Do you want a job or not?

[stevewool]

You could not make this up.
Our Manchester depot has been training a new driver up for over 2 weeks now and today was the first day out by himself.
All was going well until 1.13 pm, the tracker on the vehicle had frozen at that time and place, these things can happen so you just give the driver a call just to check if they are fine.
Well after a few hours of no contact from him and the vehicle still stuck in the same spot we started to worry.
4.50 pm we managed to get in touch with this shop near were the tracker had frozen and the good person went to check if the vehicle was there or not, and yes it was there.
Where was the driver was the next question , is he ok , what about the goods on the vehicle are they still there, where are the keys for the vehicle too, still no answer from this driver.
We had to send out 2 drivers to the spot to find out what has happened,
They got there and there was no sign of the driver, the keys was in the ignition, the doors unlocked and the parcels in the back of the vehicle, but are they all there.
Still no sign of the driver after trying to make contact even trying his mum's home.
Well just after 6 pm this driver rang up and after saying sorry and explaining what had happened," h,e lost his mind and panicked", so he left the vehicle and went home,
He is coming in tomorrow he says because he now knows where he went wrong and wants another chance well he may come in but I am afraid he won't have a job,

[Steve.r]

[Terpe]

Steve, you are correct, you just couldn't make it up. It's out of all normal imagination.

If it was me he'd also be out of a job.......

[Slip]

All about trust. How can you trust him now.

[grahamw48]

Even more scary is that such people are driving large vehicles on our roads !

[grahamw48]

Talking about which, I've noticed that almost all the van drivers bringing Amazon stuff to my home appear to have been reared in Somalia or some other far-flung asylum-seeker-producing country.

I'm assuming they've passed a BRITISH driving test ... you know, the one that costs our own youngsters a fortune to pass, IF they can ever afford to do so these days ?

Time to clamp down on who is permitted to drive on our roads... no matter how CHEAP they are to employ.

[stevewool]

The problem is owner drivers, they can have as many vans as they want and also different areas,
Then that person gets very very cheap drivers to do these runs and the owe get all the money

[grahamw48]

Yep.... and more scammers, tax-dodgers and illegal workers... now hurtling around the country trying to do 100+ drops a day in vehicles, many of which are probably technically...uninsured.

What could possibly go wrong ?

The authorities have taken their eye off the ball and put everyone in this country in danger.

[Harry T]

Yep.... and more scammers, tax-dodgers and illegal workers... now hurtling around the country trying to do 100+ drops a day in vehicles, many of which are probably technically...uninsured.

What could possibly go wrong ?

The authorities have taken their eye off the ball and put everyone in this country in danger.

Yeah scary, but whatever you do, dont go a couple of miles over the speed limit or else..

[grahamw48]

One of the reasons I don't drive anymore Harry... big brother tactics to bully those driving legal vehicles within sensible limits .... whereas the really serious stuff (like car theft, no insurance, dangerous driving, no licence, etc) get derisory punishments.

[Harry T]

One of the reasons I don't drive anymore Harry... big brother tactics to bully those driving legal vehicles within sensible limits .... whereas the really serious stuff (like car theft, no insurance, dangerous driving, no licence, etc) get derisory punishments.

Well for the first time today, i was thinking is the cost worthwhile, having just paid £163 for my AA renewal, £349 quoted for my Insurance, Diesel on the way up again, i have a feeling once this Car is ready for the Knackers yard, then that may well be that.

[grahamw48]

It's one of the ways I'm able to afford to go to the Phils... stopping car expenses... plus stopping smoking and drinking. I'm still pretty content, doing without them. The bus pass has made all the difference. After years of driving 100-200 miles a day, it's nice not to have the stress too, to be honest.

I can sit in front of my TV and drive every exotic car in the world as fast as I like anyway...with my Xbox.

[stevewool]

At the moment we have a driver working for us who has been on sick for 7 weeks now.
His wife called in on a Thursday morning to say he was not well and we have not heard from him since.
We have tried calling him, leaving messages on his phones and have even sent the letter too, but all this we still have not heard from him.
The last letter was his notice if we do not hear anything and to date there is no news,
Why cant people be upfront and just say sorry it's not for me or I am leaving.
We are struggling to get drivers to stay at this moment in time.
Is it the work who knows, it's hard yes but not impossible, like I say to everyone I would not expect you to do something I can't,

[Slip]

He is coming in tomorrow he says because he now knows where he went wrong and wants another chance well he may come in but I am afraid he won't have a job,

Did he come in?

[Longweekend]

Well for the first time today, i was thinking is the cost worthwhile, having just paid £163 for my AA renewal, £349 quoted for my Insurance, Diesel on the way up again, i have a feeling once this Car is ready for the Knackers yard, then that may well be that.

You could have saved over £70.00 going with ADAC instead of the AA, and their cover is for any vehicle you are in and not just your own.....

[stevewool]

Did he come in?

No he rang in and said he cannot do the job

[stevewool]

Two interviews for drivers.
The first one a young chap in finance who wants a change, he fancies becoming a lorry driver, but he has to give 6 weeks notice.
It's not just sitting in a big lorry doing one or two drops a day and keeping clean I said,
2nd interview a young lady but again she is interested in a new career, a new driver with no experience and again 4 weeks notice too.
I do try to be honest and say how the job is, and deep down it is a hard job , stressful, and you have time limits, but also it can be great too, it's how you want to make it but you have to do it our way.
Onwards and upwards they say, bring on the next that's if there is a next

[Harry T]

So if you dont have enough Drivers what do you do, Use agency ?.

[stevewool]

So if you dont have enough Drivers what do you do, Use agency ?.

We use too Harry but again they dont fancy doing more then 20 drops, so we have to cancel runs or put more onto other drivers.
This is where the drivers we have had for years are getting cheesed off, take last week we cancelled two runs for a day the it took two days to try to catch up.
I have been told today we are going to take on the young lady, maybe she will do well, its just about training her right and helping her all the way too.
We shall have to wait and she whats happens next.
The wage aint bad, a hgv driver if he had no mistakes can take home just over £400 a week

[Slip]

We use too Harry but again they dont fancy doing more then 20 drops, so we have to cancel runs or put more onto other drivers.
This is where the drivers we have had for years are getting cheesed off, take lst week we cancelled two runs for a day the it took two das to try to catch up.
I have been told today we are going to take on the young lady, maybe she will do well, its just about training her right and helping her all the way too.
We shall have to wait and she whats happens next.
The wage aint bad, a hgv driver if he had no mistakes can take home just over £400 a week

Shame I hate driving, I'd do the job for that money. Then again I definitely couldn't drive an hgv!

[grahamw48]

What size trucks are they... all HGVs ?

[stevewool]

We have a right mixture now starting with long wheeled base vans, then 3 1/2 tonnes, 12 tonnes , 18 tonnes, wagon and drags and artics too.
Each vehicle is based on different wages plus we are running 24 hours a day ,except Saturday and Sunday.
The big thing now is a ADR license so you can carry dangerous goods ( its a load of crap but you need it to carry these items).

[grahamw48]

Ah, righto Steve... so a big operation then, with different work opportunities and skill levels.

[stevewool]

Ah, righto Steve... so a big operation then, with different work opportunities and skill levels.

As I always say skills yes but commen sense is more important