What Do You Think?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

degsy4wheels:
Wonder how long it will take Joe Public to assume all lorry drivers are like the ones in the series? Especially if dipicted in a “I’m thick, and fat and can’t do anything else” kind of light

I took this quote from the BBC1 ‘Truckers’ thread.

Around October/November last year I was thinking of taking a break from driving and working in a warehouse (viewtopic.php?t=93142). My thinking was I’d know my start and finish times and I would enjoy the change.

It turns out that all I needed to do was work at Royal Mail! I’m there on agency at the moment and I absolutely love it. I was working at Kammac and I’d been on a few different agencies and I was feeling low. First shift at Royal Mail and I was back to being happy and remembering why I Love the job. Kammac wasn’t bad, for some reason I just hated it.

Anyway, I went for a few inductions for ‘Food Production Operative’ and other agency jobs, all minimum wage jobs.

I’ve been a HGV Driver for 8 years and have been on quite a few inductions with other drivers for different places. As Drivers do, we talk and share stories and have a laugh about different things.

On the inductions for non driving jobs that I went on, the people that I was on the induction with were not the same. I don’t know how not to be nasty, but they were, shall I say, of low intelligence. There was no talk or banter or anything.

I know as drivers we aren’t all degree laden graduates, but there’s definitely a level of intelligence there, and the opinion I formed was that it’s above the average agency factory worker.

I’m not having a go and labelling all factory workers as stupid, it’s just the impression I formed from last year. I’ve worked in factories and warehouses and by no means are they all stupid. I was comparing the average factory agency to driving agency.

So, am I bang out of order or does anyone see the same?

2

There are a lot of stupid people out there, some even use these forums, but don’t confuse lack of knowledge with stupidity- the only daft question is the one you already know the answer too, too many people in life assume everyone has the same knowledge and experience as themselves and decry anyone who asks. Forgetting at one time they also didn’t know the answer and had to learn.

To my mind, if someone genuinely doesn’t know , but is sensible enough to ask - no matter how simple the answer appears to the rest of us, they deserve some respect for asking rather than muddling along - its the ones that think they know it all and wont ask that scare me

3

Awaits the usual … Steering wheel attendant, no skill in it.

I think there is definitely some skill involved in the job and we are more than S.W.A’s.

I also see that as a general rule, people who apply or warehouse, shelf stacking etc, are only there because they don’t think they can do any better for themselves.

Some of them form that opinion correctly.

Others just need to be creative and expand the skills and intellect they possess.

4

I have to say that most truck drivers are going to have to be more interesting than the average production line operative.

Those poor sods just have to switch their brains off and perform the same task over and over again.

As a driver you may not be aware of it, but your brain is constantly performing hugely complex vector calculations in three or four dimensions. They have tried to get computers to do this…and have so far failed.

No two situations you encounter will ever be identical. Each one requires a fresh set of calculations.

Add to that the fact that you go to different places, meet different people etc, and by definition you are bound to be a brighter and more intelligent person.

5

Rikki-UK:
There are a lot of stupid people out there, some even use these forums, but don’t confuse lack of knowledge with stupidity- the only daft question is the one you already know the answer too, too many people in life assume everyone has the same knowledge and experience as themselves and decry anyone who asks. Forgetting at one time they also didn’t know the answer and had to learn.

To my mind, if someone genuinely doesn’t know , but is sensible enough to ask - no matter how simple the answer appears to the rest of us, they deserve some respect for asking rather than muddling along - its the ones that think they know it all and wont ask that scare me

I completely agree. I never assume someone is stupid because they ask questions. I always ask if I don’t know and it doesn’t bother me if it seems a stupid question. I’m certainly not confusing lack of knowledge with stupidity.

I was trying to be careful with how I said it because I didn’t want people thinking that’s what I meant, because it isn’t.

6

The stupid ones are the ones that assume they know, or beat down those who ask, we have a few more that have a hint of knowledge and think they are the oracle- but I tend to now just ignore them as irrelevant

7

Rikki-UK:
The stupid ones are the ones that assume they know, or beat down those who ask, we have a few more that have a hint of knowledge and think they are the oracle- but I tend to now just ignore them as irrelevant

but wouldn’t you like to help them? :grimacing: :grimacing: :grimacing:

8

Thing is, these kind of series are produced how the director see’s the industry. I have a friend who works for a documentary maker, and he’s said before that if the director/producer understands and/or likes the area he’s making the doc about it will be edited to show the said industry in a good light, if they have no particular liking to the industry they are more likely to make the doc to show whoever and whatever in a poor light. We get enough crap from the public who have no real understanding of our jobs already.

9

dar1976:
Awaits the usual … Steering wheel attendant, no skill in it.

I think there is definitely some skill involved in the job and we are more than S.W.A’s.

Of course theres skill involved in the job… Im not suggesting we’re on the same level as doctors but the fact that it takes years of experience before your considered OK at the job proves that not anyone can just do the test and crack on and make deliveries.

Many people come on here and bang on that you could train a monkey to do the job then sit there and moan that the moneys crap… Why degrade the job because ultimately your just zbing on your own door step…