I went to a well known supermarket distribution centre up in Yorkshire it was Xmas and I ended up waiting for 3 hours to be unloaded. As the flt driver started I asked him for directions to the toilet. He said the toilets are out of use due to damage caused by drivers. I said OK where are the staff toilets. Your not allowed to use them. Hmm. I point out my 3 hour wait and that I really needed to go for a wee quite urgently. He just shrugged and drove off. I then saw some nice bushes nearby and walked over and had a very refreshing wee whilst the office staff looked out of the window. 2 minutes later a manager and security staff are over at my truck berating me for my behaviour. Stating I'm banned from the site and they are reporting me to the police for indecent exposure and to my company. I point out the nearly 4 hour wait and that I'm banned from using the toilets according to the flt driver and pointed out they were quite lucky I didn't need a shit instead of just a wee. They were pretty much taken a back that I could stand my ground. Funny they never did report me.but that's how drivers are treated. I now drive a flt for only 50p and hour less than a 40 ton truck.
I'm 50 yo and being put through for my class C by Royal Mail. After 25 years as a postie van driver. I'm looking forward to the change and the money is decent. I hope i don't regret it.
All very valid points! You forgot to mention the driver behaviour software that now comes as standard and gives the office the leg up if you exceed the speed limit by 1mph, carry out an emergency stop for whatever reason ?, Don't change gears in a prescribed fashion, leave your driving seat for too long, or stray off your route because perhaps you encounter serious delays, and know a diversion which could get you there quicker, that's called geo fencing, all reported back ! who in their right mind would tolerate a work environment such as this ? then you have low bridges, width restrictions, weight limits, VOSA checks, and traffic wardens, good luck newbies, you're gonna need it !
I used to switch off the camera and live gps monitor. When office moan, I say speak to the hand as I want a live camera and kpi s on their office work. Accurate paperwork from the admin team would be nice.
When I worked for a certain company that likes hitting bridges I got suspended on full pay whilst there was an investigation as to why I stopped for a poo 💩 after having 8hrs in a RDC ! I was accused of stealing company time !
There is no driver shortage that is just a line put out by big business to keep the numbers up so they can carry on paying shit wages and treating drivers like dirt.
In 1994 I drove HGV1 trucks, I got £15 ph Monday to Friday. £17ph on a Saturday and £19ph on Sunday. I worked through an agency called driver hire at Whitman. Last June they contacted me asking if I wanted some work. I haven’t driven trucks for over ten years and my licence has lapsed, no cpc or medical. The cost of maintaining these just weren’t worth the pay. Anyway out of curiosity I asked how much they are paying now, 24 years later. £11.50ph😳😳😳😳 I asked if he was joking, he told me that the rate now. That’s why people don’t want to drive heavy lorries anymore. It’s not rocket science.
😂...what clowns. i think the agencies have expanded greatly, cost have increased they probably retain more from the p/h. they prob charging the companies 15-20 p/h. Agencies are the cunts. The money is there still. lorry work will never finish.
The agency's these days want as much as the driver gets astonishingly, 25 years ago i knew someone that owned an agency and he was happy to get 2 pnd an hour per driver, i know times moved on but drivers pays gone down, mainly on agency's because of them they take too much, rates from firms have gone up for agency's but there keeping it, and also most companies pay for your breaks, but the agency's take that, fkn abysmal.
Make no mistake I've been in the game 30 years and i know what fkd the job is when they signed the foreigners in manna from heaven for employers, they already knew that these people were used to 30 pnd a week in Poland ect, so a pole is over the moon on 10 an hour, they have mainly come here to hammer it, take the savings back to there piss poor country's and are able to buy land and house after just 3 years, so it's a different agenda to them against us brits, specially older drivers can't compete with young foreign drivers, so that's how it is, maybe in 10 yrs time the job might be ok again when foreigners can't come anymore, but too late for a lot of us sadly.
Always said if I had a kid and he or she said I want to drive a truck like you dad, I'd beat them within an inch of their life. I do like driving trucks cos it don't matter I earn more elsewhere I drive to keep my eye in.
Well said! I'm 19 years old and a class 1 driver been driving them since I was 18. Next week is my last week in the industry and I want to get it over with. Leaving this job is by far the best fucking decision I've made!
Bradley Williams good luck on your next endeavor. It’s not for everyone, but the sad thing is, it’s not going too get any better. In fact, it’s only going to get worse!
Passed my test in a lorry, tank transporters, hgv1 at tnt, tankers for 13 years, moved on just not worth the money, roads are terrible nowadays and nobody has any patience, now qualified as an engineer
100% true I am retired 75 year old HGV driver started driving when I was 17 on a 4 wheeler at 14 ton gross then no powered steering no air brakes try that today. Doug
Thanks! I live in Canada, Dad drove for BRS, ran fish for companies out of Leith, and Granton. We emigrated in 65. I finished high school, served my time at Cummins dealer in Toronto in the 70's. Truck owner for 30 plus years. 64 now, still driving long distance. Just want to say I completely agree with what your saying. We are behind the curve here, but pretty much the same thing is happening here, and the U.S. Do we blame ourselves ? We aren't the government. They just did what the shippers, and manufacturers lobbied them for. Cheaper transportation cost. Now that the shit is blowing back in their faces, who best to blame than a bunch of lorry drivers. They now have to show the public that they can tame the beast. Enter more techies with programs, and " safety " protocols who see a bright future living of the avails of HGV drivers. Companies all go for the latest tech in the trucks, but never invest any money in the driver. You pay shit wages, you get shit workers, many who should never be allowed behind the wheel. I've considered myself a dinosaur in this industry for years. Soon I will be extinct. As my dad used to say when I had owned a reefer in the 80's, " this is the lowest card in the pack ! " I could go on, but you say it better than I can Jason. Ps. Dad used to run Liverpool Trunk back in the day. I still have lots of fond memories of the Albion's and AEC's. Cheers.
Totally agree. Done my class 1 two years ago & have given up for good. Treated like a slave by agencies coz you have no experience. Chucked out on your own with no help to drive a double deck through the country lanes in Scotland. Most stressful job I've ever had. Wish I hadn't listened to the "I earn £800 a week brigade"
Absolutely spot on!! I spent days training to operate a lorry mounted crane. Not 1 second of that training counted towards my cpc. It's just a money making scam. I passed my class one in 1996 and just let my CPC run out. I refuse to take 5 days off my current job and then pay out £600 of my own cash to drive a scabby truck. Goodbye haulage world for me
I did have an ADR in tanks for ten years and could not even get a job driving tankers. So I decided not to waste my money renewing it. I really wish I had never paid out 3 grand plus getting my HGV. Driving is finished in this country. Car drivers have no respect for HGV and bus drivers. The amount of abuse I've had as a bus driver is unreal. Ain't worth a bolt.
A lot of good points well made Jason.After 34 years driving lorries, the last 25 as an owner driver,i still enjoy going to work,but after just coming from a meeting with the people we pull for it makes me wonder about carrying on. They are wanting our Euro 5 wagons upgrading to Euro 6, all with 6 recording camera's, all to be Fors compliant along with just a small mountain of extra paperwork and training! Good job we love driving eh? Drive/ride safe.
