how to operate a digi tacho machine i said yeh and agreed as it sounded like he was having a huff and i didn’t want to mess my chance up lol , i then said ok thanks acted all professional and said you want me to get a printout after every shift just to sound like i no my stuff he said no just text me your hours at the end of the week lol and that was that

i believe il be driving ,never said anything about being trained i presume so as they always cover there arses with signatures dont think il buddied up with anyone , so sounds like straight in the deep end

theirs a few things i want to ask as dont want to get there look like a noob and them not give me the job that would be bad for confidence and self esteem as im new

never used a digi tacho card before just watched a couple vids here and there , so when i insert my card for the first time ever what will it say? i presume i wont have to make a manual entry as its got no info on? unless im lets say doing paperwork for 1hr and 50 mins then 10mins of walk round checks so 8am

1 so then i will have to make a manual entry for 6.00am to 8.00am as other work hammers?
2 then when i start driving it will go to driving mode automatically?
3 when i get to drop of points i presume i dont need to touch it as it would automatically go to hammers?
4 i was going to observe 4.5 hours from 6.00am start although doing paperwork which is other work i still have to have a break within 4.5 as i will put in tacho machine whenever i go to the truck il put 6am start so by 10.30 i will need to have my 45 minute break in a layby i believe i have to manually put it into the bed part then when i start driving auto go into driving mode?

they said they need somebody whos going to get the job done fast lol and not get back to the yard at 7pm as that wouldnt look good in me lasting there

if i could get some knowledgeable advice i would be most grateful just dont want to embarrass myself and lose the job at the same time thanks for reading if you got this far aha also dont want any infringements

2

seand90:
so then i will have to make a manual entry for 6.00am to 8.00am as other work hammers?

Yes

seand90:
then when i start driving it will go to driving mode automatically?

Yes

seand90:
when i get to drop of points i presume i dont need to touch it as it would automatically go to hammers?

Yes although some go straight to break mode so you need to check and if it has, press the “1” button till it shows cross hammers

seand90:
i was going to observe 4.5 hours from 6.00am start although doing paperwork which is other work i still have to have a break within 4.5 as i will put in tacho machine whenever i go to the truck il put 6am start so by 10.30 i will need to have my 45 minute break in a layby i believe i have to manually put it into the bed part then when i start driving auto go into driving mode?

No. You need a 15 minute break before 12pm. You only need a 45 min break if your driving time is 4.5 hours

seand90:
they said they need somebody whos going to get the job done fast lol and not get back to the yard at 7pm as that wouldnt look good in me lasting there

Gonna be honest with you, I dont think this company is a good idea for you. I appreciate you are desperate to get behind the wheel and gain experience but they want someone who can hit the ground running and this might cause you to rush and make a mistake.
Last summer I went to a company that put the dry mortar cement into silos on building sites. Id never done tankers before so they gave me a weeks induction and they very much empasised that when out on my own to take my time and not rush. The first job I went to on my own took me 2 hours when usually it only takes about an hour to fill a silo with 25T. Usual finish is 1630 for their guys but I was about 6ish that night and they didnt care, just that I had managed ok. After a week or so I was doing the jobs in the same timeframe as the regulars.
You need a company like that IMO.

3

thanks for your speedy response

i thought the total overall with 4.5 hours of driving was a minimum of 45 mins break 15mins the first one and 30minutes the second one and it all (45mins) must be taken no later than 4.5 hrs of driving?

i understand your concern i certainly will not be rushing and endangering myself and the life of others! the jobs done when its done you cant put a time on things traffic ,wait at drops etc. im sure its illegal to be forced to rush it is what it is and if there not happy they can shove it

as it stands i need money to flow back in many bills to pay and 2 kids to look after its tough been a total of 3months roughly since i was laid off and the agencies know im new and inexperienced so i will tell my potential new employers on monday its my first class 2 driving job

4

Look, just crack on. Don’t bother with manual entries, just follow the instructions on the tacho display. If there’s anything you aren’t sure about, ask another driver, don’t ask the office staff. Just do your best and if it’s not good enough for them at least you’ll have 100 times more experience when it comes to your next job.

