When did lorry drivers become logistic technicians, when did transport firms become distribution networks, what happened to the good old days when things were simple , air con was winding your window down , night eater was running the engine and the closest thing to a fridge was those poxy plastic crates that tied to your mirror arm. Can you remember when the only spotty face 17yr old was the workshop apprentice who you just abused , now the spotty face 17 yr old is the traffic planner who failed geography but now plans your day . Back in the day nobody knew we’re you was the only tracker was the nutty chocolate bar ,no mobile phones then only the big red ones that stunk off pee. Remember when POA was what the wife got once a month , and driver cpc could be cleared up with cream from the clinic . Back in the day carrying cream cakes didn’t make prime time tv or described as
Dangerous either , ah the good ol days the hours was long the pay was crap and the tackle was poor , but was we any happier I think so when someone called you a big trucker they either had a speech impediment or you didn’t hear them right .
Maggydave:
now the spotty face 17 yr old is the traffic planner who failed geography but now plans your day .
Quote of the week.
We have one of those too, only he’s 24 years old, 23 stone and has a fetish for Superman the comic hero!
What happened?? The same technology that lets you put your thoughts on a public forum. I believe it’s known as progress in some parts of the country 
Twoninety88:
We have one of those too, only he’s 24 years old, 23 stone and has a fetish for Superman the comic hero!
I heard that there was a little boy inside last week’s Russian meteor. I heard it from a bloke in an RDC waiting room, so it must be true. He said that the little boy is probably Superman! You might want to tell your planner.
Heh heh good nostalgic rant that MaggieDave, thats just how it was, though i’d argue about the money aspect there were some good payers about, usually running older tackle with handball and other hard work thrown in, less flash more cash.
I think like in every industry employing people in non jobs took over.
Remember those old haulage yards, you had an owner or two, one transport manager who did all the planning via his own brain, and a wages/admin girl or two in the office who did all the paperwork.
They had a workshop, fleet engineer and 3 or 4 grumpy mechanics.
Might have a bloke running the warehouse, but each and every driver could use the fork lift without the slightest bother.
Thats was it, those few could operate a 50 vehicle fleet without the slightest bother, place ran like clockwork.
Fast forward 40 years and you have as many managing staff as workers running the operation, plus an extra 20% staff in reserve cos the sods are always pulling sickies or maternity/paternity leave, plus the costs of computerising everything to save money… 
This has happened in whats left of industry, but more so in local and national govt.
Thats why the country’s costs have so far outweighed its income, we employ millions of people doing bugger all useful, thats why the country will go bankrupt as soon as the artificially held down interest rates rise.
See every week how banks/insurance companies etc can shed thousands of jobs…yet the company still carries on, so what the hell were all those people doing before they got the boot?
What really amuses me is the way the govt talks about the economy, when what they really mean is tax, the govts income is tax of all sorts, nothing else, except sell offs of the country’s silver which Thatcher and WMD Blair excelled at.
They want high employment as it means more tax and more government, doesn’t matter if 40% of those with non jobs are costing more to employ than they are ever going to be worth, they are part of the economy because they pay some form of tax (even though they may be subsidized by various benefit top ups).
Yes its progress, but its leading us into the toilet.
Maggydave:
Can you remember when the only spotty face 17yr old was the workshop apprentice who you just abused
Have you heard of a CRB check? 
My two pence worth
Two things have killed this industry. High fuel duty and elf and safety.
Eg When the diesel was cheap the bosses gave you a days work and that was it. You did it how you saw fit. Now it’s all kpi’s and third jobs. Maximizing revenue while reducing costs. Now there’s no time to stop or the get the hump they’ve paid you £2 to take a dump etc.
As for elf and safety, I did cpc on Wednesday. Got told by the trainer it’s now maritime company policy to wear a hard hat while coupling and uncoupling a trailer, as they had to pay a driver £10000 compensation last year as he banged his head on a box pulling the pin. The h&s exec said the company had not taken sufficient steps to stop this happening. It’s a mad mad world eh
your right jay time was when you banged your head or fell over it was your own fault for not taking care the worlds gone mad with insurance claims
Remember those old haulage yards, you had an owner or two, one transport manager who did all the planning via his own brain, and a wages/admin girl or two in the office who did all the paperwork.
They had a workshop, fleet engineer and 3 or 4 grumpy mechanics.
Might have a bloke running the warehouse, but each and every driver could use the fork lift without the slightest bother.
Thats was it, those few could operate a 50 vehicle fleet without the slightest bother, place ran like clockwork.
This pretty much describes the Firm where I work, they’ve been running since 1953.
I guess, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…?
W
Juddian:
Heh heh good nostalgic rant that MaggieDave, thats just how it was, though i’d argue about the money aspect there were some good payers about, usually running older tackle with handball and other hard work thrown in, less flash more cash.I think like in every industry employing people in non jobs took over.
Remember those old haulage yards, you had an owner or two, one transport manager who did all the planning via his own brain, and a wages/admin girl or two in the office who did all the paperwork.
They had a workshop, fleet engineer and 3 or 4 grumpy mechanics.
Might have a bloke running the warehouse, but each and every driver could use the fork lift without the slightest bother.
Thats was it, those few could operate a 50 vehicle fleet without the slightest bother, place ran like clockwork.Fast forward 40 years and you have as many managing staff as workers running the operation, plus an extra 20% staff in reserve cos the sods are always pulling sickies or maternity/paternity leave, plus the costs of computerising everything to save money…
This has happened in whats left of industry, but more so in local and national govt.