Cloudmaker Unfortunately, the whole business is hellbent on dehumanising driving. Now you can't even have peace in the cab anymore with big brother scrutinising every eye blink you make. Soon you won't be allowed to listen to the radio while driving. If only they were one fifth as interested in the health, welfare and wellbeing of drivers all this fixation on technology and box ticking to oppress drivers wouldn't be necessary.
I took my class c a year ago aged 52 after being made redundant from my old job with the local authority I have held a pcv licence since 1991 and initially returned to driving service buses but that truly was horrendous and much harder work than truck driving in my opinion. Unfortunately all I've managed to get work as was driving a dustcart ( that lasted a week before I left lol ) and doing multi drop deliveries of fruit and veg for the measly rate of £8.50 an hour for 60 hours a week ( no overtime rate paid ) The company I work for are desperate for drivers but speaking to the old timers here they've not had a pay rise for 10 years !! It's not just the wages, it's the way you get treated at the customers sites, spoken to like dirt by the office staff, sworn at by the warehouse workers, disgusting portaloos literally full of s**t, At lots of places I'm the only native speaker and it's so hard to communicate with the workers there. Fortunately I've been offered a non driving job in the civil service which I hope to start soon. It's a shame as I actually do enjoy driving the truck, I just don't want to do it for 60 hours a week to take home £400.
As a lowly van driver we’re also treated like dirt, low wages, long hours. No more money for having a Taco license, CPC is a waste of time as well. Only decent thing is the overtime is ok and plenty of it.
Wish I'd seen this before I done mine. 22 and scrimped and saved stacking shelves in Tesco to pay for it all myself and yeah.... what a mistake that was...
I retired from trucking about 10 years ago aged 50 awhile before the drivers cpc came out, I was lucky enough to have both a military pension and an end salary pension from a large transport and shipping company TBH I have never looked back and never missed the crap you lads put up with
Brilliant video fella just found your channel you are spot on found a flip flop having a pee at side of truck shouted at him all he did was shrug his shoulders and say it’s not his country I mean what can you say to that
When I did European the drivers facilities were spotless, proper cleaning staff doing a fantastic job. In the UK no one was interested in cleaning the pathetic excuse for what was called "driver facilities ' the worst I ever experienced was Exeter services, tiles missing off walls, gaps around the shower base, flooding of the floor, mold and mildew up the walls..... I could go on. The facilities are crap because they are not maintained, because nobody gives a crap about drivers, we are scum, shouldn't be on the road at all, but we are keeping this country running on a daily basis, without us behind the wheel this country ceases to function. We are people too, but obviously not worthy of consideration because we drive Trucks. Without us, nothing moves.
I learnt to drive a lorry during my national service.The royal army service corp taught hundreds of recruits every month to drive heavy goods vehicles.National service was stopped in about 1960. Consequence no more truck drivers. The ministry of transport should provide the facilities and money to teach young drivers how to drive lorries.
19 years ive been driving class 1 and wouldnt recommend a hgv career to no one.I was earning more 6/7 years ago now we are soon approaching getting paid min wage,the job is total horse shit i see some of these new drivers on youtube loving the job but they just cab happy for now.Any people looking to become a lorry driver save the 3/4 k and do something worth while
I've been on class 2 for almost as long, was looking to take class 1 next year but beginning to think my money may be better spent elsewhere. No respect from the public, customers & even employees. Is it all really worth bad health?
Jase regarding the CPC. I'm lucky that I only have to sit one class because when I renew my ADR, that accounts to the rest. I get core, packages and all the classes except 7
Re: Cargo Values = I Drove HGV1's for a Bonded Warehouse in the 1990's, 26 Blue CHEP Pallets, on 1 Occasion when I Opened the Rear Doors, the Pallets were Stacked 8ft High with: Malrboros & Gold B&H packs of 20's, 26 Blue CHEP Pallets, I did the Maths, it Total'd = Between: 5 - 6 Million UK Pounds for the Entire Load @ mid 1990's Cig' Prices ! " WHAT Would the Load Value Be NOW ? " Diver's Pay THEN ? = CRAP & Going DOWN ! * I ALWAYS Tell ANYONE Thinking of Going Into HGV Driving * " DON'T DO IT ! "
It’s down to globalism, cheap screw drivers from the Eastern Europe, By the way it’s happening to every industry try construction for example. Employers won’t pay the money. Why should they when cheap workers in general are in huge numbers.
Crazy ain't it going through all replys nobody as got a good word for the job out of 300 lol, but you won't hear foreigners complaining they think 10 hour is a Kings ransom, they only got 3 pnd hour in Poland, not a level playing field, signing them to come here, how many brits go to Poland to work, none, all one way traffic that fkd the job for our people sadly.
Catch 22 , as a driver myself it's not worth the fucking hardship, The fucking ball is always in your court and you have to deal with the companies fuck ups. Then we have to deal with the virgin road users the 9 to 5 wankers and the retired arse holes that haven't got a fecking clue how to drive. Ya, the big bad boys and girls in their trucks on the road every day are treated like shit. Please if your going to drive like you are sitting in your armchair at home, get a grip of drivers that are on the road day and night just making a living at it
The conditions are as bad as the shite pay, transport abuse the 15 hour days when the 3 hours after 12 are meant for emergencys, but they usually all run you too the max day in day out, and in my experience the foreigners love that we're as older British drivers don't want to be doing 70 hr weeks, and then having to explain to vosa, also now minimum wage is 9 pnd an hour only foreigners mainly still want to do it, i mean another 1 pnd an hour isn't going to bring in much more than shelf filling after tax, hgv is one of the worst jobs you do for a life, no life.
I was just starting out hoping to get my HGV licences. After watching this and reading the supporting comments then I'm not going to bother. Job sounds like a bag of shit, I'm not going to put effort, time and my own money into an industry and job that's obviously despised and even veteran drivers have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING good to say about it.......Thanks guys I'll swerve this dog shit job after watching this vid
Well done, wish I'd of realised the same years ago the job was ok though before the foreigners came, simple as that, i worked before they came and easily got a grand a week fair enough working through weekends, and off in the week but that was good money 25 yrs ago.
Mate don't bother ... I spent over 3k getting my class 2 and then class 1 ... I did it for 6 months before I realised actually how crap the job is... especially when u come out of a car factory on nearly 17 pound an hour and land a job for 13 an hour driving class 1... the wages are well off... the job will cause u nothing but stress ... long long days lonely ... you will hardly see your partner... you will finish work with just enough time to get home and eat before going back to bed ... trust me mate the jobs dog shit .DO NOT waste ur money
De skilling is the problem with machines doing more .. Trade unions help people why so many drivers not in unions . While drivers work hard , MPs , MEPs many other Government agency do less work and much more pay ... Remember that at the polls .... Now our NHS under threat same thing happing , de skilling, reduced pay, the Railways will be next , ATO no drivers , de skilled workforce drives down conditions and wages . Years spent reading the sun paper has taken away our fight , but Rupert Murdoch laughed all the way to the bank.
Spot on Jason. I used to drive through an agency.My experience is that all the haulage firms want you to drive like a maniac and not take your breaks.Long hours, poor pay, treated like shit by haulage office tosses. Thankfully I am out of it now.
Just watched your clip, Every thing you said is bang on. & like you said "WE are just thick lorry drivers..who have 2 suffer being spoken to by a majority of warehouse staff with no respect.. and you know your self roads are chaos!!!!! reason being dum drivers behind a 44tonne truck with cpc card ..All the best....m8 real person right there..
