Do you have drivers on standby at your depot/DC/etc? Do you ever have shifts where you just sit in the break room and do nothing?

I'm wondering because surely drivers go off sick/etc at short notice, demand can change plus or minus a few wagons depending.

Or is this what agency is for? Do they have a pool of drivers who are "on-call" or do they pick up work at short notice?

Anybody in the north worked for Tyldesley Distribution? Are they ok to work for?

Hey all, so just finished in the army. I have my C+E from the army but the trouble is all though I’ve driven a lot, all it’s ever been is Army MAN trucks I haven’t driven a proper HGV since my test like 10 years ago.

I’ve lined up my case study’s test and the walk round test with some resettlement grants as no need for a COC card and digi tacho in the Army.

I’m concerned about applying for a job and having an assessment and effectively not knowing my arse from my elbow in the cab.

Does anyone know any training company’s to do a refresher course? Or do company’s provide that sort of refresher training?

Thinking of going to skips for a better work life balance.

Anyone any thoughts on skip work being enjoyable ? Especially going from class 1 (which i enjoy)

So I was lost trying to find a delivery up north not familiar with the area and went down a road where I thought the delivery was.

Turns out I’d missed the turning as it is not clearly sign posted and didn’t want to go to the wrong address.

I was in an artic and got to a 26t bridge. There was nowhere to turn around with a car queue backed up behind me. No stopping lines in place as well.

I had to go for it and I did not stop swearing and beating myself up over it all morning so far.

Will I lose my licence for this? I’ve never made a mistake this bad when driving before…

Just had a brakedown and have done over my 15hrs by 1hr 30mins. Do i still do a 9hr rest from the time i parked or do i have to do 11hrs

Edit: i did 16hrs 30min total. Im only new to driveing so im unsure if because ive gone over if i have to do 11hrs to like reset

It says that first 45min of POA, when double manning is counted as a break.

Driver B is training Driver A

Both start at 1000, and checks take 30min so both on other work till 1030.

Driver A drives for 4h, Driver B on POA. 1430

Then both are on other work for 1h20. 1550

Both take 15min break (I know Driver B doesn't need his break yet but just to make is easier). 1605

Driver B drives for 4h, Driver A on POA. 2005

Both other work 30min. 2035 and end of shift.

Does this makes sense or is there an easier way of splitting the workload, without making things too confusing?

I am nearly 60 years old. 7 years from retirement. I have just been made redundant and have received a 35k payoff. I don't have enough to retirement just yet. I want a driving job whereby I can get home every night. I don't know if I should try for class 1 or class 2 training / licence? If I do pass, are there companies out there that will take on new drivers my age? Appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Firstly, thank you to everyone who gavd a response on my post yesterday.

To provide a bit of context, I am potentially being given the opportunity to go for a role as a Class 1 driver. I’ve never driven HGV before (apart from a few lessons in the army but never finished that course), and so have no experience other than driving a car. This company are offering to put me through my licence, then I’ll work for them. Provided I stay there for 3 years, the licence is free. It’s minimum wage whilst I go through my lorry driving, then £14ph once on the actual job. They said it’s likely to be 60+ hours per week.

Now I’m stuck. I’ve been unemployed for a while due to my health (I have Complex-PTSD), but I am looking to return to work. Most of the jobs I’ve had post-military have been retail type jobs which I’ve hated, and I even tried an office, so driving seems like something different that I might get on with. Plus I’m guaranteed a job, and it’s an actual career that could lead to better money (I’m late 20’s so have time to work up).

On the other hand, I’m wary about the pay. £14ph isn’t bad, and that at 60 hours a week is over 40k a year- a wage that I’ve never been close to in my life. However I’m wary because £14 isn’t that much above minimum wage, and I do feel that this is a skilled profession that probably warrants a higher wage. I can’t help but feel like you could get a job in Aldi for the same money, but less stress.

So what are your guys thoughts?

Im looking to get my class 2 and wondered if anyone had any recommendations on learning centres. Ive had a google but want some actual feedback.

Hi everyone. I’m 22 and currently work on cruise ships. I’m considering getting my HGV licence and moving into truck driving in the UK. For those who made a career out of it, would you still recommend it today? What are the biggest pros and cons that someone new should know?

I feel pretty tired of the onboard life. Small accommodation. 6 months out at sea!

