Ok…this is most I have ever posted in any sort of a forum before! 
I was wondering if anyone would mind adding me to their MSN. My goal here is to get a little insight on the UK trucking industry as whole. I’ve got a few questions that you will probably fall off your chair laughing at…and don’t want to post them in the forum and make a fool out of myself 
If someone has the time for a few good laughs, my msn is melaniewaters@hotmail.com
Thanks again for you help~
Go on be a fool!!! 
you will fit in better!
This is a drivers website! were used to fools - infact we were all fools once! most of us stil are!
Post your questions! The only question thats daft is the one you dont ask!
Ok then! 
Goofy question #1: What is a lorrie that you guys keep referring to? Im sorta guessing that its a truck and trailer. Do I win a prize or fail miserably? Question #2: Is it true that you guys get paid by the hour and not by the number of miles driven? Question #3: How do hours of service work there? Does the government regulate the # of hours you can drive?
Ummm…thats all for now. teehee
Give that woman a prize!
1: Trucks are also known in the UK as an HGV or a Lorry.
2: Yes, usual pay is by the hour, with a tax-free night out allowance.
3: Europe as a whole has HOS rules that make the US/Canadas rules look simple by comparison.
Re question2 - I have a feeling that there is a proposal by the government to ban payment per mile altogether as it might encourage people to break the law. And we all know we need no encouragement to do that.
The Hours that the Driver can work / drive are pretty complicated in Europe, everything is based over a 24 hr period so in effect if a driver starts work at 5am monday then by 5am tuesday he/she must have completed 11 hrs rest which in effect means he/she can work 13 hrs maximum, of those 13 hrs the driver can only drive for 9 hrs.
But just to complicate things slightly 
The daily rest may be reduced to 9 hrs on no more than 3 occassions, which means he/she can then work a 15 hr shift, again the maximum driving time can only be 9 hrs within that period, but just to add a little further confusion, the regulations allow the driver to extend his/her driving period to 10 hrs no more than twice in a weekly period, the current regs are in the process of being changed due to loopholes, as the driver can only drive a maximum of 4.1\2 hours then a 45 minute rest must be taken, but due to the lack of knowledge of the politicians who first came up with the regs, they allowed the driver to split his rest into periods of no less than 15 minutes, once the 45 minute break has been taken a new 4.1\2 hr period commences, but the loop hole currently in place allows the driver to drive for 1 minute, then take a 30 minute rest period, then drive for 4hrs 29 mins then take a further 15 minute rest before driving a further 4.1\2 hrs, so in effect enabling the driver to drive for 8hrs 59 minutes with only a 15 minute break.
The proposed changes will close that loop hole once and for all, by making the driver take a 30 minute rest after no more than 3hrs driving followed by a further 15 mins no later than 4 1\2 hrs driving, however they will be able to take a 45 minute rest after 3 hrs then drive a further 3 hrs.
There is also a split shift system available but this is complicated to explain as in effect you can have 2 rests during the day but between both adding up to 2, 3 or 4 hrs which permits the driver to reduce his/her rest without affecting the number of times they can do this each week.
A weekly rest of 45 hrs must be taken after no more than 6 consecutive shifts but this can be reduced to 36 hrs at base or 24 hrs away from base, but the reduced hours shortfall must be compensated for.
No doubt others will add additional bits to this,
Out of interest, what are the regulations over in Canada?
Melanie,
Trucks over here can also be called “wagons” and particularly for semi’s they sometimes get called “Units”.
I have a USA class A CDL,Hazmat,Tanks,Doubles/triples due to being on the Harvest run in 2002. 
Can you tell me how you will get around the Canadian emigration rules to enable your company to employ UK drivers and how cold does it get in Regina Sask during the depth’s of Winter 
This is a drivers website! were used to fools - infact we were all fools once! most of us stil are!
You speak for yourself!!!
Ken.
The rules in Canada used to be that you couldn’t work over 13 total hours in any 24 hour period. I think that is now changed. The US was 10 hours driving in each 18 hour period. I used to run about half my miles in Canada, half in the US. There were times that I was running out of hours,so I crossed the border and then I was legal on the other side. Worked both ways, depending on the situation.
Davey Driver:
The Hours that the Driver can work / drive are pretty complicated in Europe, everything is based over a 24 hr period so in effect if a driver starts work at 5am monday then by 5am tuesday he/she must have completed 11 hrs rest which in effect means he/she can work 13 hrs maximum, of those 13 hrs the driver can only drive for 9 hrs.But just to complicate things slightly
The daily rest may be reduced to 9 hrs on no more than 3 occassions, which means he/she can then work a 15 hr shift, again the maximum driving time can only be 9 hrs within that period, but just to add a little further confusion, the regulations allow the driver to extend his/her driving period to 10 hrs no more than twice in a weekly period, the current regs are in the process of being changed due to loopholes, as the driver can only drive a maximum of 4.1\2 hours then a 45 minute rest must be taken, but due to the lack of knowledge of the politicians who first came up with the regs, they allowed the driver to split his rest into periods of no less than 15 minutes, once the 45 minute break has been taken a new 4.1\2 hr period commences, but the loop hole currently in place allows the driver to drive for 1 minute, then take a 30 minute rest period, then drive for 4hrs 29 mins then take a further 15 minute rest before driving a further 4.1\2 hrs, so in effect enabling the driver to drive for 8hrs 59 minutes with only a 15 minute break.
