I liked getting paid to see the country.
Recon I’m may-be too old for some of you guy’s, unlike myself no-one appears to have been in the army, and I’m the only one in my family to be in the army back in 1957 when I passed my test to ride motorcycles and drive in Land-Rovers, it was the only test we needed in the army also in civy street, the only difference was in the army you could drive lorries before you were 21, but in civy street you had to be 21, also unlike now we didn’t have to take an HGV test because if you’d passed you were expected to drive anything which we did, so really my driving came from the army and not from a family member, because my dad was a blacksmith and my 2 younger brother’s went into engineering, so it all started from myself, but today you all talk about passing your HGV more than once to get to your class 1, starting from your car test, then class 3, then class 2, then finally your class 1, when I came out of the army I was qualified to drive anything except a “road roller”, seams stupid to me because in the army I could drive anything with wheels, I went driving because I loved the freedom of being outside and away from home, loading was also another thing, I loved having a good load on our flat wagons, in my area it was the wool trade and a good load of wool which was straight and secure was the most looked at, most drivers took great pride in there lorries and how good they were at putting a good load of wool on without it falling off, also most companies took on driver’s mates “young lads” to help and learn the trade, they learned to load and often drove when no-one was looking, it was the best way to learn how to drive, because you learned from the ground up, and they produced far better drivers than they do today, because they didn’t have any electronics to help them it was all down to you and your skills, also the only one who needed a CPC in those day’s was the owner or traffic manager, but also in those days the licencing was different, it was A B or a C license needed for the lorry and not an O license like today, I could go on and on but would like to read more from you guy’s before I take up a full page on this thread. J Graham. “Old School”
lespullan:
I think road transport was chosen for me, although my later school days I wanted to be a joiner but couldn’t get an apprenticeship, my next option was working with metal, the then job centre offered me an apprenticeship, commercial vehicle mechanic, got the job, never looked back wagons were my life, served my time and got the driving bug, why should I crawl about in the [zb] when I could earn more money driving, loved my driving and mechanical days, but now retired, couldn’t do with the plug in diagnostics and CPC crap, shame you cant turn the clock back, but ill survive on my pension and going to the pub, oh and watching the wagons go by, its amazing how you miss road transport.
Les.
You and me too “lespullian”, now living on the state pension and dreaming of years gone by, but only 2 years ago I went through the health thing to get my class 1 back “and passed” so I could go back to work even if for only 2/3 day’s a week, but the crap of all the loop-holes you have to jump through today put me off for life, as you know I spent many years at A1 also going over the water for many years but even that job has been taken over by too much red tape and ruined a good job instead of making it better, I’m told the German’s have gone totally mad on rules and regulations and putting everyone off even going through the country, but it was this CPC crap that put me off in the end, I recon road transport must be the most regulated industry in the world now, your not allowed to think for yourself any more, I’ve spoken to lots of people including managers who totally agree that this drivers CPC is a total waste of time and money and spoiling a good industry. :-Jack.
It all started when I was 12 going with my uncle then helping on removals when I was 14 getting paid £7 each removal and going up the road 16 yrs old my mate took me all over the country taught me roping and sheeting went shunting in the abbey at 18 passed my class1 then spent all my life on the road love driving I’m 48 and still driving won’t have it any other way it in my blood 
my old man was a lorry driver(he never liked ‘truck driver’) used to go with him every opportunity, he drove for Bedfords (when they were at brick street, cleckheaton) Fodens & AECs, John Collier (littletown) Commers, Winteringham Haulage (Heckmondwike)(twice) ERF & DAFs, Denis Holmes (Littletown) Albion, DAF & MAN and Reg Naylors (Robberttown) DAFs to name but a few.
I loved going all over with him and decided that was what i wanted to do. one day Norman Winteringham asked what I was going to do when I left school and I said I didn’t know, so he offered me an apprenticeship with him. I started this in 1985 and left 2 years later( i will tell why if anyone is interested). then i worked in a local factory for a while but ended up at age 20 driving a VW LT35 or MAN 1.5 tonner for Reg Naylors till I passed my HGV. Drove for Naylors for a while, then for Hartshead Haulage, then for a local builders merchant. I spent some time away from transport for a while but got back into it driving for A H Marks, Wyke for a couple of years. Spent about 11 years away from transport again but now i’m back, working part time agency driving.
I know i haven’t the experience and time some of you guys on here have but this job is nothing like it was even when i started. I still enjoy driving, but the trucks are so boring… no character… no feeling… no soul. a couple of months ago i took a job driving a drawbar outfit, DAF CF with a 16 speed manual box, the best 3 days driving i’ve had in years…
Patrick
HI patrick 68 if you have stuff in your head about any type of transport or what you did ,write it down on here, this site is a drivers "get it off your chest " i used to deliver brake parts and clutches to Cleckeaton in 1969-70 ish"to a very narrow yard just about turn with a 33 foot trailer pulled by a LEYLAND SUPER COMET. who it was, i do not remember the products were from LOCKHEED…also there was a transport cafe i think at Heckmondewiyke[sp] where a one legeded man a night porter would come along a 6am ring a bell…pdb
I know Les Pullen was into ■■■■■■■ in a big way, and the chance of handling chains and ropes and getting paid for it proved too much and he felt like he had gone to Heaven with all the ropes and chains he had in his cab plus good wages etc a good job I live 200 miles distance from hi
Like many blokes I am the son of a man who having started driving lorries in the army Leaving the army I suppose driving was the logical choice for him to earn a crust. I was fortunate enough to go with my dad on many occasions in the 50s and 60sin waggons like the old timber framed aluminium paneled ERFs FODENs. LEYLAND OCTOPUS the square steel cabbed one and LAD cab type sometimes with drawbar pup and AEC MAMMOTH MAJOR mk5 I mentioned earning a crust that was an understatement for over 10 years my father was on contract to Yates & Duxbury paper Bury doing multidrop paper deliveries in and around London two runs per week 28 or so drops 17 ton in all per trip all of which where handballed on and off at some of the most ridiculous of places to get an eight legger with no power steering into I’ve seen him sweat golfballs shunting umpteen times to get the motor round some of the streets in the Smoke cars parked right to the corners or those cast iron stumps on the corner of the kerb this was one of those jobs that wasn’t well paid by the hour but involved long hours, 14 to 15 hours a day by the way all the afore mentioned motors were not like the tackle on the roads nowadays they were underpowered to the extent the gear lever was almost always in the hand up and down the box like a fiddlers elbow . Gordon Bennet I’ve rattled on a bit well all I’ve written about sort of swayed me to drive for a living I must have been mad cos for 36 years I was driving for a company delivering the same gear as my old man but with a differance only some of the drops were handball the better drops were done with taillift and pumptruck. I only did a Stoke with between 10 to 20 drops per day home every night one thing my dads job taught me on distance you don’t see your kids as often as you should.Would I do it again yes but not starting now cos companies don’t want the driver doing the job like it should be done they would sooner have you running back and forward passing customers to do others only to double back and do drops you’ve already passed earlier in the day then there is the health and safety wrecking the job the CPC after nigh on forty years doing the job the powers that be say no card no work and to get the card you can sit the same 7 hour course each year to aquire the card.there are several different courses but you can sit the same one each year whats that all about companies now only want a robot behind the wheel. ADIOS FOR NOW