Just a fun thread so lets not argue but what do you reckon is good and bad today compared to say 25 years ago.
So I will start and say that …
Lorries are more comfortable now but there is too much traffic
No driving sheds around which would get turned down for use as a shunter nowadays, roping and sheeting is finally going the way of the dodo. Speed limiters and digi tachos so less ability or pressure to run bent. Wages have risen far higher than inflation. The £3/hr I started on in 1992 is only worth £5.75 in todays money yet I’m on almost double that. Wagons as you say are far better than they used to be.
On the flip side there is more congestion now and the amount of times roads are closed off gets your back up. It was easier to deliver 25 years ago
Driving at night was pleasurable back then. Its a nightmare now.
Pro
No more vinyl seats and metal steering wheels. Frostbite in the winter and skin removal in the summer.
Con
English used to be an used and understood language
Pro: Sat navs
Con: Being betrayed by sat navs.
PaulNowak:
English used to be an used and understood language
lolwut?
Bad Jim:
PaulNowak:
English used to be an used and understood languagelolwut?
“An used” is the correct use of “a” and “an”. “An” precedes a word starting with a vowel, “a” precedes a word starting with a consonant unless silent h. Just because most would say “a used” doesn’t mean it is correct.
Conor:
No driving sheds around which would get turned down for use as a shunter nowadays, roping and sheeting is finally going the way of the dodo. Speed limiters and digi tachos so less ability or pressure to run bent. Wages have risen far higher than inflation. The £3/hr I started on in 1992 is only worth £5.75 in todays money yet I’m on almost double that. Wagons as you say are far better than they used to be.
1992 is that all try 1968 at 6 shillings and 4 pence= about 32p p/h and £1 night money top line inc o/t £26 ,no power steering, no heaters no radio,no bunk,sat nav only a tongue in your head and a road map,no shunters you loaded your own and got on the road 
Ive been driving class one since i was 21,thats 23 yrs next month 
,i cant remember many drivers moaning as much as they do nowadays ,they all talked to each other in a friendly way aswell ,even going for a few pints on nights out and having a laugh ,cant really comment on how trucks have improved because the first one i drove was a E reg fl10 …
i started back in 1991 and was more or less on what i percive to be on the cusp of modern improvements main motorways in place lorries were improving for power and comfort and convenience mobile phones and sat nav way in the future so free phone numbers and a2z were common. fridays were /are still a nightmare to travel on alot of roundabouts have been taken out to improve traffic flow (peterborough A1 anybody)also the b660 crossroads near norman cross, black cat is still awful a46 lincoln to newark vastly improved a46 south of newark to licester excellent now and loads more … 24 hour supermarkets/service stations/quicktime mcburger king brilliant for late night snacks etc
on the con side. much more traffic that swamps road improvements back to being snarled up worse driving standards in general
less places to stop for hgv that arnt rip off MSA and even some of them dont give great vale for money
also the push push push mentality of some transport offices
Managed motorways Huh…? ooh lets create a tail back by leaving the speed at 40 for one gantry then back to NSL for two miles then back to 40… M25/ M42
BLAH BLAH BLAH MOAN MOAN MOAN… LOL
Overall its better than 20/30 years ago but still more of a rat race
25 years ago is borderline.Up to around that point night trunking at least was a case of 60 mph limit and no limiters job and finish and more money in real terms for less hours.As for trucks at least the 1970’s DAF 2800 I drove on that job when I started was more comfortable than the early 90’s Merc 2534 which was the last.But even in the 1980’s motorway traffic between around 06.00-22.00 was often an issue.
open borders in the eu 
, miss my B reg erf with no limiter 
, drivers had a better crack and good banter on the cb, drivers seem to moan alot more these days, and want shed loads of money and do as little as possible to get it, bring back % pay
Remember when a driver was in trouble ie lost load,flat tyre,breakdown etc other drivers would stop to help,don’t see that to often these days 
as the majority have put - less moaning - less hassle - more camaraderie sense of being in it together. less health and safety rules.
bad points - paid poorly.
Hiya… sorry to say if you wasn’t their in the 70,s driving crap running bent with no wages how do you know
your only assuming. in the 70s when there was no sleepers you stayed in digs. i can tell you now if you parked in wood lane you was parked before 4.30 or turned away…you got back just before 8am when you,d had a breakfast. i’d tip slough maidenhead reading newbury and back to wood lane… next day one near Rotherhithe tunnel Barking and load in
Grays and home to Leek in staffs and go straight home…i had a1968 leyland in 1973…i can’t see much running bent
their and the money was top notch. …Leek Hull Grimsby Hull Leek was four days…night out money paid up front.
Conor:
No driving sheds around which would get turned down for use as a shunter nowadays, roping and sheeting is finally going the way of the dodo. Speed limiters and digi tachos so less ability or pressure to run bent. Wages have risen far higher than inflation. The £3/hr I started on in 1992 is only worth £5.75 in todays money yet I’m on almost double that. Wagons as you say are far better than they used to be.
£3 an hour in 1992. I was on £9 an hour in 1980 in London and on £15 an hour when I retired three years ago. I am not so sure wages have risen far higher than inflation like you say. A lot depends on the type of work though.
As far as roping and sheeting is concerned I am sad to see it go in a way. It certainly makes life easier without it but it was a skill that was part of being a lorry driver. Everything is too easy in a truck these days and probably something to do with the lack professionalism these days. There was something about a truck with no power steering no synchromesh gearbox and no heater. Ok today’s trucks are definitely better but it is shame the industry has gone down hill so much.
3300John:
Hiya… sorry to say if you wasn’t their in the 70,s driving crap running bent with no wages how do you know
your only assuming. in the 70s when there was no sleepers you stayed in digs. i can tell you now if you parked in wood lane you was parked before 4.30 or turned away…you got back just before 8am when you,d had a breakfast. i’d tip slough maidenhead reading newbury and back to wood lane… next day one near Rotherhithe tunnel Barking and load in
Grays and home to Leek in staffs and go straight home…i had a1968 leyland in 1973…i can’t see much running bent
their and the money was top notch. …Leek Hull Grimsby Hull Leek was four days…night out money paid up front.
+1
you know the score.
If you had to do rope and sheet, manual split gearbox, find your way by using a map and your own knowledge etc. there would be no girls driving (prestons only take you on if you can throw a sheet over), no foreigners who rely totally on sat nav, just the other day I heard an eastern European chappie shouting down the phone “look I tell sat nav no tolls, NO TOLLS and it bloooody take me to toll road!” result = more drivers needed and higher pay
Conor:
Bad Jim:
PaulNowak:
English used to be an used and understood languagelolwut?
“An used” is the correct use of “a” and “an”. “An” precedes a word starting with a vowel, “a” precedes a word starting with a consonant unless silent h. Just because most would say “a used” doesn’t mean it is correct.
Sorry, but…when “u” makes the same sound as the “y” in “you,” then “a” is used. The word-initial “y” sound (“used”) is actually a glide phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring “a.”