New driver comes in to ask advice……self appointed company man driver from mentioned firm wades in to defend his company honour.…forum stalwarts start getting on back of new driver…new driver disappears wondering why he bothered in the first place.
■■■■■, having known, reccomended & employed Gonzo over the past 20 years I will tell you straight that in no way is he some company ■■■■ up. He’s very much his own man, not backwards at coming forwards or speaking his mind. He’s a genuine bloke, grafter and driver despite his Waynes World wardrobe
You can take what he posts on this subject as being genuine and honest, I do.
So what if a cab stinks a bit… open the window or freah air vents. Most of us older blokes have driven some sheds in our time, but wouldn’t take out a motor if it had no indicators etc. I’m not starting a “in my day” rant, but for gawds sake, remember you’re a lorry driver, not a chauffeur.
peterm:
So what if a cab stinks a bit… open the window or freah air vents. Most of us older blokes have driven some sheds in our time, but wouldn’t take out a motor if it had no indicators etc. I’m not starting a “in my day” rant, but for gawds sake, remember you’re a lorry driver, not a chauffeur.
Why should a young driver in 2013 drive during Febuary with a window open just because a previous employed driver has no regard to the law!!! It’s the old dinosaurs like you who have brought the crappy work conditions.
I like to smoke cannabis eg would you like to sit in a cab all day with me?
If not why not?
peterm:
So what if a cab stinks a bit… open the window or freah air vents. Most of us older blokes have driven some sheds in our time, but wouldn’t take out a motor if it had no indicators etc. I’m not starting a “in my day” rant, but for gawds sake, remember you’re a lorry driver, not a chauffeur.
Why should a young driver in 2013 drive during Febuary with a window open just because a previous employed driver has no regard to the law!!! It’s the old dinosaurs like you who have brought the crappy work conditions.
I like to smoke cannabis eg would you like to sit in a cab all day with me? If not why not?[/quote]
peterm:
So what if a cab stinks a bit… open the window or freah air vents. Most of us older blokes have driven some sheds in our time, but wouldn’t take out a motor if it had no indicators etc. I’m not starting a “in my day” rant, but for gawds sake, remember you’re a lorry driver, not a chauffeur.
I am like you, and probably a similar age, done a bit, and drove my share… and part of somebody elses share of sheds. Keeping on the “in our day theme” , it was different then, we took all the crap as part of the job ie sleeping in day cabs etc, but it is, and quite rightly so, different today, I agree with a lot of what the op says, why in this day and age should you settle for driving a stinking heap (after assuming it was as bad as he says for the sake of my point) the powers that be have been trying to clean up the Transport image for a while now and we have taken all the negatives, ie dcpc vosa nvq etc etc, so why shouldn’t we take, and expect, the positives as well , like better modern day working conditions, if other industries expect and demand it why shouldn’t we, so good on him for standing up for himself, you say “you’re a lorry driver” as if this puts us in the second class citizen category, if WE start thinking like this it’s little wonder that THEY, the general public share the same opinion.
I have an i shift volvo the gearstick is held together with sticky tape, the mirrror backs are missing,i dont smoke but the other drivers do.man up and gel on son. Lol old school rules. The post is interesting for the points between young and old drivers views, vosa will be overjoyed when they read this post.as this is what they want from todays drivers,breaks my heart because these new lads wont be pioneering any new trails will they!
gonzothejaffa1:
■■■■■ i am kind of hoping he replies tbh i am not here to ■■■■■ at the op merely trying to get to the root of the problem and yes i will defend the company as they are not here to defend themselves… as they gave me a job when i was a mere yoof with a new shiny licence
'kin 'ell Gonzo, i’m surprised that you can remember that far back
if it was definitely an indicator stalk, as you have said a few times now, why have you removed the reference to the indicator stalk from your opening post?
have you now realised that you were in fact, wrong on this occasion, and have refused to drive a perfectly road legal vehicle?
if it smells, get a can of air freshener from the nearest shop
as for the gaffer tape all over the gaitor, i have seen newer vehicles than most of the fleet that you are referring to, with holes in them that have not been covered with anything
if the ‘indicator’ stalk (read, exhaust brake stalk) was indeed broken off, then how did it break off?
driver abuse!!!
not saying that you broke it, but they don’t just snap off themselves, a driver somewhere along the line has abused the vehicle and left it in the state that you saw it, but, the company has done everything required to keep it legal
as has already been asked, did you put your tacho disc in when you were doing your walk round checks?
