I personally think it is a good idea. I think at my place we have like 4 women drivers out of like 200 drivers.
But what I think needs to be done is improve facilities on a massive scale. As a guy you may be more willing to take a ■■■■■ in a bush because of the lack of facilities I suspect most women would be put off doing that.
The biggest negative to being a female on the road, though, is the lack of basic facilities. And actually that’s for all drivers, not just women.
A lot of “drivers’ toilets” I wouldn’t even let my dog use – they are horrendous. Most companies used to let you use their office loos, but when the pandemic hit, I was refused at a lot of places. I don’t know how people can justify refusing a basic necessity like that, but they did.
She also mentions the typical hours a driver has to do. At my place a 12 hour day is basically standard. I think a lot more can be done to shorten the hours on a industry wide scale to make the job more appealing. Yea, you should still be able to do 12 hours + if you want to but it should not be the norm which is what it has turned into.
One of the final points she made was price inflation at MSAs which I think is a complete joke. For example a 500ml bottle of pepsi max at a WHS Smith is about £3. I personally think the government needs to step in here to do something. The price gouging at MSA’s is frankly crazy.
Then there is the physical aspects of the job. For example at the CO-OP they have a policy of delivering the cages to the door then its the stores responsibility. So many store stuff will just watch you struggle. Maybe H&S can step in a bit here and say “You cant let this driver pull a 1 ton pallet up a gravel path”
I know some people on here would never do that but a lot of the newbies would. It’s kinda funny in the warehouses I believe anything over 25kg requires a 2 man lift from a health and safety point of view but that doesn’t apply if your out on the road.
Who do you think the majority of these “HGV Licence Holders that do not currently work as a driver” - actually are?
There are ladies out there right now - who have been enticed back to the workplace by firms offering to put them through the necessary DCPC to get their blue cards “absolutely free”, and then qualify for some of this top dollar agency working that abounds…
The fact that they might have a considerable gap since last using their licence - can be glossed over in exactly the same way that “needing a blue card” can be. You just throw money at it, and I wish all the best to those outfits that have woken up and smelled the coffee to realize that “Bribery” erm I mean “Incentives” - are obvious, and effective way to get bums on seats - as such “financial persuasion” techniques always were.
Why women why stop there we are now multi cultural, attract everyone.If you need to attract anyone the will not in my opinion enjoy the job to stay in it
I personally think it is a good idea. I think at my place we have like 4 women drivers out of like 200 drivers.
But what I think needs to be done is improve facilities on a massive scale. As a guy you may be more willing to take a ■■■■■ in a bush because of the lack of facilities I suspect most women would be put off doing that.
The biggest negative to being a female on the road, though, is the lack of basic facilities. And actually that’s for all drivers, not just women.
A lot of “drivers’ toilets” I wouldn’t even let my dog use – they are horrendous. Most companies used to let you use their office loos, but when the pandemic hit, I was refused at a lot of places. I don’t know how people can justify refusing a basic necessity like that, but they did.
She also mentions the typical hours a driver has to do. At my place a 12 hour day is basically standard. I think a lot more can be done to shorten the hours on a industry wide scale to make the job more appealing. Yea, you should still be able to do 12 hours + if you want to but it should not be the norm which is what it has turned into.
One of the final points she made was price inflation at MSAs which I think is a complete joke. For example a 500ml bottle of pepsi max at a WHS Smith is about £3. I personally think the government needs to step in here to do something. The price gouging at MSA’s is frankly crazy.
Then there is the physical aspects of the job. For example at the CO-OP they have a policy of delivering the cages to the door then its the stores responsibility. So many store stuff will just watch you struggle. Maybe H&S can step in a bit here and say “You cant let this driver pull a 1 ton pallet up a gravel path”
I know some people on here would never do that but a lot of the newbies would. It’s kinda funny in the warehouses I believe anything over 25kg requires a 2 man lift from a health and safety point of view but that doesn’t apply if your out on the road.