Very good video my father used to drive lorries in the fifties and sixties and it was common back then to have a new driver go with an experienced driver until he’s experienced enough to go solo but that was when my father was driving heavy haulage so that is a specialized field also a driver at to be at least 21years of age
You don't just get a DQC(CPC) by attending a course for 7hours for 5 days. Drivers with acquired rights got a DQC(CPC) by attending a course for 7hours for 5 days and that was before 2009. I know people that have failed the CPC. I had to answer 50 questions for my CPC same amount of questions on a car test, and then a demonstration. The 7 hours for 5 days is just a refresher and you can do that in 5 years 7 hours each year. So you do take an actual test and people have failed them for a DQC (CPC) bit of plastic.
Could not agree more fella i have been in this industry for 25 years now and have seen a steady decline over the years and all the tradional truck stops are all now closed down to make way for motorway service areas that charge outragous prices coz they can and then i go for a shower to find some kind sould has had a shit in a burger king cup and left it in the shower cubicle despite the toilet being in the same room!!! Yeah too much responsibility too many roadside fines and long unsociable working hours with piss poor pay rates and too many idiots on the road and add to that roadworks and tight schedules who the hell on this earth would want to spend £5k to be an hgv driver these days..!!
I like the idea of apprentice, when i started in 1976, was often with senior guys, passing their knowledge, it wast formal of course but was education.
I got out of the industry at 40 in 2006. I loved driving artics, I was damned good at it but even then, you didn’t need a crystal ball to see what was coming down the line. The job cost me my marriage and my home. I went self employed driving my own Combo van doing courier work and earned double what the agency rates were. No nights away, no VOSA, no cpc, no hassle. Would I go back? Not a chance. I did a runner from the U.K. and have been effectively retired since the age of 45. Until government stop buggering up the job with more and more expensive training, until firms pay a decent salary and neo-liberal economic policies are chucked in the shredder, it ain’t ever going to get better. My respects to those of you still turning those wheels through clogged up roads, crap facilities and all the rest of it.
I work for Saints Transport. I do the Heathrow to Cardiff run nights, occasionally BlackWood/Llantrisant. It’s not fun anymore driving, motorways are ALWAYS closed!!!! And the stupid country lanes they send you down in a trailer!!! Also I used to work 6 nights a week sometimes and I was getting soooo depressed driving all night and sleeping all day!!! I used to do maximum hours. Not any more I only want to do MAX 12 hours a night, no more and weekends off. It does get VERY VERY lonely on your own all the time. I try and have a work/life balance but it’s hard. That’s why I would NEVER do nights out anymore or European work
Just starting out at 24yrs old jay got this talk aswell by a lorry driver whos 30+yrs in the job he looked shocked and said "are you stupid" like you said its currrently a dead end job, its just one of them jobs i suppose like some security industries (lack of education turns into lack of quality drivers which results in lack of a good standard of wages) should do what the sparkies or plumbers do the equivalent of their apprenticeship 2 or 3 years with experienced driver to bring up the education and responsibility totally agree with your point made.
Some many wise points made there. I drove for 6 years here in Ireland with a few trips to the uk. Uk has far better driving standards but it's still disgraceful how little respect others have for drivers. Its a tough life and i would advise young lads to make sure to have an exit strategy if thinking of getting into it
Ive been considering a trucking job for quite a while now but Im never sure if I can handle it or not, if only companies offered some sort of work experience or internships for young people to go out with a driver for a few days to get first hand experience/feel to what the job is like so we can make better decisions in the future.
Kaan Geundogdou In 1994 I drove HGV1 trucks, I got £15 ph Monday to Friday. £17ph on a Saturday and £19ph on Sunday. I worked through an agency called driver hire at Whitman. Last June they contacted me asking if I wanted some work. I haven’t driven trucks for over ten years and my licence has lapsed, no cpc or medical. The cost of maintaining these just weren’t worth the pay. Anyway out of curiosity I asked how much they are paying now, 24 years later. £11.50ph😳😳😳😳 I asked if he was joking, he told me that the rate now. That’s why people don’t want to drive heavy lorries anymore. It’s not rocket science.
Been an HGV PSV driver for over thirty four years..now an instructor for four years..I can tell you he's not wrong about younger people paying for their HGV licence and leaving the transport althoger within 6 months.. I totally agree with him that unlike when I started in the early 1980's ..where the traffic was half of what it is now .. people where more patient .. anyone my age will remember a time without mobile phones ..no spy in the etc Until regional unions are created it's not going to improve.. you'd be better off in the French Foreign Legion..
Fkn absoloutely spot on! You tell it exactly like it is! 😂 I do 4 nights per week trunking between Newcastle & London for 9.50 per hour, the truck runs 24/7 with 4 drivers (2x day shift, 2x night shift) I can't leave anything in it or it gets nicked.. Who would be a truck driver? 😂
Us newbies had to pass a theory and a practical to get our initial CPC card Module 2 and Module 4. The theory is 80% pass, the practical is 5 show me tell me questions which you must score a min of 80% on each question and an overall score of 80%.
absoulutely right Jason. I drive class 2 and the licence has costed me nearly 5000 pounds. I get 100 pounds a day for a 14 hours shift which I think I could have got doing something diffetent rather than sending so much money. I was thinking of progressing to class 1 but not anymore. No point spending more money just to be paid a quid more an hour.
What you said about the experience catch 22 is horribly correct. I'm 26, spent years driving 3.5T vans and decided to go for my Class 1. Got it but got turned down by many a company due to my lack of experience. So driving a vehicle that's wider, longer than a car, where you're blind from behind means fuck all in their eyes. Surely it shows a willingness if you have that experience at least and wish to go further with it. Been driving Class 1 for a few months now and I love it. I get the whole 'you'll hate it in no time' from more drivers than I can count but I don't really care. Some call it dead end, I call it freedom. I'd rather be stuck in traffic on the M6 than be stuck in an office all day where you're just a number, not a name. I'm aware my opinion may change as time goes on but right now, I know and feel that being a HGV driver is the best thing I ever did for myself and no one can take that from me. You do make some very good valid points so credit to you. Nice vid pal.
absolutely bang on Jason. I passed my class 2 few month's ago and have struggled to find work since then. the only job offered to me has been £ 8.60 ph and its multi drop deliveries around leeds city centre and some home deliveries. I went for a drive with an experienced driver for a day and I was all over the place to be honest. some of the deliveries were like home deliveries where as a new driver you shouldn't be in a class 2 truck. I have spent few thousand pounds to get this licence but so far it's been a pointless exercise.
don't put us down. ive just invested £2,500 self funded to get my class 1 and come off the building game. try that one for a living as selfempoyed . this game is easy, theres work galor. we just need to stick together
To answer your question... No one....because insurance companies will not permit newly qualified or returning licence holders to drive with less than 2 years recent experience. So the pool of existing drivers cannot now be replaced.
I am 19 years old. I have just finished my Leaving Cert and am finished school. I am on the dole due to a lack of work and because I suffer with depression (I like being on my own, I don't like being with other people). I would love to become a lorry driver, however, due to the cost of doing the lorry license (3,400 Euro), I cannot afford to do it. Also, I would love to drive vans to get experience in commercial vehicles, however, due to the cost of insurance in Ireland now (which is a scam), all the van fleets will not let you drive a van until you are 23 and in some cases, 30 years old. The social welfare will only pay for 5 rigid lessons and they won't give you them unless you get the rigid lorry learner permit yourself which costs nearly 200 Euro. I only get 113 Euro a week due to being under 25. If the social welfare cared, they would put you through the lessons and the test, even if it was just the rigid to get you started. Because I cannot get the lorry license, I am nearly suicidal now. I have no hopes for the future. Everything in my life goes wrong. I will never be a lorry driver.
