“TC Beverley Bell urged operators to ensure proper training for drivers before letting them loose at the wheel”. _ Its like this ignorant woman is comparing all professional drivers to caged animals being let loose on the roads. Im sick to death of people like her of treating me with contempt. We get the same condescending attitude from managers at RDCs also. in my experience we HGV drivers are the most courteous and polite of all drivers and deserve more respect. Obviously there are exceptions but i think they are few and far between. I think if the powers that be like Beverley Bell concentrated more on the disgraceful antics of a lot of car drivers and motor cyclists and cyclists weaving in and out of lanes as they please then they would save a lot more lives but of course that would put the spotlight on themselves. Common courtesy and manners is what every human being should expect so lets have some Beverley!
Hi truckinhell
And welcome to trucknet
with regard your post most companies would only take drivers with two years of experience
and when you pass your test as a hgv driver getting behined the wheel for real and with a load on
IMO you are not prepared for in you training most trainers well train you to pass the test the rest you lean though experience and the only way is though you employer
so I would agree with her that employers should give you a bit more training
I was let lose with a 44 ton artic at night on night trucking 600 km per night on my own with no support from my employer and no one in the truck with me , just told to get on with it
Where is the money going to come from for all thid extra training that Mrs.Bell wants ?
RE DELBOYTWO COMMENTS i had same experience when i first passed me class1 mate,got on agency work straight away,1st mission was at phil hanleys bilsthorpe depot,turned up at 02.00 in morn,had a set of keys thrown at me and told to go find yer truck then find yer trailer then get down road.obviously i was quite excited about getting into that big shiny scanny topline…but that excitment soon turned to fear,took me about an hour to find truck/trailer and couple up then trying to familiarise meself with said vehicle.now i do belive in “being thrown in at the deep end”,all good for learning etc,but looking back now i think…jeeeeeeez 44t rolling down the road in the hands of a novice 
if the employer has to pay for more training they will just employ drivers with experience 
drivers pay enough to pass their test for little hope of finding employment 
now if you had to have your licence for a number of yrears before you could drive in another country would that not make our roads safer 
Welcome truckinhell
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“TC Beverley Bell urged operators to ensure proper training for drivers before letting them loose at the wheel”.
Training in which aspect(s) 
truckinhell:
“TC Beverley Bell urged operators to ensure proper training for drivers before letting them loose at the wheel”. _ Its like this ignorant woman is comparing all professional drivers to caged animals being let loose on the roads. Im sick to death of people like her of treating me with contempt. We get the same condescending attitude from managers at RDCs also. in my experience we HGV drivers are the most courteous and polite of all drivers and deserve more respect. Obviously there are exceptions but i think they are few and far between. I think if the powers that be like Beverley Bell concentrated more on the disgraceful antics of a lot of car drivers and motor cyclists and cyclists weaving in and out of lanes as they please then they would save a lot more lives but of course that would put the spotlight on themselves. Common courtesy and manners is what every human being should expect so lets have some Beverley!
What on earth are you banging on about? There’s nothing “ignorant” or “condescending” about the woman.
Her point is, that operators should ensure that drivers are not “thrown in at the deep end” (as others have said on here) and that they ensure proper training is given.
And she’s right - although it’s fair to say that most of us didn’t need to hear something we already know.
Twenty years ago - as a Class 1 newbie - I got a set of keys thrown at me and got told “to get on with it”.
I basically had to teach myself, and actually doing the job is the best way to learn - but looking back now it would have been far more helpful to have had an experienced driver out with me, even if it was just for a day!
Where I work right now we have agency drivers coming in to cover certain shifts. Most of them are newbies and their standard of driving is atrocious! And no wonder. They cant even get out of the low box and spend most of their driving time staring at the gear stick! That is not conducive to safe driving.
These guys need help - they need training.
This industry needs someone like Beverly Bell watching it closely, and whilst I wouldn’t have thought “operators giving extra training” was part of her actual job remit, therefore under her jurisdiction - maybe it should be.