Anyone who is stupid enough to pay £3 for a small bottle of pop deserves to be ripped off. If folk stopped buying at these prices the products would instantly be sold cheaper.
Supply & demand, all that is needed is to reduce the demand…
It may not be politically correct to say so but men and women are not the same and driving a truck is not something which would appeal to the vast majority of women. I expect the fingernail painting industry doesn’t employ many men.
All makes good news headlines etc.if a woman wants to be a driver a truck let her.
she has the same rights as any guy. Her life if she wants to.
I really hate these ideas. We need to attract more women in roles . We need to include more ethinc people into work places .make up the quota etc
You have to at least interview an ethic perosn etc.
Really hate it .
If a woman. Or an ethinc person wants a job driving a truck for instance then they can apply like anynody else can do.
Not be told the jobs yours to make.up the numbers as were an ethic diverse company.
But as others mention why a woman would want to drive a truck then have to someohow pee behind the wheelarch or into a bottle is betoned me .
But don’t need a focus group and campaigns to attract them.
I personally think it is a good idea. I think at my place we have like 4 women drivers out of like 200 drivers.
But what I think needs to be done is improve facilities on a massive scale. As a guy you may be more willing to take a ■■■■■ in a bush because of the lack of facilities I suspect most women would be put off doing that.
The biggest negative to being a female on the road, though, is the lack of basic facilities. And actually that’s for all drivers, not just women.
A lot of “drivers’ toilets” I wouldn’t even let my dog use – they are horrendous. Most companies used to let you use their office loos, but when the pandemic hit, I was refused at a lot of places. I don’t know how people can justify refusing a basic necessity like that, but they did.
She also mentions the typical hours a driver has to do. At my place a 12 hour day is basically standard. I think a lot more can be done to shorten the hours on a industry wide scale to make the job more appealing. Yea, you should still be able to do 12 hours + if you want to but it should not be the norm which is what it has turned into.
One of the final points she made was price inflation at MSAs which I think is a complete joke. For example a 500ml bottle of pepsi max at a WHS Smith is about £3. I personally think the government needs to step in here to do something. The price gouging at MSA’s is frankly crazy.
Then there is the physical aspects of the job. For example at the CO-OP they have a policy of delivering the cages to the door then its the stores responsibility. So many store stuff will just watch you struggle. Maybe H&S can step in a bit here and say “You cant let this driver pull a 1 ton pallet up a gravel path”
I know some people on here would never do that but a lot of the newbies would. It’s kinda funny in the warehouses I believe anything over 25kg requires a 2 man lift from a health and safety point of view but that doesn’t apply if your out on the road.
Anyone who is stupid enough to pay £3 for a small bottle of pop deserves to be ripped off. If folk stopped buying at these prices the products would instantly be sold cheaper.
Supply & demand, all that is needed is to reduce the demand…
Problem being that the “supply and demand” situation is significantly skewed by the lease conditions under which MSAs run their operations. In essence, they are obligated to offer certain facilities 24/7/365. If the majority of their customers stopped buying at the prices offered, the operators would likely have to raise unit prices in order to cover their costs from a reduced level of sales (and possibly reduce the range of products on offer as well).
Personally I think that treating us all like pigs with crap facilities and rip off food joints is a reason that sensible people don’t want to do this job anymore.
Improve conditions, pay and facilites, treat us all like decent human beings and there wouldn’t be such a shortage.
I know the popular reason for the shortage is supposed to be brexit. IMHO it’s caused by the natives not wanting to work in these conditons so we needed to import cheap labour to do the job instead. Now the cheap labour isn’t available we are back to the real reasons they can’t get and keep drivers, but let’s blame brexit anyway!
Just as a passing point of interest on here. If you think the men’s facilities are bad at MSAs get the Mrs to go in and look at the ladies ones. I can promise you they are normally a lot worse!
eagerbeaver:
Anyone who is stupid enough to pay £3 for a small bottle of pop deserves to be ripped off. If folk stopped buying at these prices the products would instantly be sold cheaper.
Supply & demand, all that is needed is to reduce the demand…
Nail/Head.
