I’m only 25 and haven’t had my HGV2 for that long.
I certainly wouldn’t have given the 18 year old me a lorry, even though I’d have liked to have been able to drive one at the time.
Nothing wrong with driving a van til you’re 21 if you ask me.
Last year I had to sit in with a driver who was 22 (I was 24 then) and had passed his HGV2 about two months after me, I’d had mine for about 9 or 10 months at this time. The kid was a ■■■■■■■ lunatic and ended up stuck in the mud (I started a thread about it when I got back that evening). He drove around on the limiter no matter what the road was like…shot through gaps like a madman and was telling me about the time he put his car in a ditch…I thought he’d have a lorry in a ditch before long.
Wether or not the age of entry is 21 is right or wrong is all but irrelivent because the fact is that by having such a high age of entry you lose all the potential entrants who go off and do other things at 16/18 from school/college, not that anyone would bother with college and then become a driver anyway but still, by age 21 most people have found other paths and thats that, the transport industry just gets the people who wanted to be drivers anyway and whoever the government puts through free training as a way of getting people into employment, most of whom probably have no interest in being a driver anyway.
I think 21 is the right age ,as a few of you said we dont need boy or girl racers driving a larger killing machine . as a car can do enough damage in the wrong hands And as for men 18 and 21 for wemen a little shovanistic arnt we
The industrys poblem with attracting young people has very little to do with with the age being 21, it can’t attract young people because the job isn’t attractive to young people. Pay, Conditions, hours, status, etc.
If you want to attract people of any age to being truck drivers lowering the age will make very little difference, it’s better to raise the status of the job. Not only might this encourage people to get into the industry, but more importantly people might stay in the industry. What the point of people training to do the job at 18, 21 or any age if they decide to leave a few later, sick of the long hours, low pay, lack of facilities and of being treated like dirt by warehouse staff, TM’s, car drivers, councils and most of joe public.
robinhood_1984:
Wether or not the age of entry is 21 is right or wrong is all but irrelivent because the fact is that by having such a high age of entry you lose all the potential entrants who go off and do other things at 16/18 from school/college, not that anyone would bother with college and then become a driver anyway but still, by age 21 most people have found other paths and thats that, the transport industry just gets the people who wanted to be drivers anyway and whoever the government puts through free training as a way of getting people into employment, most of whom probably have no interest in being a driver anyway.
Your right robinhood.
Since the age of about 14/15 I had always wanted to drive trucks for a living. But when I left school I had to get myself a job or go and do some sort of training, my parents told me.
Being 5 years away from being able to even think about a career as a lorry driver I was forced to do other things. Only now, at the age of 23 and after a bit of luck financially was I able to get my class 2.
It an obvious point but if the road transport industry is to survive it needs to get young people involved.
Oh, and finally I would also consider myself a safe & competent driver. Not a boy racer, despite being under 25. I think the baby seat in the back of my car may damage my street cred anyway.
Well once again i would like to think everyone for their posts. I think everyone has good ideas. Some not too great. ha ha. But over all good ones. I say that 18 or 19 to drive a van is good. But insurance atleast here in the States mostly wont let you do any commerical driving untill the age of 21. So by that time i will be in a lorry. What i call tractor trailer.
What is a rigid? And all the others? I have no idea what that means.
Thanks
Mike
A rigid is what you call a straight truck, Mike. An artic is a tractor/trailer. Lorry is a general term which covers all commercial vehicles with a gross weight over 7.5 metric tonnes (just over 16,500lb).
A Cat C or Class 2 licence is a straight truck licence - bit like a CDL (B) if I remember rightly.
A C+E or Class 1 licence is an artic truck licence - like a full CDL (A).
Big Mike:
Thanks Lucy. A lorry is the olny term i knew. But that really helps. Now i fully understand what everyone is talking about.
Big Mike how about posting a few photo’s of St Mary’s so we can all expand our horizons. Always interested to see pics of US and if they happened to conatin pics of US rigs, all the better
Sure. Let me go do that right now. Its 12.00 in the moring and the sun is out so i will take a few pictures. I think you guys are about five hours ahead of the U.S. So i will try to hurry befor everyone is off to bed. I might need help posting. Someone to walk me through it.
Toploadertom:
It an obvious point but if the road transport industry is to survive it needs to get young people involved.
you seriously reckon so? it’s been going since the year dot, how did it survive till now? what is different now, to when i started in 80, or theose that started in the 70’s 60’s 50’s ect? im not being sarcastic by the way, i’d really like to know why it’s so different now to then?
Well this sunny day has turned to a bad storm day. I was able to get a few pictures of 2 of my friends trucks. They were home today. But i will finish up later.
Big Mike:
muckles, where are u from? It is hard sometimes. lol
Sadly although our countries have a similar langauge, we don’t have a similar sense of humour, or is that humor or for us from Norfolk “Sense a Whooma”
Andyroo:
Muckles is from Norfolk (like me), it’s like the rest of the UK only much better.
And like certain parts of the States in the fact that having 6 fingers, Webed feet, marrying your cousin and shooting Bugulars isn’t frowned upon.
muckles:
And like certain parts of the States in the fact that having 6 fingers, Webed feet, marrying your cousin and shooting Bugulars isn’t frowned upon.
The pic needs to be in an on-line album site.
Like :- TruckNetUKs Photo Store, with full instructions at that link.
or Image Cave, is another one.
and Photo Bucket is yet another
The first two are both free to use. TruckNet UKs has 3Mb of storage space (and if you are a member of another MSN group with photos stored there, those are also part of your 3Mb of space). Image Cave give you 10Mb, but there is a download limit. I haven’t used Photo Bucket, so know nothing about it yet.
When your photo is stored on any of these, you put a link to that photo in your post with the (Img) tags on either side of the link, it should then show up as a photo in your post. The best size for posted photos is 640 x 400 pixels (I think it is). There’s a link to a photo resizer in the photo forum. Image Cave have a resizer on site, so you can adjust your photos after uploading them. (don’t forget to delete the oversize pic if you do it there).
I hope this helps, also, have a read in the Photo Forum.
If you’re having a problem, let me know and I’ll help as much as I can. I’m still on holiday, so in most of the time. You can see if I’m on this site from the bottom of the forum index page. If I am, just send me a pm. I could probably talk you through it in the chat room.
I think 21 is the right age ,as a few of you said we dont need boy or girl racers driving a larger killing machine . 
as a car can do enough damage in the wrong hands 
a little shovanistic arnt we 