5

seand90:
thanks for your speedy response

i thought the total overall with 4.5 hours of driving was a minimum of 45 mins break 15mins the first one and 30minutes the second one and it all (45mins) must be taken no later than 4.5 hrs of driving?

i understand your concern i certainly will not be rushing and endangering myself and the life of others! the jobs done when its done you cant put a time on things traffic ,wait at drops etc. im sure its illegal to be forced to rush it is what it is and if there not happy they can shove it

as it stands i need money to flow back in many bills to pay and 2 kids to look after its tough been a total of 3months roughly since i was laid off and the agencies know im new and inexperienced so i will tell my potential new employers on monday its my first class 2 driving job

It’s not rocket science it’s a piece of ■■■■
Tell nobody it’s your first time unless you have zero confidence
It’s a opportunity grow a pair of balls and go there like you know what you’re doing
When you get out the gate then start worrying how to cope and you will overcome this with taking your time and asking other people

6

You need to be honest with the agency and the company.

They are both expecting someone with experience who knows what they are doing.

If you go in pretending you have experience you will come unstuck very quickly.

First off any decent company will do a licence check and they will see you have only recently passed.

There will be forms to fill in probably with someone from the agency on site to induct you even very basically.

You will get found out and they might not even be able to insure you due to insurance restrictions so you could end being sent home immediately and no more work, then you will have to explain to the agency why you couldn’t do the shift and believe me the company will tell the agency.

You are shooting yourself in the foot by not being upfront, it might not be an issue if both parties know the situation but it more than likely will be.

7

seand90:
hello to everyone :smiley: new to this forum

il start by talking abit about myself recently lost my job at JLR after 4 years ,decided to go down a new career path class 2 is where im at passed it 1 month ago tried getting work nobody wants to give me a chance as iv got no experience, tried direct with company’s realized they wont give me a chance ,even agencies want experience aswell aha

rewind to Friday when i chased up an agency following a sign up few days previous, anyways they said they’ve got a job for me starts monday they want a confident driver bla bla i said i am confident. 6am start can be nationwide delivery delivering insulation to building sites 5-6 drops a day 6am to 4pm 10hr shifts etc it looks like its the 18 tonne king span curtain siders is the most common vehicle for this work, i called back the agency an hour later and said to them maximum driving hours i could do is 9 hours extended to 10 twice a week lol

he kind of said its going to be an easy shift and its not going to be 10hrs of driving time lol which i said yeh of course not agreeing feeling like a noob he said do you know how to operate a digi tacho machine i said yeh and agreed as it sounded like he was having a huff and i didn’t want to mess my chance up lol , i then said ok thanks acted all professional and said you want me to get a printout after every shift just to sound like i no my stuff he said no just text me your hours at the end of the week lol and that was that

i believe il be driving ,never said anything about being trained i presume so as they always cover there arses with signatures dont think il buddied up with anyone , so sounds like straight in the deep end

theirs a few things i want to ask as dont want to get there look like a noob and them not give me the job that would be bad for confidence and self esteem as im new

never used a digi tacho card before just watched a couple vids here and there , so when i insert my card for the first time ever what will it say? i presume i wont have to make a manual entry as its got no info on? unless im lets say doing paperwork for 1hr and 50 mins then 10mins of walk round checks so 8am

1 so then i will have to make a manual entry for 6.00am to 8.00am as other work hammers?
2 then when i start driving it will go to driving mode automatically?
3 when i get to drop of points i presume i dont need to touch it as it would automatically go to hammers?
4 i was going to observe 4.5 hours from 6.00am start although doing paperwork which is other work i still have to have a break within 4.5 as i will put in tacho machine whenever i go to the truck il put 6am start so by 10.30 i will need to have my 45 minute break in a layby i believe i have to manually put it into the bed part then when i start driving auto go into driving mode?

they said they need somebody whos going to get the job done fast lol and not get back to the yard at 7pm as that wouldnt look good in me lasting there

if i could get some knowledgeable advice i would be most grateful just dont want to embarrass myself and lose the job at the same time thanks for reading if you got this far aha also dont want any infringements

Firstly try to get some confidence back you know a bit like the run back from the test centre after passing your class 2 and ready to take on the world.

