trade platers

[kitkat]

sorry if i got the title wrong for you’s lads that hitch from town to town and country to country

i was talking to a lad today who was ment to pick a truck up from MAN at bellshill,unfortuately the vehicle was still down in kent.he had been up since 04.30 and arrived at bellshill at 07.00.the company (uniload) was trying to get him a job sorted but it was taking time and he ended up giving them a deadline.i asked him if he got paid for standing around and he said that he’d be telling them that he wanted waiting money.he said that he gets £60 per day £25 dig money,he eventually got a run about 10.00hrs,down sth,he also said that due to the first job falling through,he said that he’d get 60 quid,for the failed job,plus 60 quid for the new job and also 40 quid waiting time,160 quid for a days work not bad if you get it.

one thing that i was not sure about was this,if a vehicle does not have a tax disc and is not registered to any company, then he does not require a tacho,but if it is taxed and registered then tacho required. he said that this can be to his advantage as they get paid by the mile,so i’m thinking whilst he’s talking how can you get 60 quid for the day plus get paid by the mile

he was also telling a new start with his company that was picking up from the same place that also had a run down sth, if he had not got another truck to pick up down there then to keep the truck out all nite and deliver it the following morning is the idea not to get the truck to the customer soon as poss and is the £25 that they give you not for b&b’s etc.

so is there any lads on here that can shed some light on this guys way of working or is it the norm.

1.tacho or no tacho
2.how r u paid and how much
3.waiting time how much
4.do you need to deliver truck asap or can u keep it all nite.
5.do you sleep in b&b’s or do you sleep rough
6.most of all how safe is your job

all views welcome but would like to hear from anyone that does this sort of job or has done in the past.

[geebee45]

one thing that i was not sure about was this,if a vehicle does not have a tax disc and is not registered to any company, then he does not require a tacho,but if it is taxed and registered then tacho required.

Article 4 of Council Regulation EC 3821/85 says that; vehicles undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes and new or rebuilt vehicles not yet put into service are exempt EC drivers hours and record keeping. On the face of it, delivering an unregistered vehicle from an importer to a dealer using trade plated would be exempt. However, it may well come under Domestic Regs; 10 hrs driving and 11 hrs duty and requirement to keep a log book or use a tacho.

However, the delivery of a registered vehicle on trade plates (it wouldn’t need a tax disc then) does not fit the above exemption and would not be tacho exempt.

[daxi]

It’s a grey area, I have spent a lot of time driving for rental / lease companies & we worked to tacho reg (sort of), but the VI as was, was not totally sure if we should, they said no tacho was required but we could prosecute to find out if we catch you.
I’m not sure about how others work but I was paid a flat rate per hour, as a self employed driver.
waiting time paid at normal rate for me, otherwise they have no incentive to not keep you sitting around, also the job does involve a lot a waiting around for customers to get sorted & my company charged them for my time.
I was working days in effrect, if we were out over night it was an exception & I would sleep in the cab as I was not paid B & B money.
How safe depends what you mean, some companies could put into vehicles that were known to be accidents waiting to happen & not say anything.

[malcn]

fetched a truck out of coventry with a buddy, 2 trucks 2 trade platers coming back down the m54 together ploc pulls us ,1st thing they want is a tacho ,asked why they pulled us and they said because you were running together then give my mate the riot act because his tacho disc was dirty and he did not have a spare they reckon it is an offence to only have one tacho disc , rason what if you had a night out, coventry to telford

[tdriver]

Once applied to a company in Warrington for a job moving vehicles around the country on Trade Plates. Crack was I would hitch to pick up the vehicle at one rate, drive on delivery at another rate and was to keep the vehicle out overnight as a place to stay. Never went to work for them

[el_gordo_78]

kitkat:
so is there any lads on here that can shed some light on this guys way of working or is it the norm.

all views welcome but would like to hear from anyone that does this sort of job or has done in the past.

Sounds like he’s been with 'em a while and got the fiddles sussed. Me, I keep it honest despite knowing the ways to make more, cos its wrong and keeps me getting better jobs at times. Sounds like he’s on a higher rate than me and will do alright for himself on that day.

kitkat:
1.tacho or no tacho

Depends on if its registered or not. Vast majority are indeed registered so tacho goes in. Company is a contractor though so unsure of their obligation to keep a record of tachos like a normal firm with an operators license.

kitkat:
2.how r u paid and how much

hourly drive, hourly wait, hourly breakdown, 20p 1st 50 miles and 11p thereafter for hitching.

kitkat:
3.waiting time how much

same as drive-time.

kitkat:
4.do you need to deliver truck asap or can u keep it all nite.

