Hiya truckyboy…do you know Norman who had the Ropemakers pub in Chatam■■? he run a few fridges
on Fransens, he’ a pal from 40years ago of mine. he’s told me a tale or two.
John
martyh:
I worked in construction for 25yrs and that industry has changed in a similar way to the trucking one .Back in the day we would think nothing of swinging off our ladders ,climbing up scaffold ,walking accross open flooring ,no safety gear at all and going for a few pints at dinner time,we would get hired simply by rocking up and showing what we could do .Now every joiner ,brickie,plumber or labourer needs to pass a H&S test and relevant qualifications before they are allowed on site .Yes it’s a pain up the arse for us “old school bods” but it is what it is and fewer people die earning a pair of shoes for the kids as a result
I’ve just started delivering to building sites having worked on them back in the mid 90s. To say things have changed a bit is an understatement. I actually have to pee in a toilet now instead of up a random wall or fence 
Although everyone is still off their head on drugs, that hasn’t changed.
limeyphil’s description of modern Haulage in the UK bears absolutely no resemblance to my own day to day experience.
Personally, I think ADR is a worthwhile qualification and I will be more than happy to sit it again when my DCPC needs renewing.
I actually visit very few customers where I hand my keys in. Normally I’m out the back opening or closing curtains and securing my load just like twenty years ago but that was with sheets and ropes (that I can’t say I really miss) even so if there is a colleague about, the first thing they do is come and pitch in.
As for rude staff? Somebody was slightly rude to me while I was working last year sometime, I was so surprised I mentioned it on TNUK.
As for driving in a Hi-vis, It’s not something I would choose to do and neither is paying a comedy fine (to whom, exactly) something I would do either.
I’m baffled by the persecution complex some members on TNUK have about modern road transport in the UK and I actually wonder why they bother…?
The truth is, a job in Haulage is what you make it, wether you we’re a stoker on a traction engine (like one of my first colleagues) or a driver for a Formula One team.
■■■■■■■■ in the brew room or Internet forum might raise a few laughs but ultimately the only person who is going to improve your lot is one you see in the mirror each morning.
Good luck in Holland limey,
W
limeyphil:
mickyblue:
Jack the lad talk again, wannabe cowboy
No pal. I just like to get on with the job safely and with the use of common sense. I don’t need someone to tell me what to do and when to do it.
This thread isn’t about legal rules like tachographs and the like, It’s about those that adore jobsworth rule makers and thrive on being less productive.
I, myself, like to get the job done. I also won’t take ■■■■ from anyone. I also use common sense when doing the job. So far i haven’t meet a jobsworth yet apart from a traffic warden
3300John:
truckyboy:
3300JOHN…is that a DAF 3300 by any chance, i digress, i was one of those that used to get home on a saturday, to at least get one day off, it didnt happen all the time mind you, but, when on euro work to spain, no one got their papers till 6pm on a friday in zona franca, it was the rush hour as well, so everything moved at the same time, it was one thing to get out of barcelona, and another to get through la junquera, then it was straight to calais, only stopping for a croque mesieur, and a coffee, not forgettuing the duty free, for we could smoke 2 packets on the way back. Thank god we didnt have to do it every week, 19 hrs in the saddle was enough, so long as we had a radio/cassette, and a CB, it was great, and better if we had someone elses company, Most custom clearances were done in Dover, so we could drop the trailer,. and someone else would collect it and deliver it.
We would just pick up another pre loaded and ship out again Sun night, or if we were lucky, Monday am.
Most of the stuff you wrote is spot on, and a lot of what the others wrote is true also, no new regulations are made in support of drivers, its always for the employer, or government.
If you take todays standards, why is a driver allowed to work 15 hrs, and only get 9 hrs off, and thats just one example. I am 67 now, and still working, albeit only 3 days a week, but it gives me the luxuries that my pension wont, and its a clean job, good tackle, so thats what counts. Would i go back to thegood old days…kin right, was a different learning curve, but at least drivers mixed together, helped each other out, and most could work on any vehicle to get himself out of trouble, and always carried a tool box, and whatever, even to help others get home.hiya truckyboy its a spacecab 3300 daf. when i was doing tilts it was a A series ERF.
I’ve sold her now
John
I had seen one of these but as a rigid today. it had a full load on and was being driven by an old guy. Looked clean and it was a cream colour
Enjoyed reading your post John i bet you have some good stories over a pint! I’ve only been in the job 8 years I’m only 26 and hear so many stories from back in the day before I was even thought off I’d like to have a crack at it as much as I love being behind a wheel it sounds alot more fun then!
FarnboroughBoy11:
Skippy70:
limeyphil:
I’m getting a little bit tired of seeing comments from so called lorry drivers that will obey each and every rule that gets thrown at them.
This industry is going down hill because of those that will sit in waiting rooms, hand keys in, pay fines for offences that don’t excist, and basically do what anyone tells them.
So, will you please sod off and play at being someones puppet in another industry instead of haulage?
Thanks ever so much.the neanderthal trucker is dying-It’s all caring sharing and getting on with the job now
are you taking the ■■■■■■?
Yes,(it’s funnier if you don’t have to explain it)
WTF!!! this site gets worse 
i dont beleeve i even respond to it. so sad
Hiya John,I’ve learnt bits and pieces from the dcpc,did my safed course on Tuesday and that was a bit of an eye opener to say the least. I can understand where drivers are coming from about this dcpc but I count myself very lucky as I haven’t had to pay for any of it,maybe if I had I’d have an entirely different opinion.
My old man has the same view as some of the older generation of drivers (he retired 3yrs ago),he thinks its a waste of time,what can somebody teach me I’ve been driving for years,but I’m afraid technology and trucks have moved on and I’d like to know how to get the best from it to help me do my job,I’m all for experience as well,I’m not some young pup,been driving them for 20yrs but I still feel that those who go on about the good old days and how they used to run may partly be to blame for some,not all of these bloody rules coming in,I liked the chap who made the comment about how all the old lags didn’t stick together to combat the introduction of sleeper cabs,tachographs etc,made me chuckle that did because they didn’t stick together did they?,the industry is as divided now as it was then.
One rule I do detest is this obsession with hi-viz vests in the UK,never have to wear it in Europe but over here they insist on it with ■■■■ zeal!
Btw,I love sitting in drivers waiting rooms waiting to be tipped,it’s where I hear all the ■■■■■■■■ and rumours about different companies,god it’s better than the glee club at times!!
Well I agree with Phil to be honest.
Too many yes men in this industry, and for want of a better word there are a lot of “■■■■■■■” who just bend over and take what’s given to them.
What happened to all the men??
I love the job but hate all the unnecessary bollox that comes with it. I don’t want to wear a hard hat when i open 3 buckles on my curtains, I want to wear flip flops when I walk from the office to my truck in the summer.
If the curtain rail is ■■■■■■ on a double decker and won’t close, I want to climb on the top deck and hammer the ■■■■■ out so I can solve the problem.
If you don’t want my help to tip then that’s fine but I’m keeping my keys and sitting in the truck.
FarnboroughBoy11:
I don’t want to wear a hard hat when i open 3 buckles on my curtains.
The other night I arrived at my delivery around 0300. It was [zb]ing freezing. Normal procedure is to stand in a little box painted on the floor whilst they tip you. I normally oblige. However, due to the temperature, I decided that I was going to stay in my cab where it was warm. I opened the curtains, politely informed the FLT driver of my intentions (and my reasons) and handed him my keys so he could be sure I wouldn’t drive off mid-tip. This confused him. “You can’t do that!” he barked. “Well that’s what I’m doing.” I replied, and into the warmth I climbed.
Unloading did not commence. The FLT driver sat twiddling his thumbs. I sat reading a paper. Several minutes passed before a gentleman in a different colour high-vis came tapping at my door. “You need to stand in the box.” he demanded. “It’s -5c in the box. Can you provide me with somewhere warm to wait?” I asked. “No.” he replied. “Then I think I’ll stay here. Give me a knock when you’re done.” This confused him, so I shut my window and carried on reading my paper.
About half an hour later he knocked on my door again to tell me they had finished unloading.
You see there’s a difference between standing up for yourself and just being an awkward rebellious ■■■■ for the sake of it. Refusing to wear a hard hat for no good reason falls firmly in the latter category.
Contraflow:
FarnboroughBoy11:
I don’t want to wear a hard hat when i open 3 buckles on my curtains.The other night I arrived at my delivery around 0300. It was [zb]ing freezing. Normal procedure is to stand in a little box painted on the floor whilst they tip you. I normally oblige. However, due to the temperature, I decided that I was going to stay in my cab where it was warm. I opened the curtains, politely informed the FLT driver of my intentions (and my reasons) and handed him my keys so he could be sure I wouldn’t drive off mid-tip. This confused him. “You can’t do that!” he barked. “Well that’s what I’m doing.” I replied, and into the warmth I climbed.
Unloading did not commence. The FLT driver sat twiddling his thumbs. I sat reading a paper. Several minutes passed before a gentleman in a different colour high-vis came tapping at my door. “You need to stand in the box.” he demanded. “It’s -5c in the box. Can you provide me with somewhere warm to wait?” I asked. “No.” he replied. “Then I think I’ll stay here. Give me a knock when you’re done.” This confused him, so I shut my window and carried on reading my paper.
About half an hour later he knocked on my door again to tell me they had finished unloading.
You see there’s a difference between standing up for yourself and just being an awkward rebellious ■■■■ for the sake of it. Refusing to wear a hard hat for no good reason falls firmly in the latter category.
There absolutely no difference between your scenario and mine. Didn’t you think to put a coat on rather than being a rebellious ■■■■??
FarnboroughBoy11:
There absolutely no difference between your scenario and mine. Didn’t you think to put a coat on rather than being a rebellious ■■■■??
There are many differences. In fact, the only similarity is that both scenarios are a breach of the site rules.
One of the differences (and this is quite an important difference) is that I had a good reason to break the site rules.
What is your reason not to wear a hard hat?
Well I don’t wanna get in the middle of you two ■■■■■ slapping each other but maybe FB11 decided (as you did) to excercise common sense and decided that as a grown up he (not some pen pusher) knew what was best for him and decided the wearing of a hard hat was completely uneccessary. You used common sense by sitting in your truck whilst it was being tipped. FB11 too used his.
We are all in the same boat ( or lorry ) I am old enough to remember the days of bending rules and young enough to accept change.
Due to americanised litigation, all large UK companies are terrified of being sued. hence all the regulations on health and safety. Last one I heard was that I had to be a minimum 5 mtrs clear of the forklift whilst being unloaded in Inverness. So16 feet in old money !! So i stood and watched them drag the pallet off the truck onto the floor, which was next to the one they needed !! crash bang.
One day everyone will live to be over 100 and there will be zero accidents. thats what health and safety want anyway.
Keep smiling 
the maoster:
Well I don’t wanna get in the middle of you two ■■■■■ slapping each other…
Don’t then.
Contraflow:
FarnboroughBoy11:
There absolutely no difference between your scenario and mine. Didn’t you think to put a coat on rather than being a rebellious ■■■■??There are many differences. In fact, the only similarity is that both scenarios are a breach of the site rules.
One of the differences (and this is quite an important difference) is that I had a good reason to break the site rules.
What is your reason not to wear a hard hat?
Because when I open 3 buckles nothing is going to happen, I know my load is secure.
Is because you didn’t want to get cold really a good reason?? I don’t think so and that is why I feel both our scenarios are the same just as Maoster said.
limeyphil:
pay fines for offences that don’t excist
Please do provide some examples.
limeyphil:
I don’t like the police, vosa
I’m sure the feelings mutual.
limeyphil:
Harry Kyng:
*
Don’t want to pay non existent fines? Then don’t break the law.So you’re happy to pay fines no matter what?
No but if I’ve been caught bang to rights, yes.
The daft things is. The others that have posted agree with you.
Because they’ve moved on from being a knuckle dragging neanderthal driver who climbs out of his cab in his best greasy rags and rigger boots grunting at all who he meets because that is about as much as his pea sized brain can muster.