The only facility i’ll give custom to now in an MSA is Greggs, the rest will never see a penny of mine.
It wasn’t always like this, some MSA’s were decent enough, particularly Granada (now Moto) who had good fair priced food facilities for wagon drivers eg top floor at Hilton Park.
I ain’t paying Costa or Starbucks prices for a coffee either when for the same price more or less you can get a breakfast role in addition to equally good coffee at Greggs…and i’m sure Greggs aint running a charity so if they can offer value for money and make a profit the others can too.
As for attracting women into the job, the type of women who excel at lorry driving are already in the industry despite all its failings, no the facilities arn’t good enough but that goes for all genders.
There are jobs you can do within transport where inter depot, or supermarket distribution operations, are much more amenable for comfort and facilities.
Sadly if decent roadside facilities were provided in this country, they would only get vandalised or stripped out for scrap by our bestest ever citizens unless 24/7 security was on site but who’s going to pay for that.
Basically what good friend said and Justin’s last paragraph. Women that want to do the job find their way into it. But basically most women don’t want to. I hate this let’s tempt more women into the industry, no, just people.
No , I remember that Sonia doing that ■■■ video , then there was that raving lesbian who said she wanted to ■■■■ me , stuff that carry on , might be ok when your young but I just want a quiet life
I guess there’s some nice quiet women around , but works wise I seem to end up with opposite
No from me
dozy:
No , I remember that Sonia doing that ■■■ video , then there was that raving lesbian who said she wanted to ■■■■ me , stuff that carry on , might be ok when your young but I just want a quiet life
I guess there’s some nice quiet women around , but works wise I seem to end up with opposite
No from me
Was that the name of the Stobbie’s driver from t’ telly? I saw her once when she delivered to the RDC I was at. (what a sad claim to fame… )
eagerbeaver:
Anyone who is stupid enough to pay £3 for a small bottle of pop deserves to be ripped off. If folk stopped buying at these prices the products would instantly be sold cheaper.
Supply & demand, all that is needed is to reduce the demand…
Nail/Head.
The only facility i’ll give custom to now in an MSA is Greggs, the rest will never see a penny of mine.
It wasn’t always like this, some MSA’s were decent enough, particularly Granada (now Moto) who had good fair priced food facilities for wagon drivers eg top floor at Hilton Park.
I ain’t paying Costa or Starbucks prices for a coffee either when for the same price more or less you can get a breakfast role in addition to equally good coffee at Greggs…and i’m sure Greggs aint running a charity so if they can offer value for money and make a profit the others can too.
The only thing I spend in services is a penny, (in the toilets because I’m not a dirty lazy scrote) joy of being a locals-ish night shift driver I suppose, sarnies and a flask of boiling water to make a few cups of tea does me. not that I need much sustenance during my four 9-ish hr shifts.
As for ladies, we recently lost a good one to another firm, the reason being she’d keep her head down and do whatever the planners threw her way, only trouble is the planners start taking the ■■■■ because they’d sooner hand off extra work to the quiet ones who’ll get on with it and not complain than the gobby moaning (male) ones who think that actual driving and all things associated with haulage aren’t part of what they signed up for.
If I was a gaffer I’d employ all ladies if I had my way, I’ve not met any that don’t get on with the job.
Gregory distribution who I work for have women in most of the key management positions, loads of women on rigid/class one multidrop and milk collection.
Most of the drivers on the SWW wet waste contract are women too.
We even have a few trans drivers so although they get a lot of other things wrong they must be doing something right in this area.
im female of 29 and looking into getting my hgv licence .my other half has had his class 2 licence for over 20 yrs . says its not worth me doing mine u get treated like s*** & not respected . i am still determined to do mine its always been something i wanted to do for yrs ,even if he keeps keeps putting me off the idea . im not scared of not much facility’s , i know some females are n hard work im a country girl n not scared to get me hands dirty or heavy stuff to move .
so yes i agree that more females should get into hgv driving .
fingers crossed i will have enough money saved soon n get my test done .
)
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