If you’re going to put a target on your back, may as well do it in the national press, publically stating you do 73 hours a week… 
As for the self-driving trucks… yeah right. Might work on the big desert highways in Oz and the US but I doubt any of us are going to get replaced any time soon in the UK
Zac_A:
If you’re going to put a target on your back, may as well do it in the national press, publically stating you do 73 hours a week…
It may be undesirable but it’s not illegal (3 x 15 + 3 x 13 = 84).
The negative view of our industry and the short time it’s supposed to have left 
via the mainstream media is good for those of us already in it, reasons don’t need stating, lets have more of it.
I’m not so sure about the doesn’t affect you physically, maybe it’s ok when your younger it doesn’t , but how many older drivers are there with knackered knees , can hardly walk etc etc
Johnny 5 can have my job gladly
Harry Monk:
Zac_A:
If you’re going to put a target on your back, may as well do it in the national press, publically stating you do 73 hours a week…It may be undesirable but it’s not illegal (3 x 15 + 3 x 13 = 84).
60 hours max, WTD. Even if he had a whole load of POA etc he’s still attracting the wrong kind of attention with a comment like that.
What a tool.
Wearing hi-viz in cab.
States “it’s good money”. Yeah that really helps, cheers buddy! 
Also see they managed to shoehorn in the mythical driver shortage excuse as well.
Tesla can’t even get their cars to go more than a week before crashing in a ball of fire or mowing some grannies down and they’ve been at it for donkeys years. Self-driving trucks replacing real drivers isn’t happening in my lifetime. First they’ll need to get them to work 100% reliability in a closed environment like an RDC, shunting trailers on and off bays for example. Until they master that with a 100% reliability record they ain’t going out on the public roads with a near-infinite amount of unknownws to deal with. If they can reverse a standard tandem axle trailer with long overhang on a bay at TNT Leeds with a 6x2 unit and not hit either the yellow barrier or the trailer either side then I’ll be impressed and maybe start worrying about my job, but until then business as usual.
Zac_A:
Harry Monk:
Zac_A:
If you’re going to put a target on your back, may as well do it in the national press, publically stating you do 73 hours a week…It may be undesirable but it’s not illegal (3 x 15 + 3 x 13 = 84).
60 hours max, WTD. Even if he had a whole load of POA etc he’s still attracting the wrong kind of attention with a comment like that.
60hrs which does not include breaks or POA. I’m guessing you’re quite new to the job because if you weren’t and had done things like fridges, containers, pallet network night trunks and RDC deliveries you’d know it’s perfectly possible to max out your hours legally without exceeding even the 48hr weekly working limit.
For example when I was doing a pallet network night trunk I’d have 30 minutes start of duty, 2.5hrs drive, 30 minutes work at hub, 6 hrs laid on my bunk inspecting the back of my eyeballs, another 30 minutes work, 2.5hrs drive, 15 minute end of shift. 12.75hrs at work, only 6.75hrs of that counting as work under the WTD directive.
Conor:
Zac_A:
Harry Monk:
Zac_A:
If you’re going to put a target on your back, may as well do it in the national press, publically stating you do 73 hours a week…It may be undesirable but it’s not illegal (3 x 15 + 3 x 13 = 84).
60 hours max, WTD. Even if he had a whole load of POA etc he’s still attracting the wrong kind of attention with a comment like that.
60hrs which does not include breaks or POA. I’m guessing you’re quite new to the job because if you weren’t and had done things like fridges, containers, pallet network night trunks and RDC deliveries you’d know it’s perfectly possible to max out your hours legally without exceeding even the 48hr weekly working limit.
For example when I was doing a pallet network night trunk I’d have 30 minutes start of duty, 2.5hrs drive, 30 minutes work at hub, 6 hrs laid on my bunk inspecting the back of my eyeballs, another 30 minutes work, 2.5hrs drive, 15 minute end of shift. 12.75hrs at work, only 6.75hrs of that counting as work under the WTD directive.
Was going to say similar. I probably average about 12hrs duty length over the week but I’ll amost guarantee about a third of that is time spent on POA or break…
Edit… in fact quick check on the app shows my WTD average over 26 weeks is 36hrs so… result.
You can legally be on duty for an absolute maximum of 90 hours over 6 shifts, 6 X 15 shifts, with 9 hours breaks and as long as 3 of those shifts have an unbroken 3 hour break, with the last 9 hour break taking you within the 144 hours you have to get your shifts in from start to finish.
Can’t imagine anyone doing this, but then some may do.
DCPCFML:
What a tool.Wearing hi-viz in cab.
States “it’s good money”. Yeah that really helps, cheers buddy!
.
Yep.golden opportunity to raise awareness and put on a national news site some of the downsides of the job poor money, clamping and parking to name 3…but wasted.
Reminds me a couple of years ago interviewing a driver on the radio about difficulties in the job…what did he come back with?
Pot holes…■■■■ pot holes ffs. 
Conor:
Zac_A:
Harry Monk:
Zac_A:
If you’re going to put a target on your back, may as well do it in the national press, publically stating you do 73 hours a week…It may be undesirable but it’s not illegal (3 x 15 + 3 x 13 = 84).
60 hours max, WTD. Even if he had a whole load of POA etc he’s still attracting the wrong kind of attention with a comment like that.
60hrs which does not include breaks or POA. I’m guessing you’re quite new to the job
Seriously? I’ve posted enough on here for you to have seen I’ve been in the industry for quite some time. And as my reply to Harry clearly shows, yes I do already know that WTD excludes POA etc. I’ve noticed previously some of your replies to other posts can be quite contentious.