Depends if they’re waiting for it to go out and be used, or just need it whenever (often the case as we’re allocated as and when we’re available not on a set date to match delivery address’ schedules, unless timed and bonus is paid and is sent out as urgent.

kitkat:
5.do you sleep in b&b’s or do you sleep rough

Never slept rough, but B&Bs can be bloomin’ pricey which can hurt. I’d imagine there are indeed some drivers who take a tent with them, or kip on buses or elsewhere but I’ve never met them. If we have a vehicle to use though that is 1st choice cos its cash in our pocket. The firm doesnt pay for digs unless its some extra over and beyond our standard rate due to big city prices.

kitkat:
6.most of all how safe is your job

Never had a problem yet, apart from the occasional bit of debris thrown at me by passing occupants of builders vans, when hitch-hiking - and occasionally get hal-al vans stop to offer a ride in return for whatever cash you got (thanks but no thanks, and thumb back out again!). If a site is dangerous to stand at then move to where its safe - I’m not risking life over a job.

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A more detailed answer is below though…

right, what he earns (or rather what I’d have earned)…

Where he lives influences his hourly rate as does his license type. I used to get under £6 an hour as a 7.5tn driver for Uniloads and now get £6.78 - but I live in the yorkshire zone (north lincs, scunny) so I’m in the lowest payband. If I lived in London I’d be £2 or £3 an hour better off. This irks all the drivers regardless of location cos it costs us all the same amount to live day in day out on the road regardless of home cos we’re nationwide on the road.

here’s a working example. Takes a fair bit of explaining so bear with me.

Leave home 9am, hitch 80 miles to collection. arriving approx 11am. Standard rate all drivers is 20p per mile first 50 and 11p per mile after making £13.30 for this part.

Job due to be 200 miles, based on an average speed of 50mph so 4 hours estimated with allowance of half hour collection and delivery form-filling, so 5 hours at that drivers rate. Based on me, it’d be £33.90 - could be more if I had C+E license.

Job fails, company is billed anyway at an agreed rate as its not our fault or Uniloads fault and of course time/admin has to be paid for. Driver receives payment for job as if it was done. If company says stay put while they look for next job or see if more can be found at same site its the same rate paid hourly for every hour past 20 minutes waiting. So lets say a 1hr20 wait put in until instructed what to do. another £6.78 on the board. So we’re up to about half 12 and £47.20 made. New job found of 160 miles, £21.70 being lined up for the next 3 and a bit hours. Lets say its unregistered, the only reason a tacho goes in is to protect the stylus and maybe to make sure a record of not speeding can be had if yer paranoid. No legal requirement though.

about 4pm park up a few miles from delivery, check phone to see what the follow-on is. If its a site within 60-70 miles and 24 collection - or even the same site then get dropped off and get hitched up to the next one. No follow-on designated then ring in and see whats what, if something being planned take some break time to allow them to sort something. If its like just above then carry on get dropped, if its an early close (5-6pm) next job or not too local then reschedule delivery of current job til morning and get parked safe and secure as the customer is billed by the mile not hour.

Lets presume they HAVE got something from the same site so all signed off and next job inspected by half 4, next one is 300 miles. That will pay £40.68 - get it driven up say 250 miles or even just a few miles away from the drop and we’re talking a reasonable start of 7am seeing as most places don’t open gates til then anyway.

£21.75 tax free for the night out, and for the day I’ve made £131 for my 9 or 10 hours drive-time, a 13.5 hour day from leaving home, and my only expense is nosh and the night’s parking if doing what we’re asked to do and find somewhere safe and secured.

But then there’s the days like today with a hitch of nigh on impossibility (getting to hull for a 9am timed collection (a bonus of £10 for making a timed collection or delivery), a mere 35 miles away but crossing the bridge when hitching is a bugger and city hitching is near pointless). So I got the bus. My few quid is spent on the buses there. Would have rolled in about 11am having caught the 2nd bus of the day but bonus is bonus!
182 mile drive in an LDV convoy, so done in 3.5 hours (including nosh stop), to millbrook proving ground (but still paid on the basis of around 50mph average)- no follow-on same day or next day (due to dvla ■■■■-ups ongoing) and not a single car passed me in 90 minutes (just a milk float) so gave up hitching and got a train home costing £26.10 - £2.35 more than the hitch home pays me. So today, with outlay and income including bonuses I made £33 for 11.5 hours away from home. The only reason I took it is £33 is better than a kick in the nuts when its the only day I’ve had in 10 days due to DVLA mess, and there was a slim chance of a follow-on which would have made it more worthwhile.

[tc]

El gordo very well writen piece is good enough reason for me to never recomend anyone to do this type of work.

[daxi]

el gordo 78:
Job due to be 200 miles, based on an average speed of 50mph so 4 hours estimated with allowance of half hour collection and delivery form-filling, so 5 hours at that drivers rate. Based on me, it’d be £33.90 - could be more if I had C+E license. .

This sounds illegal as they are encouraging you to speed. I could be wrong but this sounds worse than the milage payment system as it only pays at 50 mph regardless of the roads available for use.

[el_gordo_78]

nah, it all tends to average out, and there’s very little non-motorway or non DC work to be fair. typically a max of 5 miles urban at start and end, and then pedal to the metal motorway work, like any other vehicle.

I may be slightly out cos its the rate I was paid as a 7.5tn driver. It may be a slightly lower average for cat C work. I’ll find out