ANDY1961:
truckinhell:
“TC Beverley Bell urged operators to ensure proper training for drivers before letting them loose at the wheel”. _ Its like this ignorant woman is comparing all professional drivers to caged animals being let loose on the roads. Im sick to death of people like her of treating me with contempt. We get the same condescending attitude from managers at RDCs also. in my experience we HGV drivers are the most courteous and polite of all drivers and deserve more respect. Obviously there are exceptions but i think they are few and far between. I think if the powers that be like Beverley Bell concentrated more on the disgraceful antics of a lot of car drivers and motor cyclists and cyclists weaving in and out of lanes as they please then they would save a lot more lives but of course that would put the spotlight on themselves. Common courtesy and manners is what every human being should expect so lets have some Beverley!What on earth are you banging on about? There’s nothing “ignorant” or “condescending” about the woman. AND QUITE RIGHT TOO ANDY
Her point is, that operators should ensure that drivers are not “thrown in at the deep end” (as others have said on here) and that they ensure proper training is given.
And she’s right - although it’s fair to say that most of us didn’t need to hear something we already know.Twenty years ago - as a Class 1 newbie - I got a set of keys thrown at me and got told “to get on with it”.
I basically had to teach myself, and actually doing the job is the best way to learn - but looking back now it would have been far more helpful to have had an experienced driver out with me, even if it was just for a day!Where I work right now we have agency drivers coming in to cover certain shifts. Most of them are newbies and their standard of driving is atrocious! And no wonder. They cant even get out of the low box and spend most of their driving time staring at the gear stick! That is not conducive to safe driving.
These guys need help - they need training.This industry needs someone like Beverly Bell watching it closely, and whilst I wouldn’t have thought “operators giving extra training” was part of her actual job remit, therefore under her jurisdiction - maybe it should be.
your firm should give these agency drivers an assessment 
you can see they cannot drive but do you say anything to your TM i think not. you just leave it be. maybe when they pass their test they should have training fully laden
flippin womans only done via a book shes don a lot for compliance but she still need to get a clue
icky:
your firm should give these agency drivers an assessment
Let me correct you on your rash statement. You seem to be under the assumption that I have said nothing to the “TM”.
For your information - I and others are never out of his friggin’ office pointing out that these guys need to be assessed. I’ve offered to assess these guys myself, as best as possible.
Firms are under no obligation to assess agency drivers - and they rarely have the time to.
God knows if they were assessed in the first place there wouldn’t be so many clutches needing replaced!
ANDY1961:
icky:
your firm should give these agency drivers an assessmentLet me correct you on your rash statement. You seem to be under the assumption that I have said nothing to the “TM”.
For your information - I and others are never out of his friggin’ office pointing out that these guys need to be assessed. I’ve offered to assess these guys myself, as best as possible.
Firms are under no obligation to assess agency drivers - and they rarely have the time to.God knows if they were assessed in the first place there wouldn’t be so many clutches needing replaced!
Here Here
truckinhell:
“TC Beverley Bell urged operators to ensure proper training for drivers before letting them loose at the wheel”. _ Its like this ignorant woman is comparing all professional drivers to caged animals being let loose on the roads.
Sorry but I agree with her. I reckon there is only 10% of them at most that I’d class as being worth the label of professional driver. I’ve had to train lorry drivers who’ve been driving for decades how to reverse onto a loading bay. These forums are littered with posts from supposed experienced drivers about drivers hours and the number of older drivers who are still stuck in the 1970’s screaming engines up to the rev limiter is unbelievable. That’s even before we get to things like a complete lack of common sense, ability to solve basic problems and also going to work in their best oily rags.