As for the tacho if I went back to the job now I’d have less of a clue how to use one than you because I wouldn’t even have a clue how do sort out print outs and manual entries on the thing until I’d tried it a few times.A bit like the first time I had to use a proper tacho after leaving the council on log books.

While it’s just a curtainsider not the starship enterprise and the stuff will hopefully be on pallets loaded/unloaded by forklift.In which case just use your common sense.You’ll probably need to tie it down with whatever you find stowed in a locker on the chassis or chucked on the passenger side cab floor.If there’s nothing there be careful because at that point you’ll be in the realms of the arguments on here concerning load security.At that point start asking questions like where’s the ratchet straps if they say there ain’t any the alarm bells should start ringing and then it’s a choice of risk it or walk away.If they are there then just sort out the ends and where/how you’re going to anchor them with the ends provided ( not difficult ).

As for getting back late.Don’t worry about it.Tell them if you’re ‘late’ back tough and if they don’t want to pay for the extra hours and you think it’s down to your own inexperience,just tell them that you don’t want any overtime time pay for the job so what are they moaning about.Bearing in mind that you’ll need access to the yard when you get back regardless in case of unforeseen hold ups anywhere for any reason.

8

Harry Monk:
Look, just crack on. Don’t bother with manual entries, just follow the instructions on the tacho display. If there’s anything you aren’t sure about, ask another driver, don’t ask the office staff. Just do your best and if it’s not good enough for them at least you’ll have 100 times more experience when it comes to your next job.

wicked mate your defo right! i just hope i dont get overwhelmed with the top and bottom digits and not understand something and put in wrong details etc then realise after i submitted it aha

9

simcor:
You need to be honest with the agency and the company.

They are both expecting someone with experience who knows what they are doing.

If you go in pretending you have experience you will come unstuck very quickly.

First off any decent company will do a licence check and they will see you have only recently passed.

There will be forms to fill in probably with someone from the agency on site to induct you even very basically.

You will get found out and they might not even be able to insure you due to insurance restrictions so you could end being sent home immediately and no more work, then you will have to explain to the agency why you couldn’t do the shift and believe me the company will tell the agency.

You are shooting yourself in the foot by not being upfront, it might not be an issue if both parties know the situation but it more than likely will be.

hey mate i HAVE told the agency i only passed 1month ago… its up to them to put me in a suitable role and i will remind the company im going to work for about this. iv told the agency im inexperienced an im sure iv enclosed that info in this thread i made at the start :question:

10

seand90:

simcor:
You need to be honest with the agency and the company.

They are both expecting someone with experience who knows what they are doing.

If you go in pretending you have experience you will come unstuck very quickly.

First off any decent company will do a licence check and they will see you have only recently passed.

There will be forms to fill in probably with someone from the agency on site to induct you even very basically.

You will get found out and they might not even be able to insure you due to insurance restrictions so you could end being sent home immediately and no more work, then you will have to explain to the agency why you couldn’t do the shift and believe me the company will tell the agency.

You are shooting yourself in the foot by not being upfront, it might not be an issue if both parties know the situation but it more than likely will be.

hey mate i HAVE told the agency i only passed 1month ago… its up to them to put me in a suitable role and i will remind the company im going to work for about this. iv told the agency im inexperienced an im sure iv enclosed that info in this thread i made at the start :question:

That’s fair enough then. I read it as they were not aware you were new and inexperienced.

Hence my reply, it’s a forum no need to get narky because you don’t like a response you get.

It’s just how I read it and it’s not uncommon for agencies sending drivers for roles that are not suitable I.e insurance issues and or experience issues.

If that’s the case then just go in and ask all the questions you want answers too, ask the client what they require you to do and if you don’t know how ask!!

Most legit companies want manual entries doing even for new starters for compliance so ask someone to show and help you.

Ring them with any issues now matter how small and above all cover your arse on everything.

Don’t rush and ask for help with anything and everything.

You will get a lot more respect for asking for help than trying to do everything and possibly making mistakes which could be very costly.

And don’t rush around for anyone.