JESUS changed my life MrD1980. I used to be an atheist and asked God, if he's really there to show me himself. He gives you a reason and a purpose in life. He Himself said HE is the Truth buddy. Bottom line.. I found out God loves ME, and actually felt the love and power of God. Read John's gospel.
@@tipstosoar I do believe in God and Jesus, compared to the rest of my family. I do have faith and love in God and Jesus. I know they love me. It's the people on Earth that have made me depressed with the way they go on. Jesus and God do not want this terrible life for us, but it's humans (especially governments) that destroy everything on everyone.
Hi Jason regarding the CPC modules, you can look at it another way and say ye your right mate pass every module but pay the going rate in wages and not peanuts!!
Got my c+e but better off doing other things that pay better and regular hours with no silly start times ! I agree with you Jason we pay tax to run on the roads foreign trucks should pay at the docks to run on our roads as we pay to run on theirs through tolls and do all the ones who take breaks for tacho on hard shoulders, if drivers turn up for £10 per hr more fool them drive safe Jason
Agree with what your saying some good points but when I go into the services I’ve seen drivers leave it in a shit state and some do abuse them but not all of us but I’ve never been into a shower in the services and seen cleaning products to clean up after myself all I’ve ever done is left water on the floor but very rarely do you have a mop bucket that clean and useable with products to clean up after you’ve been in the shower what are we expected to do put our towel down and start moping the floor with it I don’t think so but drivers don’t put mould on the roof and the walls we don’t break the extractor fan these showers are mostly just run down due to the amount of use it gets But I have heard the horror stories about drivers leaving number 2’s in the shower and seen it myself that’s not acceptable but why should we all get punished because of the minority Now as for pissing in the truck park I don’t stay in services but imagine it’s winter freezing you’ve stopped for your 9 hours off it’s 7pm you get to bed your up at 4am and wake up at midnight needing a piss are you really gonna get out of bed get dressed walk over to the services building go back to the cab by which time your wide awake struggle to get back to sleep you finally drop off then what seems like no time your alarms going off and later on that day your nodding off at the wheel because you’ve had broken sleep it’s not like when your at home just nipping off feet away to the bog in the other room in your pants have a piss then less than a minute later your back in bed having not really woken up so your straight back to sleep who would do that I know I wouldn’t but then again I wouldn’t piss outside in the truck park either not ideal having a piss bottle and pouring it somewhere more sanitary the next day but then again tramping isn’t totally ideal is it
Lots of complaints about the price. £1,000 in 1982, when I took my class 1, equates to about £3,250 in 2016. And that's without all the c.p.c. rubbish.
My stepdaughter earns 8.50 per hour flipping burgers at a well known fast food establishment! She gets a larger holiday entitlement as well. Makes me feel quite inferior as a class 2 driver with 30 years behind me. Trouble is, like most of us, its all I know. Better the devil , as they say... even though on min wage. All points well made Jase, couldn't agree more. Before anyone asks why stay at my company ? Its just 5 min walk to work, so costs nothing to go in. Plus at my age, can't be arsed with job hunting now especially for an extra 1 - 5 quid an hour which would probably be swallowed up in extra fuel cost getting there. So no better off. Drive safe lads!
I work in the construction plant industry as an excavator operator, love it, but i also have my hgv and drive our low loaders and tippers, i wouldn't go into full time haulage as the hours and pay are rubbish, i use my heavy goods purely as 'part' of my job, that's enough for me. It'll never get any better while there are plenty of idiots prepared to work for peanuts.
If you’re on the game long time fare enough you’d get paid 14 to 20 pound an hour. New contracts are shit both on buses and lorries 10 to 12 pound an hour. That’s why drivers usually for this reason don’t hang around. Bus drivers on new contracts get as low as £380 a week in London for five days
Also when you said its a dead end job and that you cant advance in it, I always thought the way to advance as a truck driver would be to become an owner operator and drive your own truck
Jason Walton Yh I heard things like that before but I always thought it's just like starting any other business and in theory it should be cheaper than most businesses such as shops etc. How can it end up as a disaster?
Where are you going to get a deposit on less than £12ph for class 1.. by the way i live on the south coast of England, with no hope of saving for a mortgage let alone affordable own truck. No Rdc's on the south coast except Tescos at Southampton.. awful place .
Passed my class 2 last July, been looking for work since that time but only can do weekends, totally feel I’ve wasted my money, I drive for a supermarket 3.5 tonne,, all I ever see is class 1 weekends. Can I do my class 1 without experience in a class 2, advice needed 😞
Catherine Spence yes you can. That’s what I did sort of! Knowing that you can do both classes in bulk, that mean you can! So go for it if that’s what you want to do!
I went to a well known supermarket distribution centre up in Yorkshire it was Xmas and I ended up waiting for 3 hours to be unloaded. As the flt driver started I asked him for directions to the toilet. He said the toilets are out of use due to damage caused by drivers. I said OK where are the staff toilets. Your not allowed to use them. Hmm. I point out my 3 hour wait and that I really needed to go for a wee quite urgently. He just shrugged and drove off.
I then saw some nice bushes nearby and walked over and had a very refreshing wee whilst the office staff looked out of the window.
2 minutes later a manager and security staff are over at my truck berating me for my behaviour. Stating I'm banned from the site and they are reporting me to the police for indecent exposure and to my company.
I point out the nearly 4 hour wait and that I'm banned from using the toilets according to the flt driver and pointed out they were quite lucky I didn't need a shit instead of just a wee. They were pretty much taken a back that I could stand my ground. Funny they never did report me.but that's how drivers are treated. I now drive a flt for only 50p and hour less than a 40 ton truck.
I'm 50 yo and being put through for my class C by Royal Mail. After 25 years as a postie van driver. I'm looking forward to the change and the money is decent. I hope i don't regret it.
All very valid points! You forgot to mention the driver behaviour software that now comes as standard and gives the office the leg up if you exceed the speed limit by 1mph, carry out an emergency stop for whatever reason ?, Don't change gears in a prescribed fashion, leave your driving seat for too long, or stray off your route because perhaps you encounter serious delays, and know a diversion which could get you there quicker, that's called geo fencing, all reported back ! who in their right mind would tolerate a work environment such as this ? then you have low bridges, width restrictions, weight limits, VOSA checks, and traffic wardens, good luck newbies, you're gonna need it !
@N/A N/A used to work at Warrens a wile back they had camera in cab i used to put my cap on it
I used to switch off the camera and live gps monitor. When office moan, I say speak to the hand as I want a live camera and kpi s on their office work. Accurate paperwork from the admin team would be nice.
When will double trailer start happening on UK roads.
When I worked for a certain company that likes hitting bridges I got suspended on full pay whilst there was an investigation as to why I stopped for a poo 💩 after having 8hrs in a RDC !
I was accused of stealing company time !
@@ElvisPresley68 If you're referring to stobarts then that's enough to put me off - Got offered a job with them the other week
There is no driver shortage that is just a line put out by big business to keep the numbers up so they can carry on paying shit wages and treating drivers like dirt.
