switchlogic:
Just to add my two Euros to this family debate- as I often tell people worried about being away so often you can be an amazing parent only there at weekends etc and that’s infinitely preferable to a miserable one around all the time. My Dad was away a huge amount of of childhoods & the result?- Kids who think of him as a best friend as much as a Dad. He’s is and always has been an amazing Dad and says something I think that we all followed him into his professions (was a self employed rarely home mechanic, didn’t go full time driving till 40 or so). If he’d stayed at home in a job he didn’t want to do he’d have been miserable and as I often joke with Mum chances are they’d have been divorced years ago rather than just celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary, not bad considering neither are yet 70. So it’s not as black and white as it’s often portrayed
Just to add my other side of the two Penn’orth on this (not Euro). I used to go with my dad all over Europe as a kid. We don’t really speak now, grown apart. He was rarely home and left my mam with pretty much FA when he left. I get it though, that’s him. Still look upto him just a strange relationship. So no its not all black and white
tmcassett:
There are a lot of assumptions and incorrect stereotypes when it comes to the whole tramping v day/night drivers.
Supposedly, all trampers are run ragged, pushed to the limit with their hours while parking up in manky laybys or service stations and eating fast food, all the while not being paid for guarding their load all night. Supposedly, day drivers work 13 -15 hours, spend an hour commuting home to have a shower, eat, go to bed for 5 hours & then be up for their next hours commute to work and 15 hour shift - all the while not seeing their partner/kids. The truth in a lot of cases will be somewhere in the middle.
Never thought I’d say this, but I agree with Dozy about going tramping while having kids (particularly young ones). Fair enough, I can understand if you are single or even with just a partner - and get the argument about only seeing each other at the weekends works for you both in the relationship. However when kids are involved then why would you miss out on all that growing up/school stuff/milestones etc. just to drive a lorry because “that’s the nature of the job” or “that’s always been the way it is”. Lost count of the number of comments on here or from people I’ve worked with who missed out on their children growing up and now massively regret it.
It depends on your family situation. For me with my eldest 2, I was split from their mother so only saw them at weekends anyway. From speaking with my youngest (17 now), yes I may have missed somethings at times, but she doesn’t see it as we missed things when comparing to her friends whos parents work ‘normal jobs’. As she put it, we have made the most of the time we have spent together when I was home. I have done day work and tramping whilst she was growing up so she’s seen all sides. I do regret the odd things that I missed but on the whole I don’t think I’d change it if I did it all again.
To do tramping you need a strong family relationship for it to work, any small cracks will be multiplied many times over. At the minute I can’t see me stopping for a good while, especially as I’m working for a decent firm who treat us well. Added that I don’t like the chasing on day work of having to be back in my hours.
This was what I was referring to about pre-conceived stereotypes, not all day/night drivers are chasing with their hours to finish and start again the next day/night. There are plenty of us in lorry driving who work in jobs where we work what is considered normal hours in other jobs, just as I say there are many trampers who make the job a pleasurable experience to suit them rather than the sort often discussed and mocked on here.
I’ve not got pre-conveived ideas about it, its from previous experience of whats on offer around me for day work (If I wanted night work I’d go back on the railways as the pay is much better for what it does to you). Over the years I’ve worked pretty much every option you can and we find that tramping suits us fine.
Also it depends on where your at finacially, to earn what I am looking for at present tramping is the best option, because in a day job I would need to be pushing the hours. I work for a firm thats over an hour away from where I live because the rate is better than locally. I do 55-60 hours a week on average, but to earn that around here on day work I’d need 65+.
At the end of it all its comes down to the same problems with everything in this world at present, everyone thinks that their way is the only way thats right. What should happen is people should respect each others choices even if its something that they’ll never do themselves, but there’s as much chance of that happening as truck drivers sticking together for better conditions
Henrys cat:
I’ve not got pre-conveived ideas about it, its from previous experience of whats on offer around me for day work (If I wanted night work I’d go back on the railways as the pay is much better for what it does to you). Over the years I’ve worked pretty much every option you can and we find that tramping suits us fine.
Also it depends on where your at finacially, to earn what I am looking for at present tramping is the best option, because in a day job I would need to be pushing the hours. I work for a firm thats over an hour away from where I live because the rate is better than locally. I do 55-60 hours a week on average, but to earn that around here on day work I’d need 65+.
At the end of it all its comes down to the same problems with everything in this world at present, everyone thinks that their way is the only way thats right. What should happen is people should respect each others choices even if its something that they’ll never do themselves, but there’s as much chance of that happening as truck drivers sticking together for better conditions
That highlighted bit in red wasn’t aimed at your personally, I was just generalizing the opinion that is standard in this industry.