11

Just crack on and don’t be afraid to ask along the way. You’ll get bits wrong but it’s all part of the learning curve. Be honest with other drivers or loaders. Tell them your new to the game and ask for advice. You’ll pick up tacho infringements but don’t worry about it. It’s to be expected. Just take your time. One day at a time. Biggest thing to be mindful of is load security and your driving.
Don’t hit anything or lose anything. [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

12

To be honest, delivering Kingspan to building sites is a pretty easy gig. Biggest problem you’ll face is that being new-build sites your satnav might not recognise the postcode on your delivery notes but then how difficult can it be to find a new-build Amazon warehouse when they are ready to put the insulation in? :wink:

13

seand90:
i thought the total overall with 4.5 hours of driving was a minimum of 45 mins break 15mins the first one and 30minutes the second one and it all (45mins) must be taken no later than 4.5 hrs of driving?

Yes that’s right for driving time but you also have your working time to add in as well, as that runs alongside driving time.
You need a 15-minute break before 6 hours of working (in your case, 12 pm if you start at 6 am). You only need a 45 before your driving time exceeds 4.5 hours.
WTD and driving time running alongside each other is a pain in the arse. Any infringement I’ve got in the last 4 years has all been WTD related

To keep yourself right, take a 15 minute break regardless of anything round about 9ish. Then take a half hour about 12ish.
That should see you through till finish since building sites etc close about half 4/5 oclock

14

And if you aren’t given respect for asking for help with things then they are not worth working for anyway.

I’m guessing it’s SIG you will be driving for or CCF.

Make sure the drops are marked up by the company as drop numbers with also number 1 of 3 etc, so you know exactly what laod is going to what drop. Otherwise you’ll be looking for info on labels etc to try and figure out what goes where. They should likely have all the drops in some sort of easy order.

15

simcor:

seand90:

simcor:
You need to be honest with the agency and the company.

They are both expecting someone with experience who knows what they are doing.

If you go in pretending you have experience you will come unstuck very quickly.

First off any decent company will do a licence check and they will see you have only recently passed.

There will be forms to fill in probably with someone from the agency on site to induct you even very basically.

You will get found out and they might not even be able to insure you due to insurance restrictions so you could end being sent home immediately and no more work, then you will have to explain to the agency why you couldn’t do the shift and believe me the company will tell the agency.

You are shooting yourself in the foot by not being upfront, it might not be an issue if both parties know the situation but it more than likely will be.

hey mate i HAVE told the agency i only passed 1month ago… its up to them to put me in a suitable role and i will remind the company im going to work for about this. iv told the agency im inexperienced an im sure iv enclosed that info in this thread i made at the start :question:

That’s fair enough then. I read it as they were not aware you were new and inexperienced.

Hence my reply, it’s a forum no need to get narky because you don’t like a response you get.

It’s just how I read it and it’s not uncommon for agencies sending drivers for roles that are not suitable I.e insurance issues and or experience issues.

If that’s the case then just go in and ask all the questions you want answers too, ask the client what they require you to do and if you don’t know how ask!!

Most legit companies want manual entries doing even for new starters for compliance so ask someone to show and help you.

Ring them with any issues now matter how small and above all cover your arse on everything.

Don’t rush and ask for help with anything and everything.

You will get a lot more respect for asking for help than trying to do everything and possibly making mistakes which could be very costly.

And don’t rush around for anyone.

sorry if you think that i was being narky i wasnt lol, i only answered it like that because you thought i was telling porkies to get the job which was not the case lol

what do you define as a manual entry and under what circumstances do you need to them every shift?

im going to approach it open minded and will let them no everything and if im not the right candidate then thats it but i cant see why i wouldnt be as iv told the agency im new driver and inexperienced, yeh i admitted to the agency about knowing how to operate the digi tacho machine as i did get to know basic things about it in my cpc mod 2 questions

16

mat79:
Just crack on and don’t be afraid to ask along the way. You’ll get bits wrong but it’s all part of the learning curve. Be honest with other drivers or loaders. Tell them your new to the game and ask for advice. You’ll pick up tacho infringements but don’t worry about it. It’s to be expected. Just take your time. One day at a time. Biggest thing to be mindful of is load security and your driving.
Don’t hit anything or lose anything. [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

yeh cheers mate part of learning isnt it, im lead to believe forks will be onloading and loading so thats not bad, yeah your spot on about driving and not losing the load being most important and i will not let me worrying aboit if iv entered the details right get in the way of my good driving thanks for the advice bud

17

Harry Monk:
To be honest, delivering Kingspan to building sites is a pretty easy gig. Biggest problem you’ll face is that being new-build sites your satnav might not recognise the postcode on your delivery notes but then how difficult can it be to find a new-build Amazon warehouse when they are ready to put the insulation in? :wink:

hahaha your right i didnt think of that, il be mindful of that, do you think i will be given a sat nav as i can operate motorways without it and follow signs it just the direct roads where the drop is i think il have the problems with do recommend anything mate?