In 1994 I drove HGV1 trucks, I got £15 ph Monday to Friday. £17ph on a Saturday and £19ph on Sunday.
I worked through an agency called driver hire at Whitman.
Last June they contacted me asking if I wanted some work. I haven’t driven trucks for over ten years and my licence has lapsed, no cpc or medical. The cost of maintaining these just weren’t worth the pay.
Anyway out of curiosity I asked how much they are paying now, 24 years later. £11.50ph😳😳😳😳 I asked if he was joking, he told me that the rate now.
That’s why people don’t want to drive heavy lorries anymore. It’s not rocket science.
😂...what clowns. i think the agencies have expanded greatly, cost have increased they probably retain more from the p/h. they prob charging the companies 15-20 p/h. Agencies are the cunts. The money is there still. lorry work will never finish.
Shergillbert All driver agencies take a similar % you moron😂😂😂
Shergillbert I was earning £15hr from the agency, that’s £31k 25 years ago. Look what’s being paid now you idiot.
www.indeed.co.uk/m/jobs?q=HGV+Driver
The agency's these days want as much as the driver gets astonishingly, 25 years ago i knew someone that owned an agency and he was happy to get 2 pnd an hour per driver, i know times moved on but drivers pays gone down, mainly on agency's because of them they take too much, rates from firms have gone up for agency's but there keeping it, and also most companies pay for your breaks, but the agency's take that, fkn abysmal.
Make no mistake I've been in the game 30 years and i know what fkd the job is when they signed the foreigners in manna from heaven for employers, they already knew that these people were used to 30 pnd a week in Poland ect, so a pole is over the moon on 10 an hour, they have mainly come here to hammer it, take the savings back to there piss poor country's and are able to buy land and house after just 3 years, so it's a different agenda to them against us brits, specially older drivers can't compete with young foreign drivers, so that's how it is, maybe in 10 yrs time the job might be ok again when foreigners can't come anymore, but too late for a lot of us sadly.
The pay that some company's offer is embararising, 8.50 an hour for hard graft cat c work, might as well shelf stack.
Michael Aris exactly my point!
do somerhing else. it just doesn't worth
Mumtaz Zafar :
I am doing something else. Walked away 1 year ago. Best thing I ever did
Michael Aris :
Spot on mate and those that do pay overtime rate in the North East don't start to pay it until 10 (ten) hours have been worked
Always said if I had a kid and he or she said I want to drive a truck like you dad, I'd beat them within an inch of their life. I do like driving trucks cos it don't matter I earn more elsewhere I drive to keep my eye in.
pink tshirt and reads the Guardian......... says it all
Well said! I'm 19 years old and a class 1 driver been driving them since I was 18. Next week is my last week in the industry and I want to get it over with. Leaving this job is by far the best fucking decision I've made!
Bradley Williams good luck on your next endeavor. It’s not for everyone, but the sad thing is, it’s not going too get any better. In fact, it’s only going to get worse!
Amen to that... I lasted 6 months before I realised what utter shite driving class 1 is... 6 months after 3k training what a waste.
Passed my test in a lorry, tank transporters, hgv1 at tnt, tankers for 13 years, moved on just not worth the money, roads are terrible nowadays and nobody has any patience, now qualified as an engineer
100% true I am retired 75 year old HGV driver started driving when I was 17 on a 4 wheeler at 14 ton gross then no powered steering no air brakes try that today. Doug
Legend
Do you ever wish we could turn back the clock 30 years ?
Thanks! I live in Canada, Dad drove for BRS, ran fish for companies out of Leith, and Granton. We emigrated in 65. I finished high school, served
my time at Cummins dealer in Toronto in the 70's. Truck owner for 30 plus years. 64 now, still driving long distance. Just want to say I completely agree with what your saying. We are behind the curve here, but pretty much the same thing is happening here, and the U.S.
Do we blame ourselves ? We aren't the government. They just did what the shippers, and manufacturers lobbied them for. Cheaper transportation cost. Now that the shit is blowing back in their faces, who best to blame than a bunch of lorry drivers. They now have to show the
public that they can tame the beast. Enter more techies with programs, and " safety " protocols who see a bright future living of the avails of
HGV drivers. Companies all go for the latest tech in the trucks, but never invest any money in the driver. You pay shit wages, you get shit workers, many who should never be allowed behind the wheel. I've considered myself a dinosaur in this industry for years. Soon I will be
extinct. As my dad used to say when I had owned a reefer in the 80's, " this is the lowest card in the pack ! " I could go on, but you say it better
than I can Jason. Ps. Dad used to run Liverpool Trunk back in the day. I still have lots of fond memories of the Albion's and AEC's. Cheers.
Totally agree. Done my class 1 two years ago & have given up for good. Treated like a slave by agencies coz you have no experience. Chucked out on your own with no help to drive a double deck through the country lanes in Scotland. Most stressful job I've ever had. Wish I hadn't listened to the "I earn £800 a week brigade"
Absolutely spot on!! I spent days training to operate a lorry mounted crane. Not 1 second of that training counted towards my cpc. It's just a money making scam. I passed my class one in 1996 and just let my CPC run out. I refuse to take 5 days off my current job and then pay out £600 of my own cash to drive a scabby truck. Goodbye haulage world for me
Why has this video not had more views?! Never a truer word spoken sir!
Well said mate,agree with everything you said safe driving my friend.
I did have an ADR in tanks for ten years and could not even get a job driving tankers. So I decided not to waste my money renewing it. I really wish I had never paid out 3 grand plus getting my HGV. Driving is finished in this country. Car drivers have no respect for HGV and bus drivers. The amount of abuse I've had as a bus driver is unreal. Ain't worth a bolt.
A lot of good points well made Jason.After 34 years driving lorries, the last 25 as an owner driver,i still enjoy going to work,but after just coming from a meeting with the people we pull for it makes me wonder about carrying on. They are wanting our Euro 5 wagons upgrading to Euro 6, all with 6 recording camera's, all to be Fors compliant along with just a small mountain of extra paperwork and training! Good job we love driving eh? Drive/ride safe.
Cloudmaker Unfortunately, the whole business is hellbent on dehumanising driving. Now you can't even have peace in the cab anymore with big brother scrutinising every eye blink you make. Soon you won't be allowed to listen to the radio while driving. If only they were one fifth as interested in the health, welfare and wellbeing of drivers all this fixation on technology and box ticking to oppress drivers wouldn't be necessary.
I took my class c a year ago aged 52 after being made redundant from my old job with the local authority I have held a pcv licence since 1991 and initially returned to driving service buses but that truly was horrendous and much harder work than truck driving in my opinion. Unfortunately all I've managed to get work as was driving a dustcart ( that lasted a week before I left lol ) and doing multi drop deliveries of fruit and veg for the measly rate of £8.50 an hour for 60 hours a week ( no overtime rate paid ) The company I work for are desperate for drivers but speaking to the old timers here they've not had a pay rise for 10 years !! It's not just the wages, it's the way you get treated at the customers sites, spoken to like dirt by the office staff, sworn at by the warehouse workers, disgusting portaloos literally full of s**t, At lots of places I'm the only native speaker and it's so hard to communicate with the workers there. Fortunately I've been offered a non driving job in the civil service which I hope to start soon. It's a shame as I actually do enjoy driving the truck, I just don't want to do it for 60 hours a week to take home £400.
As a lowly van driver we’re also treated like dirt, low wages, long hours. No more money for having a Taco license, CPC is a waste of time as well. Only decent thing is the overtime is ok and plenty of it.
Wish I'd seen this before I done mine. 22 and scrimped and saved stacking shelves in Tesco to pay for it all myself and yeah.... what a mistake that was...
why was it a mistake for?
curlyy94 I was the same pal wasted time and money
There's decent companies out there paying the right money but you need to keep looking
Video 4 minutes short of 15 minutes 🤔 Great timing on a 15 minute break 👍 😂😂
Bloody hell my boss is usually on the phone now ringing me saying did you need to take a 15minute break then
I retired from trucking about 10 years ago aged 50 awhile before the drivers cpc came out, I was lucky enough to have both a military pension and an end salary pension from a large transport and shipping company TBH I have never looked back and never missed the crap you lads put up with
And these day's, it is a load of crap!
What you have just said is spot on.
I use to be a driver and came across all the things you have. It's good to hear someone talking sence. Well done.
take a bow sir, well said Jase 👏
I could never pass a cpc my head just goes to sleep but the younger drivers with no experience answer all the questions bless
Walked away from HGV's two years ago. Not worth it. Drive a minibus now 30hrs a week for same money. Race to the bottom in HGV's
absolutely bang on the money with this one Jase 😊
Brilliant video fella just found your channel you are spot on found a flip flop having a pee at side of truck shouted at him all he did was shrug his shoulders and say it’s not his country I mean what can you say to that
When I did European the drivers facilities were spotless, proper cleaning staff doing a fantastic job.
In the UK no one was interested in cleaning the pathetic excuse for what was called "driver facilities ' the worst I ever experienced was Exeter services, tiles missing off walls, gaps around the shower base, flooding of the floor, mold and mildew up the walls..... I could go on.
The facilities are crap because they are not maintained, because nobody gives a crap about drivers, we are scum, shouldn't be on the road at all, but we are keeping this country running on a daily basis, without us behind the wheel this country ceases to function.
We are people too, but obviously not worthy of consideration because we drive Trucks.
Without us, nothing moves.
I learnt to drive a lorry during my national service.The royal army service corp taught hundreds of recruits
every month to drive heavy goods vehicles.National service was stopped in about 1960.
Consequence no more truck drivers.
The ministry of transport should provide the facilities and money to teach young drivers how to drive lorries.
19 years ive been driving class 1 and wouldnt recommend a hgv career to no one.I was earning more 6/7 years ago now we are soon approaching getting paid min wage,the job is total horse shit i see some of these new drivers on youtube loving the job but they just cab happy for now.Any people looking to become a lorry driver save the 3/4 k and do something worth while
Isn't that the truth!
I've been on class 2 for almost as long, was looking to take class 1 next year but beginning to think my money may be better spent elsewhere. No respect from the public, customers & even employees. Is it all really worth bad health?
Jase regarding the CPC. I'm lucky that I only have to sit one class because when I renew my ADR, that accounts to the rest. I get core, packages and all the classes except 7
Thanks for this, just crushed my will to getting the licence, ha ha
gary63693 sorry bud! 😝
One of your best vids...
Your vosa exempt unless you have an Irish reg 😂
Re: Cargo Values =
I Drove HGV1's for a Bonded Warehouse in the 1990's,
26 Blue CHEP Pallets,
on 1 Occasion when I Opened the Rear Doors, the Pallets were Stacked 8ft High with: Malrboros & Gold B&H packs of 20's,
26 Blue CHEP Pallets, I did the Maths,
it Total'd = Between: 5 - 6 Million UK Pounds for the Entire Load @ mid 1990's Cig' Prices !
" WHAT Would the Load Value Be NOW ? "
Diver's Pay THEN ? = CRAP & Going DOWN !
* I ALWAYS Tell ANYONE Thinking of Going Into HGV Driving *
" DON'T DO IT ! "
Mmmmnn, some interesting comments and well put. I'm new to this truck driving malarkey so I'm making it up as I go along!
It’s down to globalism, cheap screw drivers from the Eastern Europe,
By the way it’s happening to every industry try construction for example. Employers won’t pay the money. Why should they when cheap workers in general are in huge numbers.
If ever there was a true word spoken,this is it,brilliant.
Crazy ain't it going through all replys nobody as got a good word for the job out of 300 lol, but you won't hear foreigners complaining they think 10 hour is a Kings ransom, they only got 3 pnd hour in Poland, not a level playing field, signing them to come here, how many brits go to Poland to work, none, all one way traffic that fkd the job for our people sadly.
We as truck drivers are classed as unskilled labour #labouroflove
One word that destroyed it for me. .Telematics.
Catch 22 , as a driver myself it's not worth the fucking hardship, The fucking ball is always in your court and you have to deal with the companies fuck ups. Then we have to deal with the virgin road users the 9 to 5 wankers and the retired arse holes that haven't got a fecking clue how to drive. Ya, the big bad boys and girls in their trucks on the road every day are treated like shit. Please if your going to drive like you are sitting in your armchair at home, get a grip of drivers that are on the road day and night just making a living at it
The conditions are as bad as the shite pay, transport abuse the 15 hour days when the 3 hours after 12 are meant for emergencys, but they usually all run you too the max day in day out, and in my experience the foreigners love that we're as older British drivers don't want to be doing 70 hr weeks, and then having to explain to vosa, also now minimum wage is 9 pnd an hour only foreigners mainly still want to do it, i mean another 1 pnd an hour isn't going to bring in much more than shelf filling after tax, hgv is one of the worst jobs you do for a life, no life.
I was just starting out hoping to get my HGV licences. After watching this and reading the supporting comments then I'm not going to bother. Job sounds like a bag of shit, I'm not going to put effort, time and my own money into an industry and job that's obviously despised and even veteran drivers have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING good to say about it.......Thanks guys I'll swerve this dog shit job after watching this vid
Well done, wish I'd of realised the same years ago the job was ok though before the foreigners came, simple as that, i worked before they came and easily got a grand a week fair enough working through weekends, and off in the week but that was good money 25 yrs ago.
Mate don't bother ... I spent over 3k getting my class 2 and then class 1 ... I did it for 6 months before I realised actually how crap the job is... especially when u come out of a car factory on nearly 17 pound an hour and land a job for 13 an hour driving class 1... the wages are well off... the job will cause u nothing but stress ... long long days lonely ... you will hardly see your partner... you will finish work with just enough time to get home and eat before going back to bed ... trust me mate the jobs dog shit .DO NOT waste ur money
This guy is spot on
Very enlightening. Thanks. Mark USA
Thanks for the thoughts. Been thinking of getting the license for years now but didnt due to the same stuff that you mentioned.
Thats spot on old boy.
De skilling is the problem with machines doing more ..
Trade unions help people why so many drivers not in unions .
While drivers work hard , MPs , MEPs many other Government agency do less work and much more pay ...
Remember that at the polls ....
Now our NHS under threat same thing happing , de skilling, reduced pay, the Railways will be next , ATO no drivers , de skilled workforce drives down conditions and wages . Years spent reading the sun paper has taken away our fight , but Rupert Murdoch laughed all the way to the bank.
Absolutely true...vote Labour!
Mature And sensible Driver sitting beside them,You Are Mature A driver And OHH..Well two out of three ain't bad...😂😂😂😂
Spot on Jason. I used to drive through an agency.My experience is that all the haulage firms want you to drive like a maniac and not take your breaks.Long hours, poor pay, treated like shit by haulage office tosses. Thankfully I am out of it now.
I can't have put it better myself,I have been at wheel for 18 long years and I'm now looking hard to get out of it.
The industry is in the gurgler.
pmsl 5 years later brexit is blamed for the hgv shortage just shows they are talking shit it was there before
I totally agree with the appreciship scheme, training private not all can afford.
Just watched your clip,
Every thing you said is bang on.
& like you said "WE are just thick lorry drivers..who have 2 suffer being spoken to by a majority of warehouse staff with no respect..
and you know your self roads are chaos!!!!! reason being dum drivers behind a 44tonne truck with cpc card ..All the best....m8 real person right there..
Very good video my father used to drive lorries in the fifties and sixties and it was common back then to have a new driver go with an experienced driver until he’s experienced enough to go solo but that was when my father was driving heavy haulage so that is a specialized field also a driver at to be at least 21years of age
You don't just get a DQC(CPC) by attending a course for 7hours for 5 days. Drivers with acquired rights got a DQC(CPC) by attending a course for 7hours for 5 days and that was before 2009. I know people that have failed the CPC. I had to answer 50 questions for my CPC same amount of questions on a car test, and then a demonstration. The 7 hours for 5 days is just a refresher and you can do that in 5 years 7 hours each year. So you do take an actual test and people have failed them for a DQC (CPC) bit of plastic.
Could not agree more fella i have been in this industry for 25 years now and have seen a steady decline over the years and all the tradional truck stops are all now closed down to make way for motorway service areas that charge outragous prices coz they can and then i go for a shower to find some kind sould has had a shit in a burger king cup and left it in the shower cubicle despite the toilet being in the same room!!!
Yeah too much responsibility too many roadside fines and long unsociable working hours with piss poor pay rates and too many idiots on the road and add to that roadworks and tight schedules who the hell on this earth would want to spend £5k to be an hgv driver these days..!!
I like the idea of apprentice, when i started in 1976, was often with senior guys, passing their knowledge, it wast formal of course but was education.
I got out of the industry at 40 in 2006. I loved driving artics, I was damned good at it but even then, you didn’t need a crystal ball to see what was coming down the line.
The job cost me my marriage and my home. I went self employed driving my own Combo van doing courier work and earned double what the agency rates were.
No nights away, no VOSA, no cpc, no hassle. Would I go back? Not a chance.
I did a runner from the U.K. and have been effectively retired since the age of 45.
Until government stop buggering up the job with more and more expensive training, until firms pay a decent salary and neo-liberal economic policies are chucked in the shredder, it ain’t ever going to get better.
My respects to those of you still turning those wheels through clogged up roads, crap facilities and all the rest of it.
Out of interest, where did you move to at 45 and what did you do then (now) for work?
I work for Saints Transport. I do the Heathrow to Cardiff run nights, occasionally BlackWood/Llantrisant.
It’s not fun anymore driving, motorways are ALWAYS closed!!!! And the stupid country lanes they send you down in a trailer!!!
Also I used to work 6 nights a week sometimes and I was getting soooo depressed driving all night and sleeping all day!!! I used to do maximum hours. Not any more I only want to do MAX 12 hours a night, no more and weekends off.
It does get VERY VERY lonely on your own all the time. I try and have a work/life balance but it’s hard.
That’s why I would NEVER do nights out anymore or European work
CPC wise I'm 18 just passed I had to take 2 CPC tests 1 in a dvsa exam place and other at test centre
Just starting out at 24yrs old jay got this talk aswell by a lorry driver whos 30+yrs in the job he looked shocked and said "are you stupid" like you said its currrently a dead end job, its just one of them jobs i suppose like some security industries (lack of education turns into lack of quality drivers which results in lack of a good standard of wages) should do what the sparkies or plumbers do the equivalent of their apprenticeship 2 or 3 years with experienced driver to bring up the education and responsibility totally agree with your point made.
brian shaw see, a sensible person! Cheers for that.
Some many wise points made there. I drove for 6 years here in Ireland with a few trips to the uk. Uk has far better driving standards but it's still disgraceful how little respect others have for drivers. Its a tough life and i would advise young lads to make sure to have an exit strategy if thinking of getting into it
Ive been considering a trucking job for quite a while now but Im never sure if I can handle it or not, if only companies offered some sort of work experience or internships for young people to go out with a driver for a few days to get first hand experience/feel to what the job is like so we can make better decisions in the future.
Kaan Geundogdou In 1994 I drove HGV1 trucks, I got £15 ph Monday to Friday. £17ph on a Saturday and £19ph on Sunday.
I worked through an agency called driver hire at Whitman.
Last June they contacted me asking if I wanted some work. I haven’t driven trucks for over ten years and my licence has lapsed, no cpc or medical. The cost of maintaining these just weren’t worth the pay.
Anyway out of curiosity I asked how much they are paying now, 24 years later. £11.50ph😳😳😳😳 I asked if he was joking, he told me that the rate now.
That’s why people don’t want to drive heavy lorries anymore. It’s not rocket science.
Been an HGV PSV driver for over thirty four years..now an instructor for four years..I can tell you he's not wrong about younger people paying for their HGV licence and leaving the transport althoger within 6 months..
I totally agree with him that unlike when I started in the early 1980's ..where the traffic was half of what it is now .. people where more patient .. anyone my age will remember a time without mobile phones ..no spy in the etc
Until regional unions are created it's not going to improve.. you'd be better off in the French Foreign Legion..
Fkn absoloutely spot on! You tell it exactly like it is! 😂 I do 4 nights per week trunking between Newcastle & London for 9.50 per hour, the truck runs 24/7 with 4 drivers (2x day shift, 2x night shift) I can't leave anything in it or it gets nicked.. Who would be a truck driver? 😂
Agree with every word chief!!!
I think employers are holding out for the driverless vehicle, imagine lorry runs all day, no costs other than vehicle cost,
driverless vehicles will not happen anytime soon if ever!
Trucker Tom
Won’t happen, tried it in USA fatal accident on the first day imagine the insurance cost on them driverless killers machines.
F D , has there been no fatalities by human error then? It will happen given time, and people who don’t thing so are in denial
Phil Brown still need driving weel attendant, good job for a 16 year old for minimum
wage
Us newbies had to pass a theory and a practical to get our initial CPC card Module 2 and Module 4. The theory is 80% pass, the practical is 5 show me tell me questions which you must score a min of 80% on each question and an overall score of 80%.
absoulutely right Jason. I drive class 2 and the licence has costed me nearly 5000 pounds. I get 100 pounds a day for a 14 hours shift which I think I could have got doing something diffetent rather than sending so much money. I was thinking of progressing to class 1 but not anymore. No point spending more money just to be paid a quid more an hour.
How long have you been at Raymond's?
14 years.
What you said about the experience catch 22 is horribly correct. I'm 26, spent years driving 3.5T vans and decided to go for my Class 1. Got it but got turned down by many a company due to my lack of experience. So driving a vehicle that's wider, longer than a car, where you're blind from behind means fuck all in their eyes. Surely it shows a willingness if you have that experience at least and wish to go further with it. Been driving Class 1 for a few months now and I love it. I get the whole 'you'll hate it in no time' from more drivers than I can count but I don't really care. Some call it dead end, I call it freedom. I'd rather be stuck in traffic on the M6 than be stuck in an office all day where you're just a number, not a name. I'm aware my opinion may change as time goes on but right now, I know and feel that being a HGV driver is the best thing I ever did for myself and no one can take that from me. You do make some very good valid points so credit to you. Nice vid pal.
absolutely bang on Jason. I passed my class 2 few month's ago and have struggled to find work since then. the only job offered to me has been £ 8.60 ph and its multi drop deliveries around leeds city centre and some home deliveries. I went for a drive with an experienced driver for a day and I was all over the place to be honest. some of the deliveries were like home deliveries where as a new driver you shouldn't be in a class 2 truck. I have spent few thousand pounds to get this licence but so far it's been a pointless exercise.
I think this is funny as fook🤣🤣🤣. Truthfully though there is no driver shortage
don't put us down. ive just invested £2,500 self funded to get my class 1 and come off the building game. try that one for a living as selfempoyed . this game is easy, theres work galor. we just need to stick together
Spot on
There will always be Mugs who work for peanuts, and some of them can't add up!
How true then you got office staff saying that's needed ASAP
To answer your question... No one....because insurance companies will not permit newly qualified or returning licence holders to drive with less than 2 years recent experience. So the pool of existing drivers cannot now be replaced.
i Work for Coltons and Iam based in Coventry and it's a one man one truck and the keys come home with me :)
Totally agree with you.
I am 19 years old. I have just finished my Leaving Cert and am finished school. I am on the dole due to a lack of work and because I suffer with depression (I like being on my own, I don't like being with other people). I would love to become a lorry driver, however, due to the cost of doing the lorry license (3,400 Euro), I cannot afford to do it. Also, I would love to drive vans to get experience in commercial vehicles, however, due to the cost of insurance in Ireland now (which is a scam), all the van fleets will not let you drive a van until you are 23 and in some cases, 30 years old. The social welfare will only pay for 5 rigid lessons and they won't give you them unless you get the rigid lorry learner permit yourself which costs nearly 200 Euro. I only get 113 Euro a week due to being under 25. If the social welfare cared, they would put you through the lessons and the test, even if it was just the rigid to get you started. Because I cannot get the lorry license, I am nearly suicidal now. I have no hopes for the future. Everything in my life goes wrong. I will never be a lorry driver.
JESUS changed my life MrD1980. I used to be an atheist and asked God, if he's really there to show me himself. He gives you a reason and a purpose in life. He Himself said HE is the Truth buddy. Bottom line.. I found out God loves ME, and actually felt the love and power of God. Read John's gospel.
@@tipstosoar I do believe in God and Jesus, compared to the rest of my family. I do have faith and love in God and Jesus. I know they love me. It's the people on Earth that have made me depressed with the way they go on. Jesus and God do not want this terrible life for us, but it's humans (especially governments) that destroy everything on everyone.
Good video fully agree with what you said
Well said
Hi Jason
regarding the CPC modules, you can look at it another way and say ye your right mate pass every module but pay the going rate in wages and not peanuts!!
Got my c+e but better off doing other things that pay better and regular hours with no silly start times ! I agree with you Jason we pay tax to run on the roads foreign trucks should pay at the docks to run on our roads as we pay to run on theirs through tolls and do all the ones who take breaks for tacho on hard shoulders, if drivers turn up for £10 per hr more fool them drive safe Jason
Agree with what your saying some good points but when I go into the services I’ve seen drivers leave it in a shit state and some do abuse them but not all of us but I’ve never been into a shower in the services and seen cleaning products to clean up after myself all I’ve ever done is left water on the floor but very rarely do you have a mop bucket that clean and useable with products to clean up after you’ve been in the shower what are we expected to do put our towel down and start moping the floor with it I don’t think so but drivers don’t put mould on the roof and the walls we don’t break the extractor fan these showers are mostly just run down due to the amount of use it gets
But I have heard the horror stories about drivers leaving number 2’s in the shower and seen it myself that’s not acceptable but why should we all get punished because of the minority
Now as for pissing in the truck park I don’t stay in services but imagine it’s winter freezing you’ve stopped for your 9 hours off it’s 7pm you get to bed your up at 4am and wake up at midnight needing a piss are you really gonna get out of bed get dressed walk over to the services building go back to the cab by which time your wide awake struggle to get back to sleep you finally drop off then what seems like no time your alarms going off and later on that day your nodding off at the wheel because you’ve had broken sleep it’s not like when your at home just nipping off feet away to the bog in the other room in your pants have a piss then less than a minute later your back in bed having not really woken up so your straight back to sleep who would do that I know I wouldn’t but then again I wouldn’t piss outside in the truck park either not ideal having a piss bottle and pouring it somewhere more sanitary the next day but then again tramping isn’t totally ideal is it
But I am a truck driver in Cameroon
Lots of complaints about the price. £1,000 in 1982, when I took my class 1, equates to about £3,250 in 2016. And that's without all the c.p.c. rubbish.
My stepdaughter earns 8.50 per hour flipping burgers at a well known fast food establishment! She gets a larger holiday entitlement as well. Makes me feel quite inferior as a class 2 driver with 30 years behind me. Trouble is, like most of us, its all I know. Better the devil , as they say... even though on min wage. All points well made Jase, couldn't agree more. Before anyone asks why stay at my company ? Its just 5 min walk to work, so costs nothing to go in. Plus at my age, can't be arsed with job hunting now especially for an extra 1 - 5 quid an hour which would probably be swallowed up in extra fuel cost getting there. So no better off. Drive safe lads!
I work in the construction plant industry as an excavator operator, love it, but i also have my hgv and drive our low loaders and tippers, i wouldn't go into full time haulage as the hours and pay are rubbish, i use my heavy goods purely as 'part' of my job, that's enough for me.
It'll never get any better while there are plenty of idiots prepared to work for peanuts.
If you’re on the game long time fare enough you’d get paid 14 to 20 pound an hour. New contracts are shit both on buses and lorries 10 to 12 pound an hour. That’s why drivers usually for this reason don’t hang around. Bus drivers on new contracts get as low as £380 a week in London for five days
and here's me looking to get back in the cab lol at 56 no money
Agree with everything you say,but you could never be a politician speaking the truth
Also when you said its a dead end job and that you cant advance in it, I always thought the way to advance as a truck driver would be to become an owner operator and drive your own truck
Kaan Geundogdou some have gone that way, but it’s very expensive and can end in disaster!
Jason Walton Yh I heard things like that before but I always thought it's just like starting any other business and in theory it should be cheaper than most businesses such as shops etc.
How can it end up as a disaster?
Where are you going to get a deposit on less than £12ph for class 1.. by the way i live on the south coast of England, with no hope of saving for a mortgage let alone affordable own truck. No Rdc's on the south coast except Tescos at Southampton.. awful place .
Passed my class 2 last July, been looking for work since that time but only can do weekends, totally feel I’ve wasted my money, I drive for a supermarket 3.5 tonne,, all I ever see is class 1 weekends. Can I do my class 1 without experience in a class 2, advice needed 😞
Catherine Spence yes you can. That’s what I did sort of! Knowing that you can do both classes in bulk, that mean you can! So go for it if that’s what you want to do!
Jason Walton Thank you 😊