The proposed changes will close that loop hole once and for all, by making the driver take a 30 minute rest after no more than 3hrs driving followed by a further 15 mins no later than 4 1\2 hrs driving, however they will be able to take a 45 minute rest after 3 hrs then drive a further 3 hrs.
There is also a split shift system available but this is complicated to explain as in effect you can have 2 rests during the day but between both adding up to 2, 3 or 4 hrs which permits the driver to reduce his/her rest without affecting the number of times they can do this each week.
A weekly rest of 45 hrs must be taken after no more than 6 consecutive shifts but this can be reduced to 36 hrs at base or 24 hrs away from base, but the reduced hours shortfall must be compensated for.
No doubt others will add additional bits to this,
Out of interest, what are the regulations over in Canada?
Chortle, Chortle, Chortle.
Sorry Davey, just thought it amusing that you wanted to have even more gobbeldygooke chucked at you . Yes I do - by the way .
Wow that was alot of information to take in! Thanks so much! I will have to get back to you guys on our HOS…cause…well…I have the basic understanding but want to make sure I got it straight.
As for the question of how we are going to get around the emigration rules: Don’t tell anyone… its a secret! haha Actually, the CEO of our company met with the Minister of Migration. We have to get certified and then the drivers we recruit can have “landed emigrant status”. Otherwise, they have to go back to their home land for 4 monthes every year!!! Cool hey?!
Our winters get pretty chilly…averaging around -25C but has gotten as cold as -45 C with the wind chill. Definitely wouldn’t be tasting metal outside!
What does HGV stand for? somethin’-somethin’-vehicle Im guessing? And what are the classes of HGV as I have seen it with numbers added on? Any other abreviations I should know of?
HGV - Heavy Goods Vehicle. Actually an obsolete term now, but still in wide vernacular use. Vehicle over 7.5 tonnes maximum gross weight.
LGV - Large Goods Vehicle. Basically the new European term for the same thing.
HGV 1,2+3 - Licence categories, again now superceded but still in general use…
Class 3 - Rigid-bodied vehicle (“straight truck”) with 2 axles with a mgw of between 7.5 and 18 tonnes. With small trailer up to 750kg.
Class 2 - Rigid-bodied vehicle with up to 4 axles with a mgw of up to 32 tonnes. Plus trailer as above. (Some older licences also allow heavier drawbar trailers under this category)
Class 1 - All HGVs, including articulated vehicles up to 44 tonnes.
The above licences are now called -
Cat C1 - vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes (used to be included on a car licence until 1997). Trailers up to 750kg.
Cat C - equivalent of Classes 2 and 3 above. No drawbar entitlement. Trailers up to 750kg.
Cat C+E - equivalent of Class 1 above.
Just as a point Lucy…
Class 2 is ANY rigid, the licence doesn’t have any limit on it as to weight. Construction and use rules say that the MGVW for a normal rigid is 32t, but class 2 drivers can drive cranes etc under special types which weigh more than 32t.
Quick translation of the weights:
32t - 70,000 pounds - usual rigid weight
44t - 97,000 pounds - usual semi/artic weight
(both rough equivalents)
We don’t currently run any multiple trailer outifts in Britain, though they do exist in other parts of Europe.
allikat:
Just as a point Lucy…
We don’t currently run any multiple trailer outifts in Britain, though they do exist in other parts of Europe.
Out of idle curiosity , what would a multiple trailer combination consist of over their Alli/Melanie/anyone in the know? Are they anything like our wagon and drags?
Well, over here, there’s many types.
Type 1: 50’ trailer plus 30’ pup
Type 2: 2 50’ trailers
Type 3: 3 30’ trailers.
There’s probably more. They have names, but I forget them.
allikat:
They have names, but I forget them.
Forgotten or unprintable ?.
I’v never driven one but have almost been the victim of one of the zb things after it got into a “slight” weave.
They leave great skid marks & not only on the road.
OK, here’s how North American multiples are defined:
Doubles: 2 28’ single axle trailers, the “kite” (last) trailer connected by a single axle A-train dolly (a pintle hook connector). Max weight: 80,000 lbs
Rocky Mountain doubles: Lead trailer is a 2 axle 48’ (or longer) trailer, the kite trailer is a 28’, hooked to an A-train dolly. Max weight: up to 120,000 lbs
Turnpike doubles: 2 48’ 2-axle trailers, hooked with a single or double axle A-train dolly. Kansas and Oklahoma allow 53’ and even 57’ trailers hooked double. These units are only seen on toll roads in NY, MA, OH, IN, KS, OK. Max weight: 144,000 lbs. Also seen in Quebec on Autoroutes, but often are 4 axle trailers , max weight: 220,000 lbs
Michigan train/doubles: 11 axles total, in many combinations, from an 8 axle single (5 down, 3 drop), to A-Train or B-train doubles. Used for hauling steel mostly, only allowed in Michigan, and a few roads in Indiana leading to the mills in Gary, and to Cleveland. Max weight: 174,000 lbs
Triples: 3 28’ A-train hookups, all single axle trailers, max weight about 114,000 lbs. Allowed only in states of OR, MT, ND, SD, KS, CO, NV, and toll roads in OH and IN.
Canadian B-Trains: Many combinations, common flat bed version has 9 axles total, max weight 60 tonnes, all sorts of variations, incuding:
flatbed: 4 axle lead, 2 axle trailing
container: 20’ on lead, 40’ on trailing
There are many more, but that’s all I can think of right now.