Zac_A:
I’ve noticed previously some of your replies to other posts can be quite contentious.
By contentious you mean I don’t put up with people posting complete and utter bollox like it being a 60hr max week.
Was it really necessary to say maximum 60 hours WORKING time in a week?
I think the meaning should be clear enough to any normal driver even if that one word is omitted.
The article is misleading it states a human driver would take 5 days to drive from LA to New York but the Autonomous truck will take 48 hours it then goes on to say the autonomous trucks will still need human intervention so unless the Driver is going to do a straight 48 hour shift with no brakes it would still take 5 days so where exactly is the financial savings…
Here’s the thing I don’t get with projected autonomous trucks: they say it’s going to be with a driver acting as backup (co-pilot) to the AT taking over if/when things go south; which i think is pure BS - who in their right mind is going to just SIT there and watch a truck drive itself?? I’m certain the co-driver won’t be allowed to nap/watch TV in fact they would have to be 100% on point and ready to take over/perform emergency maneuver/ stop etc. so might as well DRIVE the f8cken truck myself then instead of just watching it doddle along at 42mph or whatever the ‘‘safe’’ speed is going to be for auto vehicles. We’re probably still going to need breaks etc. so what’s the point? It’s all a white wash I tells ya, to cover up the huge job loss coming and cook the frog the slow way 
^^^ ETS spot on.
They need the ‘driver’ there to take the blame when error 404 pops up and a 40 ton wagon decides to drive up a tree with a car or two attached to the front bumper as a handy crumple zone.
Anyway, there you are mr machine minder vegetating along nicely when all of a sudden the alarm bells go off, or maybe they don’t go off but from your semi comatose stupor you realise all of a sudden its gorn pear shaped, trouble is you’ve been relaxing and not following precisely what’s happening in the surrounding traffic but you’re expected to make the right decision in a split second whether to brake swerve left right or a combonation of several avoidances.
As you rightly say, might as well drive the bloody thing, more likely to make the right choice to save the day and the human brain might well have seen the situation develop before some half programmed bloody computer chip that’s seen three salty winters already
Lots of us have got these new fancy all round cameras cos London innit, know anyone who works for an outfit that has them you ask how many are working properly after being installed a matter of weeks or months, i’ll tell you how many are working correctly without at least one or several intermittent if not established faults, not bloody many.
A self driving vehicle will be festooned with dozens of these bloody things, and not just for viewing in the unlkely event, they’ll be the eyes and ears together with dozens of sensors and radar type systems all supposed to be working together perfectly every second via the good Lord knows how many computers…see where i’m going here, the basic all round cameras can’t work for 3 months reliably what hope when the number have increased by N squared, this self driving lorry ■■■■■■■■■ on British roads isn’t going to happen, yes we know they’re investing £billions but those enjoying cushy jobs inventing testing and trialling this ■■■■■■■■ arn’t going to look such a generous gift horse in the mouth then shrug and go find a real job instead, if it was me i’d be thinking…well if they’re daft enough to throw good money about like this why not enjoy the easy life playing with big boys toys for the rest of your working life, just wish i’d got in on it 
Taking one of the most challenging manoeuvres on our roads as an example, keeping a vehicle within its lane on a motorway, the lane departure system on a 2015 MB will flag false warnings (e.g. in roadworks) so an autonomous vehicle using that would plough on in the wrong lane. Six years on and the latest model still has that same level of unreliability.
Maybe in another six years they’ll have sorted it. Then the rest will be easy.
This tool was contacted about the article and this tool also spoke for a good 40 mins answering questions that were asked. The article has only used snippets of what was said.
73 hours is a good week personally. To the other guy who (Zac) who said He’d be putting a target on his back, yeah too right. A target for someone who wants a hard working driver. Monday 14,
Tuesday 14,
Wednesday 13,
Thursday 14,
Friday 13,
Saturday morning 5
73 hours and about 50hrs WTD
Back to the tool with the high Viz, that picture was taken over a year ago a the Mercedes Benz Edition 1 launch event in Wentworth sitting in an 8 wheel tipper that had just been driven round an obstacle course and as for the good money, it seems you mustn’t be on good money then. ■■■■■ to be you
Have a good Sunday all
[/u]
DCPCFML:
What a tool.Wearing hi-viz in cab.
States “it’s good money”. Yeah that really helps, cheers buddy!
Also see they managed to shoehorn in the mythical driver shortage excuse as well.
Tesla can’t even get their cars to go more than a week before crashing in a ball of fire or mowing some grannies down and they’ve been at it for donkeys years. Self-driving trucks replacing real drivers isn’t happening in my lifetime. First they’ll need to get them to work 100% reliability in a closed environment like an RDC, shunting trailers on and off bays for example. Until they master that with a 100% reliability record they ain’t going out on the public roads with a near-infinite amount of unknownws to deal with. If they can reverse a standard tandem axle trailer with long overhang on a bay at TNT Leeds with a 6x2 unit and not hit either the yellow barrier or the trailer either side then I’ll be impressed and maybe start worrying about my job, but until then business as usual.
Cuddysplatter85:
73 hours is a good week personally. To the other guy who (Zac) who said He’d be putting a target on his back, yeah too right. A target for someone who wants a hard working driver. Monday 14,
Tuesday 14,
Wednesday 13,
Thursday 14,
Friday 13,
Saturday morning 5
73 hours and about 50hrs WTD
And people wonder why the younger generation aren’t attracted to truck driving as “a career” Work to live, not live to work.