18

seand90:

simcor:

seand90:

simcor:
You need to be honest with the agency and the company.

They are both expecting someone with experience who knows what they are doing.

If you go in pretending you have experience you will come unstuck very quickly.

First off any decent company will do a licence check and they will see you have only recently passed.

There will be forms to fill in probably with someone from the agency on site to induct you even very basically.

You will get found out and they might not even be able to insure you due to insurance restrictions so you could end being sent home immediately and no more work, then you will have to explain to the agency why you couldn’t do the shift and believe me the company will tell the agency.

You are shooting yourself in the foot by not being upfront, it might not be an issue if both parties know the situation but it more than likely will be.

hey mate i HAVE told the agency i only passed 1month ago… its up to them to put me in a suitable role and i will remind the company im going to work for about this. iv told the agency im inexperienced an im sure iv enclosed that info in this thread i made at the start :question:

That’s fair enough then. I read it as they were not aware you were new and inexperienced.

Hence my reply, it’s a forum no need to get narky because you don’t like a response you get.

It’s just how I read it and it’s not uncommon for agencies sending drivers for roles that are not suitable I.e insurance issues and or experience issues.

If that’s the case then just go in and ask all the questions you want answers too, ask the client what they require you to do and if you don’t know how ask!!

Most legit companies want manual entries doing even for new starters for compliance so ask someone to show and help you.

Ring them with any issues now matter how small and above all cover your arse on everything.

Don’t rush and ask for help with anything and everything.

You will get a lot more respect for asking for help than trying to do everything and possibly making mistakes which could be very costly.

And don’t rush around for anyone.

sorry if you think that i was being narky i wasnt lol, i only answered it like that because you thought i was telling porkies to get the job which was not the case lol

what do you define as a manual entry and under what circumstances do you need to them every shift?

im going to approach it open minded and will let them no everything and if im not the right candidate then thats it but i cant see why i wouldnt be as iv told the agency im new driver and inexperienced, yeh i admitted to the agency about knowing how to operate the digi tacho machine as i did get to know basic things about it in my cpc mod 2 questions

It depends on the company as to what their policy for manual entries is.

Also DVSA expect to see manual entries thees days to cover an working time at the start or end of your shift.

Put simply as that and doing manual entries for ending a shift and starting a new shift is pretty simple and easy once you know how.

Unless you get in the truck at the very start of your shift and get out of it and go home then you need to account for working time as I said above.

There will be plenty who say you don’t but its what DVSA expect you to do as you are legally required to account for all your working time.

Most complaint operators will expect drivers to be doing manual entries and often monitor such things on the tacho analysis software.

19

Agencies will lie to you and the client so when the client tells the agency “we need someone who knows their stuff” they’ll get anyone the agency has available.

Sounds from the description like they’ve had loads of people do the job, no one has managed it in the time (ie: getting back before 7) so wouldn’t worry. Sounds like the usual crappy company but its experience and something on your tacho card.

Personally I wouldn’t park in the company car park so if they lock the gates, you can dump the truck in front of the gate, chuck the keys over the gate and drive home.

All first jobs tend to be crappy on agency so go do it, take stuff back if it cant be delivered and they’ll find you a new gig. Don’t be surprised if these people want you back!

20

simcor:
And if you aren’t given respect for asking for help with things then they are not worth working for anyway.

I’m guessing it’s SIG you will be driving for or CCF.

Make sure the drops are marked up by the company as drop numbers with also number 1 of 3 etc, so you know exactly what laod is going to what drop. Otherwise you’ll be looking for info on labels etc to try and figure out what goes where. They should likely have all the drops in some sort of easy order.

i believe its encon insulation and yeah thats good advice il bear that in mind thanks alot :smiley: