Freight, it’d be a decent job if we could drive around empty all day. 
The skips on wheels given to agency drivers or the casual relief driver , then the smell inside , faecal bacterial old sweat on the drivers seat from numerous drivers who couldn’t be bothered to wash or have a shower , the dreaded dirty bum smell on seats that stays on your clothing .
The truck should be VOR but if you dare to complain you will get " The other drivers took it out ok , carry on with the mudguards falling off and the steering crabbing to the left "
Drivers dressed like Worzel Gummidge or slept in a hedge all night , the ones that mix up company uniforms with their dirty casual wear , boot laces missing , holes in work boots , dubious stains on their clothing and on the mattress in the bunk bed .
Drivers given it big Billy bolux in the Rdc waiting room with his stories of a one hit to Baghdad or Syria in an ex Morrisons day cab while sleeping on planks of wood and being shot at by Jihadist fighters .
Driving with a hiviz makes you look like a prize plumb , PPE while driving , no wonder the public think drivers are thick .
CLOVER50:
I was involved in the transport industry for many years. In my experience the biggest and worst change for driver has been the implementation of legislation. Some regulation in any industry is good, but with EU legislation it appears a never ending barrage. Drivers hours, health & safety. technology etc. have changed the nature of what it actually is to be a truck driver. By definition then it changes the type of individual that is attracted to such a profession.
Some examples. I would say some decades ago that truck drivers by nature, especially long distance ones, were an existential type of person. They enjoyed their freedom to get the work done on their terms. Things like, here is a load for Spain off you go and see you next week. The work was done and the boss didn’t care as long as it was done.
EU hours directives and such over time squeezed out much of the freedom. Technology and having a person in an office looking at your progress also served to diminish freedom.
With technology it helped to break down the job into constituent parts. This serves to cheapen the role of the driver. Examples Sat Nav and Google maps allowed a person of lesser standing to navigate across Europe.
All the above is portrayed as progress and sold as being safer. My argument is that the industry lost, and continues to lose, drivers with vast amounts of experience. Not alone their own experience but the possibility that they would educate new drivers. Personally I would prefer an experienced driver working a little over his hours or pushing the boundaries of health and safety as opposed to a novice with different skill-sets. The older model too probably got more work done per truck, with less accidents.
We now have whole industries of legislation creation within the EU, Health & Safety and Technology (driver-less trucks) that have vested interests to maintain their prerogative. The reason the drivers lost out harks back to the old saying “you can’t legislate for experience”.
what a absolute load of common sense , ( i know a swear word nowadays) it really is down to tech taking the job over and experience meaning absolute jack ■■■■…
great post clover50 
m.a.n rules:
CLOVER50:
I was involved in the transport industry for many years. In my experience the biggest and worst change for driver has been the implementation of legislation. Some regulation in any industry is good, but with EU legislation it appears a never ending barrage. Drivers hours, health & safety. technology etc. have changed the nature of what it actually is to be a truck driver. By definition then it changes the type of individual that is attracted to such a profession.
Some examples. I would say some decades ago that truck drivers by nature, especially long distance ones, were an existential type of person. They enjoyed their freedom to get the work done on their terms. Things like, here is a load for Spain off you go and see you next week. The work was done and the boss didn’t care as long as it was done.
EU hours directives and such over time squeezed out much of the freedom. Technology and having a person in an office looking at your progress also served to diminish freedom.
With technology it helped to break down the job into constituent parts. This serves to cheapen the role of the driver. Examples Sat Nav and Google maps allowed a person of lesser standing to navigate across Europe.
All the above is portrayed as progress and sold as being safer. My argument is that the industry lost, and continues to lose, drivers with vast amounts of experience. Not alone their own experience but the possibility that they would educate new drivers. Personally I would prefer an experienced driver working a little over his hours or pushing the boundaries of health and safety as opposed to a novice with different skill-sets. The older model too probably got more work done per truck, with less accidents.
We now have whole industries of legislation creation within the EU, Health & Safety and Technology (driver-less trucks) that have vested interests to maintain their prerogative. The reason the drivers lost out harks back to the old saying “you can’t legislate for experience”.what a absolute load of common sense , ( i know a swear word nowadays) it really is down to tech taking the job over and experience meaning absolute jack [zb]…
great post clover50
2nd that
I’ll 3rd it.
A result of part of what you say is you get a lot of absolute pathetic and feckless 2 hats today who have licences but will never be drivers…ever.
Ok, to a point I can live with that, but as long as the ■■■■ s keep out of my way, but what does annoy the hell out of me is those types set the bar in a lot of firms, so the good and the experienced drivers are treated,.and spoken to …if you let them that is 
, in exactly the same way…we are all tarred with the same brush.
robroy:
I’ll 3rd it.
A result of part of what you say is you get a lot of absolute pathetic and feckless 2 hats today who have licences but will never be drivers…ever.
Ok, to a point I can live with that, but as long as the [zb] s keep out of my way, but what does annoy the hell out of me is those types set the bar in a lot of firms, so the good and the experienced drivers are treated,.and spoken to …if you let them that is
Agree with you 100% was overlooked along with another experienced driver for rookie bosses “pets” who did they come to for advice?..ray
The fact the industry is plagued with professional bulls**t merchants. That’s about it
It’s always been the same with lorry drivers. The old ones think they are the bees knees and know it all whilst criticising the younger inexperienced ones. I remember it well when I first started and all the way through till I retired. Training opened my eyes a lot when it came to drivers and I can definitely say it’s not always the case. Of course there are plenty older experienced drivers which are very good at the job but like with anything bad habits and complacency can set in without them even realising. Same reason why there are so many crap car drivers. They pass their test, think they know it all and their driving gets worse and worse because they forget and do what suits them even though its usually incorrect.
A lot depends on a particular drivers attitude and how much pride they take in the job and their driving.It’s all about willing to learn and adjust to new rules etc. There are a lot of very decent younger drivers on the roads as well.
It’s like most things. Good and bad in both.
The-Snowman:
- Leaving in the morning to go to work
- Everything that happens until im finished and heading home
Sadly, I feel exactly the same. I used to love the job back in the day, driving down to Istanbul or Athens, or east to Moscow or Kiev or wherever. It was like one great big adventure and getting paid for it. Now all of that work has gone, along with my enthusiasm and now I just see it as a means to an end, namely saving enough funds over the Winter to be able to go away on my boat for a few months in the Summer, and I have no interest in the job whatsoever.
The only saving grace I suppose is that I regularly see people doing far more soul-destroying jobs.
jakethesnake:
It’s always been the same with lorry drivers. The old ones think they are the bees knees and know it all whilst criticising
Just cut your sentence short there Jake, so you can observe the irony so far. 
jakethesnake:
It’s always been the same with lorry drivers. The old ones think they are the bees knees and know it all whilst criticising the younger inexperienced ones. I remember it well when I first started and all the way through till I retired. Training opened my eyes a lot when it came to drivers and I can definitely say it’s not always the case. Of course there are plenty older experienced drivers which are very good at the job but like with anything bad habits and complacency can set in without them even realising. Same reason why there are so many crap car drivers. They pass their test, think they know it all and their driving gets worse and worse because they forget and do what suits them even though its usually incorrect.
A lot depends on a particular drivers attitude and how much pride they take in the job and their driving.It’s all about willing to learn and adjust to new rules etc. There are a lot of very decent younger drivers on the roads as well.
It’s like most things. Good and bad in both.
I agree there are a lot of good young and new drivers around,.same as there are a lot of poor ones who boast experience.
However I’ve yet to meet the perfect driver (maybe cos I ain’t met you yet Jake eh? ) who sits up in his seat, hands at 10 to 2, continuously checking his mirrors every few seconds, alert like a coiled spring as if he is on a driving test every day of his life…bet he’s on his way to a stroke with all that self inflicted pressure though eh?
Of course you get bad habits…, I freely admit to having lots of them, it comes with experience and familiarity, I ain’t perfect, although that is hard to believe , but on the other hand, neither do I drive with a trail of destruction behind me, or do anything absolutely dangerous…I do not doubt for a second you are going to refute that, btw Jake in your usual way (not irritating at all btw ) but as long as I’m happy with how I drive, maintain a clean licence, and get from week to week with no disasters, I’ll carry on with my bad habits, but with continued courtesy and empathy to my fellow truckers and other road users, , but not giving a flying ■■■■ what anybody else thinks. 
jakethesnake:
When I was driving what annoyed me more than anything was other drivers driving like morons which inevitably leads to us all getting a bad name.
Early in my driving days I was proud to say I was a lorry driver but latterly I was ashamed and did not want to admit the fact. Now when anyone askes all I say was I was invovled in various types of training.
Jakethefake is back in the house, the lorry driver trainer extrodinare
Serving hatches & getting blanked.
Racked up at site we collect pre-loaded trailers from one day last week, all we do is go into the office to quote our reference number then get handed the paperwork with the trailer number written on top.
Entered the office at 13.30, 2 drivers in front of me who they took 20 minutes to deal with. I get to the window at 13.50 and I get blanked for a few minutes followed by “I just need to send an email”, followed by “you will have to wait for the 2pm shift change” some minutes later, followed by me watching them have a jolly chin wag (sorry ‘handover’) with the people coming in for their next shift. New person takes over, blanks me for 5 minutes fannying about logging onto the computer, then gets called away… eventually at 14.10 i get asked for my reference number and get handed the paperwork that was next to their keyboard the entire time.
Boils my ■■■■.
■■■■■■■■ and moaning drivers…
You know the ones, the “thats it I’m leaving cos everyone’s a $$$$” crowd that are still doing the same job 3/5/8 and more years later while still saying the same things…
Every place has got them…
[emoji849][emoji849][emoji849]
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Drivers that refuse to drive to London so somebody else has to cover the job , it doesn’t bother me going as you can admire the hot top posh totty walking around .
I knew a lad with British International who regularly did Portuguese runs but never went abroad again after seeing a full on shoot out between the Basque terrorist group ETA and the police in Spain , now he definitely had a reasonable excuse .
Worst part of lorry driving ? pretty much the same as any other job - ■■■■■■■■ . (another word for a donkey beginning with A 3 letters and what you make with a spade in the ground 4 letters )
They seem to breed twice as fast as sensible people and infest every office if not kept in check.Once they outnumber the sensible people the whole place takes a nosedive with meaningless , pointless box ticking exercises, health and saftey procedures and safe methods of work statements to the point were a simple delivery that should take 20 minutes becomes a 6 hour + wait. As an example now when you turn up to the gatehouse they want your name , adress and telephone number for "Track and trace " Has anyone seen the pen and clipboard being wiped either before or after you have used it ? - me neither and thats why I wont fill it in - if they want the info I’ll provide it verbaly and if they so desire they can write it down and take the risk .
Get rid of the ■■■■■■■■ and it becomes a lot easier .
robroy:
jakethesnake:
It’s always been the same with lorry drivers. The old ones think they are the bees knees and know it all whilst criticising the younger inexperienced ones. I remember it well when I first started and all the way through till I retired. Training opened my eyes a lot when it came to drivers and I can definitely say it’s not always the case. Of course there are plenty older experienced drivers which are very good at the job but like with anything bad habits and complacency can set in without them even realising. Same reason why there are so many crap car drivers. They pass their test, think they know it all and their driving gets worse and worse because they forget and do what suits them even though its usually incorrect.
A lot depends on a particular drivers attitude and how much pride they take in the job and their driving.It’s all about willing to learn and adjust to new rules etc. There are a lot of very decent younger drivers on the roads as well.
It’s like most things. Good and bad in both.I agree there are a lot of good young and new drivers around,.same as there are a lot of poor ones who boast experience.
However I’ve yet to meet the perfect driver (maybe cos I ain’t met you yet Jake eh?
Of course you get bad habits…, I freely admit to having lots of them, it comes with experience and familiarity, I ain’t perfect, although that is hard to believe
You have some strange ideas in your head. Just after you have passed your test you have proved you have the capability to drive an LGV although in a lot of cases it does not show.
That is when you start to learn or you are meant to start! The problem is some don’t and some learn bad habits. Of course there are some who learn properly but mostly with further training.
As I have said I used to assess many drivers of all ages and there were good and bad amongst all however the ones that always stick in my mind were older experienced drivers who thought they were the bees knees yet had the most horrendous bad habits which were very likely to one day get them into serious trouble. I will however say the majority completely understood when the faults were explained and realised the dangers of their driving. Of course there were many good ones as well.
If your idea of a perfect driver is what you say then you have got that completely wrong. Do you realise on some courses hand over hand steering is encouraged rather than push and pull ?
It’s more about your ability to keep the vehicle under control rather than your method of steering.
I would love you as a student for a day.
beefy4605:
Worst part of lorry driving ? pretty much the same as any other job - [zb] . (another word for a donkey beginning with A 3 letters and what you make with a spade in the ground 4 letters )
They seem to breed twice as fast as sensible people and infest every office if not kept in check.Once they outnumber the sensible people the whole place takes a nosedive with meaningless , pointless box ticking exercises, health and saftey procedures and safe methods of work statements to the point were a simple delivery that should take 20 minutes becomes a 6 hour + wait. As an example now when you turn up to the gatehouse they want your name , adress and telephone number for "Track and trace " Has anyone seen the pen and clipboard being wiped either before or after you have used it ? - me neither and thats why I wont fill it in - if they want the info I’ll provide it verbaly and if they so desire they can write it down and take the risk .Get rid of the [zb] and it becomes a lot easier .
I hope none of your elder relatives die because some selfish git has not given track and trace details.
switchlogic:
The fact the industry is plagued with professional bulls**t merchants. That’s about it
Funnily enough that is one of my favourite aspects of this industry. Hearing the same regurgitated, exaggerated embellished stories has becomes one of the tropes I associate with this job. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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jakethesnake:
You have some strange ideas in your head. Just after you have passed your test you have proved you have the capability to drive an LGV although in a lot of cases it does not show.
That is when you start to learn or you are meant to start! The problem is some don’t and some learn bad habits. Of course there are some who learn properly but mostly with further training.
As I have said I used to assess many drivers of all ages and there were good and bad amongst all however the ones that always stick in my mind were older experienced drivers who thought they were the bees knees yet had the most horrendous bad habits which were very likely to one day get them into serious trouble. I will however say the majority completely understood when the faults were explained and realised the dangers of their driving. Of course there were many good ones as well.If your idea of a perfect driver is what you say then you have got that completely wrong. Do you realise on some courses hand over hand steering is encouraged rather than push and pull ?
It’s more about your ability to keep the vehicle under control rather than your method of steering.I would love you as a student for a day.
Strange ideas? maybe… but only in YOUR opinion Jake. 
Thanks for explaining the learning process also btw…, but believe it or not, I do understand the concept. 
I do understand what my bad habits are, but hey… they work for me,.and have done so far, but rest assured Jake if they ever do get me into ‘serious trouble’ as you put it, then I’ll let you know.
As arrogant as it may sound to you,.I could not summon up the required amount of interest or enthusiasm to go under any type of instruction, it’s well up on my ‘Simply couldn’t be arsed’ list…as I said I ain’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I’ll fully admit that, but I am satisfied and content in how I drive, and that’s good enough for me tbh.
So the scenario of me ever being your ‘student’ 
… is never going to happen.
Oh yeh meant to say, another ‘strange opinion’ for you…most ‘assesors’ I have met, seen or spoken to have always came across as know it alls, (usually with an advanced driver badge on the grille of their Rover,)
When you speak to them they are usually ex day drivers or night trunkers doing 150 mile radius motorway jobs, so basically far less varied driving (or life for that matter) skills or experience than some of the drivers they are meant to be ‘assessing’.