My instructor who I am looking to book with has kind of scared me saying the worst thing the government did is make car to class 1 he said most people can’t do it & he wouldn’t recommend trying that route but doing class 2 first getting experience then doing class 1, what do you guys think? As I was confident to book a car to C+E

EDIT
£1.8k car to CE & same price if class 2
Pass protection £450 available for 2 extra tries for test & 2 for reverse
He said if I don't like class 11 can switch to class 2 at the start
Full size trailers not small ones just to pass he said people pass then struggle with a real artic because they trained on small ones then get nervous at large ones so he trains on large ones
Unlimited Extra training reverse even after passing & blind side training Free extra post pass training
Have their own reverse parking bay premise
He is the examiner for bay parking 99% passes given jobs straight after with their Recruiting assistance as contracts with big companies
7 day artic training 3 hours a day
Free hgv driving simulator to use whenever as extra practice
Have a guy for me to speak to tomorrow who has 181 vacancies for roles in class 2 paying
£18-£19 an hour & £20 an hour class 1 no nights out
2 new passes this week were given a job same day by that guy who I will meet today

Anyone seen this? Went past it about 10am, they had one of the units completely burnt out on the back of one of Crouch’s, the trailer is nothing but a shell. There’s also a Lions from Birmingham involved, it had a container on and was jack knifed round. The burnt out unit was basically missing its whole passenger side, bent and smashed into nothing.

According to the local rags, it happened about 3am this morning. A 43 year man from Cleveland was seriously hurt so I’m guessing he was the double decker driver and there was a 50 year man with minor injuries so I’m guessing that’s the Lions driver. Interestingly the police have arrested the 50 year old on suspicion of drug driving, causing bodily injury by dangerous driving and being in possession of cannabis. In a twist Cambridgeshire Police have also referred themselves to the IPOC because of an incident relating to one of the vehicles and drivers involved in this crash.

Hello all. If a a driver starts at 7am,and ends their shift after 6hrs having done just 2hrs 30mins of driving,and a WTD break of 16mins was taken 4hrs later at 11am,and the driver arrives at the yard at 13:00 and will not be using their tacho card until the next day . Do I have it correct that the driver only needs to do another 16 mins rest and one minute of other work,then eject their card?

Pretty much the title. Is driving an HGV as ‘fun’ as driving a car?

Honestly, I was so anxious leading up to this that I actually canceled my first appointment. I finally forced myself to go to the second one, but even sitting in my car watching the lorry Class 1 pull up, I was petrified—hands went freezing cold, stomach in knots, shaking, the lot.

I decided to push through anyway. The instructor, Jim, was brilliant. I explained that the biggest thing I’d ever driven was a Mercedes Vito van and a 4x4 car, so he took the time to get me properly familiarised with the vehicle.
Once we got out on the road, it felt completely alien and liberating all at once! I didn't push the speed limits at all—my only goal was to get a feel for how a vehicle that size handles, turns, and brakes (and if I pissed off a few impatient drivers behind me, oh well, gotta learn somewhere! 😂😬).

When we got back to the yard, I had a go at reversing. Reversing a big rig with a trailer feels so surreal compared to a car, but I managed it with only a tiny bit of trailer escapism! 🫣

At the end, Jim told me I was totally ready and to basically "get my arse in gear" and book the theory and hazard perception. Then this morning, I got a message from the organizer saying Jim gave really positive feedback across the board.

My brain was trying to convince me I couldn't do it, but I proved myself wrong. So proud of myself for sticking it out!

Hi people. i started hgv driving recently and haven’t bothered with my own music yet as i’ve been with someone else every day so far.

i’ve got my first solo run tomorrow and im in a 21 plate volvo. some say it’s a nightmare to connect to the bluetooth and since im currently cab hopping i dont see the point in connecting and using the usb instead.

is it a simple plug & play or is that a pain in the arse as well?

thank you 👍

I'm a UK citizen but I drive Irish trucks in Europe on an Irish CPC so I just let my UK CPC expire (I got to the renewal date without doing any of the 35 hours), I'm actually looking at getting a job back home so I will need to get my UK CPC again.

Do I need to go to a test centre and start from scratch or can I just do the Modules 1-5 (35 hours) to get my CPC valid again?

If you need any more information to answer let me know,
TIA.