Thats why the country’s costs have so far outweighed its income, we employ millions of people doing bugger all useful, thats why the country will go bankrupt as soon as the artificially held down interest rates rise.
See every week how banks/insurance companies etc can shed thousands of jobs…yet the company still carries on, so what the hell were all those people doing before they got the boot?
What really amuses me is the way the govt talks about the economy, when what they really mean is tax, the govts income is tax of all sorts, nothing else, except sell offs of the country’s silver which Thatcher and WMD Blair excelled at.
They want high employment as it means more tax and more government, doesn’t matter if 40% of those with non jobs are costing more to employ than they are ever going to be worth, they are part of the economy because they pay some form of tax (even though they may be subsidized by various benefit top ups).
Yes its progress, but its leading us into the toilet.
How right you are mate. I’ve done me share of trudging through ankle deep puddles to get across the yard to a lorry, chucking wet sheets and ropes about and changing my own wheels, etc, etc, but even though we worked harder, I reckon the pay was a lot better. There was a lot more mateship too, cos we didn’t have a poxy mobile phone or tracker with a ■■■■ on the other end trying to push us along. Oh well.
AlexWignall:
Remember those old haulage yards, you had an owner or two, one transport manager who did all the planning via his own brain, and a wages/admin girl or two in the office who did all the paperwork.
They had a workshop, fleet engineer and 3 or 4 grumpy mechanics.
Might have a bloke running the warehouse, but each and every driver could use the fork lift without the slightest bother.
Thats was it, those few could operate a 50 vehicle fleet without the slightest bother, place ran like clockwork.This pretty much describes the Firm where I work, they’ve been running since 1953.
I guess, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…?
W
Same here, they do still exist. And they are often great places to work. With us Sean the oldest brother is much more likely to be in the yard helping wash your lorry than in the office
OVLOV JAY:
As for elf and safety, I did cpc on Wednesday. Got told by the trainer it’s now maritime company policy to wear a hard hat while coupling and uncoupling a trailer, as they had to pay a driver £10000 compensation last year as he banged his head on a box pulling the pin. The h&s exec said the company had not taken sufficient steps to stop this happening. It’s a mad mad world eh
Whats mad is that the guy who banged his head has actually sued Maritime on the basis that proper health and safety procedures were not in place. Drivers, as usual, being their own worst enemy. If I banged my head uncoupling, i’d probably just shrug it off… problem is someone would then be telling me i can get a few grand for that. Thats where the whole health and safety culture has come from.
You can’t blame firms from wanting to cover their backs. Does anybody really think firms want to spend the amount they do on health safety? Do they buggery, the sad fact is that the expense of doing so often outstrips the expense of paying out petty compensation claims.
I totally agree rob. Its like the drivers that shout loudest about trackers, were usually hiding most of the day
the whole job underwent a drastic change staring in the 90s . pre 90s and now bear no relationship whatsoever , except in a few rare cases . before the 90s most haulage firms were run by men with a good grounding in transport , now it is just numpties ticking boxes and keeping their own arse covered for when it inevitably goes pear shaped . the driver is now at the bottom of the heap and gets all the crap heaped on him . i for one wouldn’t hesitate to make an h&e claim , if only to get back some of the cash being stolen through wage cutting . i never thought i would see the job so (zb) up in my lifetime . end of rant , i’m going for a lie down now
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Same here, they do still exist. And they are often great places to work. With us Sean the oldest brother is much more likely to be in the yard helping wash your lorry than in the office
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Very true Switch, while it has to be said the other drivers posts on this thread are valid and funny complaints.
Life is what you make it and we probably get to work at the truck firms we deserve…
W
Those old haulage firms still exist, as Alex and Luke have said, the boss knows everyone, he knows the kids names, who each driver is married to. He has all the customers phone numbers in his head, he can be laid in bed and tell you exactly which driver was late leaving the yard 
The last proper haulier like this I visited was the milk haulier JH Willis from Wrexham. When you walk in the office, the desk is full of paperwork, both phones are ringing while someone chats away, drivers are in and out and helping themselves to paperwork etc. The dog is asleep in front of the fire.
One thing there is a lack of is bullcrap, someone drops a bollock, everyone knows about it
Another two places spring to mind. Richard Read and Mike Taylor, proper old school
If today’s drivers are “truckers”, why weren’t we old timers called “lorriers”?
The rise of the global bean counters is where most of the blame can be laid along with the spy in the cab…
Maggydave:
now the spotty face 17 yr old is the traffic planner who failed geography but now plans your day . .
most certainly quote of the week that 
sounds just like my planner who the other week rang me to apologise for sending me to coventry rather than the midlands 
i really do wonder where some of theses big companies get their planners from
When we stayed I the yard, Friday night after getting lashed in the pub 
the unlucky few who had to run in Saturday morning from dover tipping on the way all hands to the pump, washing wagons, trailers reversed into servicing bays helping the spanners out! 
greasing all the ■■■■■■■ underneath, adjusting brakes and such like! Then the gaffer giving someone £50 to run to the sandwich shop for 15 ■■■■■■ up lads! them days are long gone! Football in the afternoon, fishing Sunday then rip it to Dover for Germany Monday morning! Them were the days, no mobiles