From reading all of this thread, I would have driven the truck f it was the exhaust brake stalk and duct tape on the gator. As for the smell and state of the cab, would have got the office bod to have a look before I took it out (have done this in the past). I always drive with the window slightly open anyway, and have driven in smokey cabs in the past ( I don’t smoke by the way)
IF the indicator was broken off, it would depend how much was left as to if I would have driven it or not. Fully off then no drive, some left so you can operate it then yes I would, but would have made the office aware first.
From the attitude of the original op, I would think he went in with the wrong attitude. Glad our place don’t have agency as they’d never drive half of our stuff. Oldest is a C reg, newest is an 07, most don’t have a working radio or cruise control (but have got hand throttles )
i drive 3.5t & 7.5 t , and its usually a different vehicle every shift. with regard to the the broken stalk. the exhaust brake on every 7.5t has been hacksawed off flush■■? not a problem the foot brakes work well.re: ■■■ smell ,i dont smoke (used to ) and i hate following a driver who doese, but who am i to dictate to others? it aint my vehicle,i only drive it.so i carry a spray bottle (it once had bathroom cleaning spray in it) with a dilute mixture of a product called zoflora ,when i open the door i give the interior a good dousing . ok the first 10 mins are a bit pungent but it clears/masks the old ashtray smell and its as cheap as chips problem sorted
some are defending the firm in question, but if the state of the wagon is as op says then why as the firm not actioned any simple repairs? or questioned why the inside is as bad as stated? and taken any action deemed necessary?
as for making 2drivers late, blame your tm , and the drivers at your firm who obviously left it in a mess to start off with and seems either not reported any damage. how long would it have taken for one of your staff to give it a quick clean out replace the stalk?
Bottom line is the company has already broken the law by allowing employees to smoke in the company vehicle.
If i got given a truck reeking of stale old tobacco smoke, if the company want to provide the necessary tools to resolve that situation, fine, i will use them and get the truck to an acceptable standard…if they expect me to pay out of my own pocket to rectify their problem…they are going to have a long wait.
Why should i be expected to sit in someone else’s ashtray to do my days work?
at the end of the day…when youre a newbie trying to break into the industry,you have to eat ■■■■.once youve got some experience,you can afford to be a bit more picky.
if youre agency..youre gonna get the spare truck
our firm have a spare, which is a tip inside,although it is in perfect road going condition.if you turn up on agency…this is probably the truck youll drive...what else do you expect :question: ....perhaps you would like to use my immaculatly turned out scania for the day,and ill use the spare.
If I now had no work due to a crappy truck and felt like id wasted part of my day, why I do the company any favours and waste anther 5 minutes of my time filling out a defect report…
If I now had no work due to a crappy truck and felt like id wasted part of my day, why I do the company any favours and waste anther 5 minutes of my time filling out a defect report…
so that others in your position would not be wasting their time too
If I now had no work due to a crappy truck and felt like id wasted part of my day, why I do the company any favours and waste anther 5 minutes of my time filling out a defect report…
so that others in your position would not be wasting their time too
totally agree but the question as to be asked why the truck was in such a state to start with…
Surprised my little mate ‘airfix’ hasn’t been on to comment yet, I made him aware of this thread yesterday.
commonrail:
at the end of the day…when youre a newbie trying to break into the industry,you have to eat [zb].once youve got some experience,you can afford to be a bit more picky.
if youre agency..youre gonna get the spare truck
our firm have a spare, which is a tip inside,although it is in perfect road going condition.if you turn up on agency…this is probably the truck youll drive...what else do you expect :question: ....perhaps you would like to use my immaculatly turned out scania for the day,and ill use the spare.
I had 2 days off at the start of December after black cab wanted to share a lane with my car, came back to find my brand new 62 plate Actros MP4 with a smashed in wind deflector after the agency bod ‘missed the pin’ - yeah, by about 3 feet. He missed the pin by enough that the deflector hit the skid on the trailer…
So, when companies say “there’s your vehicle agency bod” and point to the old X reg DAF 65 in the corner, I’m not surprised. BUT, having been on agency on and off since I started, I’ve only ever once driven anything that I’d call ‘a shed’. I’ve driven more brand new vehicles as an agency bod than I ever have as a full time employee.