I’m not perfect by any stretch but the more I look around me, the more I realise that 90% of this industry is staffed by morons and just when I think I’ve seen it all, up pops another one to bring wuckfittery up to a whole new level.
she makes agood point a company should make sure the driver knows what he is doing,a truck is danger to other people and expensive to run and maintain, and one more thing,as columbo would say, they are an advert for all of us so what a bad driver does reflects on all of us then new silly laws a brought in
Conor:
truckinhell:
“TC Beverley Bell urged operators to ensure proper training for drivers before letting them loose at the wheel”. _ Its like this ignorant woman is comparing all professional drivers to caged animals being let loose on the roads.Sorry but I agree with her. I reckon there is only 10% of them at most that I’d class as being worth the label of professional driver. I’ve had to train lorry drivers who’ve been driving for decades how to reverse onto a loading bay. These forums are littered with posts from supposed experienced drivers about drivers hours and the number of older drivers who are still stuck in the 1970’s screaming engines up to the rev limiter is unbelievable. That’s even before we get to things like a complete lack of common sense, ability to solve basic problems and also going to work in their best oily rags.
I’m not perfect by any stretch but the more I look around me, the more I realise that 90% of this industry is staffed by morons and just when I think I’ve seen it all, up pops another one to bring wuckfittery up to a whole new level.
You missed out temprament !! They should have a good one for this job
willie_mac:
Where is the money going to come from for all thid extra training that Mrs.Bell wants ?
The same place you where going to get funding to run your own proposed training scheme?
I can see the point Beverley Bell is making and any driver worth his salt would welcome any further training however long they’ve had a licence.I grew up in and around trucks(lorries back then)and started off on vans then 7.5 tonners then got my HGV so i gained the respect of driving larger vehicles bit by bit.To step from a car to a HGV is a massive step,not something i would fancy.Also too many take up HGV driving just to have a job and have no interest in trucks whatsoever so are not bothered about attaining a professional standard and pride in being a HGV driver,this is i believe why standards are dropping and why there are so many bad HGV drivers on the road.
I remember when i started driving i was slow and methodical backing onto loading bays and changing trailers etc., this used to infuriate so called experienced drivers. Nowadays if i see a novice driver i give them plenty of time and space and then i`ll give them as much advice as i can. Maybe this is a better approach than trying to get them sacked. Nobody can reverse a 45ft trailer perfectly just after passing their test. it takes plenty of practise. im sick of know all drivers who would never admit that they were anything other than perfect first time out. so try giving novice drivers a friendly smile, encouragement and the benefit of your experience cos you were in their shoes once.
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truckinhell:
I remember when i started driving i was slow and methodical backing onto loading bays and changing trailers etc., this used to infuriate so called experienced drivers. Nowadays if i see a novice driver i give them plenty of time and space and then i`ll give them as much advice as i can. Maybe this is a better approach than trying to get them sacked. Nobody can reverse a 45ft trailer perfectly just after passing their test. it takes plenty of practise. im sick of know all drivers who would never admit that they were anything other than perfect first time out. so try giving novice drivers a friendly smile, encouragement and the benefit of your experience cos you were in their shoes once.
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Let me be the first to congratulate you. In just a few posts from your original Beverley Bells comments to how we should be nice to new drivers. Way to go !
mick palmer:
I can see the point Beverley Bell is making and any driver worth his salt would welcome any further training however long they’ve had a licence.I grew up in and around trucks(lorries back then)and started off on vans then 7.5 tonners then got my HGV so i gained the respect of driving larger vehicles bit by bit.To step from a car to a HGV is a massive step,not something i would fancy.Also too many take up HGV driving just to have a job and have no interest in trucks whatsoever so are not bothered about attaining a professional standard and pride in being a HGV driver,this is i believe why standards are dropping and why there are so many bad HGV drivers on the road.
I did the same, went from vans to 7.5T and then to Class 2. What I found amazing is that the training schools do not teach anything about filling in tacho’s or digi cards, neither are they part of the test! There is no training on drivers hours either, little wonder newbies don’t have a scooby.
HGV drivers are being demoralised due to being treated as little more than ■■■■■■ by employers and the general public. How can one take real pride in being a professional driver, when wage rates are being driven down to a par with shelf stackers and sweeper-uppers?