Thanks for the great response all and some really great points. We’re not aligned to any trucking company and this isn’t a series on a trucking company - we just want to get across the realities of working at night and trucking is just one episode in the series. We’re also speaking with airports, emergency services, security teams, etc. to form the other episodes - it’s broadly about night / early morning work.
Benjie83 - we’re planning a series focused on night workers / early morning workers, in which one of the episodes will be focused on the truckers. Of course, we want to discuss the realities of being a trucker, which would include the difficulties placed on you for your job, all within the context of night / early morning work. To really get across the complexities of the work and the sacrifices made, showing the lengthy hours, sleeping on the road, being away from family / friends, etc. is something we would hope to factor in, should the story come across.
ROG - we are online only now but don’t worry, it’s all good! The engagement in terms of audiences has been very promising, and some of our content is also put forward on to the other BBC channels, which is great for maintaining our presence across all platforms.
3 wheeler & the nodding donkey - thanks for those suggestions! I will certainly try to get in touch with them.
Please feel free to call or email me on the phone numbers in my initial post if you want to find out more or are interested in taking part.
I’ve always thought an episode following a parcel from somewhere in Cornwall to say Wick would be interesting and a big eye-opener for for lot of folk who take ‘next day delivery’ for granted. Most of that travel is journey is overnight especially if it’s a ■■■■■■■ ‘timed’ delivery and covers a whole range of night workers.
It’s just a regular thought that arrives unannounced as I’m pallet trucking the last pallet off a decker in the small hours and hoping to hell they don’t want to load me up with empty cages to take back.
The sheer variety of stuff that will be on the same trailer can be quite staggering, from a rusty old second hand land rover axle to sensitive scientific equipment sitting on neighbouring pallets as well as the usual cases of wine, printer paper, dental supplies …
If you factor in not having a few beers after work (9 hours off) being in bed before your kids, only conversation with the wife is about what you’re having for tea, creeping about in the morning so as not to wake the house, sitting at red lights at 4:30 in the morning waiting for ghost traffic to pass, checking your vehicle is road worthy in the dark and finally getting some peace and solitude before the world wakes up to ■■■■■ up your day… then I wouldn’t change it for the world
I hope that they show some of the night workers who really like the shifts. It’s a different world when the traffic is manageable and the bosses are in bed. Driving across the Yorkshire Dales at Sunrise, dodging the dopey rabbits on the road; cruising round the 25 when the first jets are just taking off from Heathrow and all the commuters are still scoffing cornflakes; meeting a different class of people at the deliveries because nightworkers seem to have some kind of fellow feeling which is totally lacking on days.
Slipping between the warm sheets next to your sleepy wife; tiptoeing out of the house on a clear Spring morning with the birds kicking up a shindig in the bushes and coasting the car down the road so as not to wake the neighbours.
There are downsides of course but if you have the right mindset, nights can be a lot better than days.
AdnanBBC:
We are hoping to begin filming in the next two weeks and be stationed at a truck stop in the West Midlands.
Hi Adnan.
Its all well and good stationing yourself at a truckstop in the West Midlands but the vast majority of us working those hours are doing night trunking runs and do not either have the ability to stop into there because our employers do not allow us to go off route or we don’t have the time to.
If you want to cover truck drivers doing nights you’re going to have to come to where we work. The good news for you is that most of the pallet and parcel networks who form the majority of trucks on the road during the night have their national hubs in the West Midlands. DPD, UK Mail, TPN Pallet Network and others have dozens of drivers parked up in their hubs for hours on a night time with plenty of time to have a chat. I’m certainly sure a company like DPD would be open to you doing interviews with their drivers on their site.
i hope the BBC will use this to highlight the stoooopidity of london , and other cities , night time hgv bans .
could film someone sitting in services , twiddling thumbs , then just as rush hour starts its all go to sit in grid lock .
also as this is BBC3 , the young and trendies channel , please dont use smelly fat ignorant ■■■■■■■■ . truckers have an image problem as it is , please dont reinforce stereotype by using most of plonkers on here .
but , if you need a cute , fit , metrosexual , 50+ MTBer make sure you book Fearne Cotton as my co presenter .
Hi as a younger driver (22) I would like too see on a project like this opinions and younger drivers included as i beleve this would also encourage more younger drivers into this as a career as i always here the doom and gloom of some of the older genration saying i dont know why young people want to do the job as not as good as it used to be blah blah blah which puts a downer on the job but i personally love the job and wouldnt do anything else. I think one person who would be good to follow and interview would be luke vernon/switchlogic i spent ages watching all his video last year before i passed my class 1/2 and learnt alot and found them really educating and intresting. I look forward to watching this when it is broadcasted good luck
Yatsay93:
Hi as a younger driver (22) I would like too see on a project like this opinions and younger drivers included as i beleve this would also encourage more younger drivers into this as a career as i always here the doom and gloom of some of the older genration saying i dont know why young people want to do the job as not as good as it used to be blah blah blah which puts a downer on the job but i personally love the job and wouldnt do anything else. I think one person who would be good to follow and interview would be luke vernon/switchlogic i spent ages watching all his video last year before i passed my class 1/2 and learnt alot and found them really educating and intresting. I look forward to watching this when it is broadcasted good luck
Motorway services midnight trailer swap !!! oh sure full of interest
Benjie83:
I’ve a suggestion, how about instead of just focusing on one evening in this Industry why not actually do a sort of series like they did for the Bin men…
You have the opportunity to show your appreciation for this Industry by showing the public and powers that be EXACTLY what is right/wrong about it, the stress’s on drivers, bosses’, the conditions…
instead of just showing a snap shot which lbh not many are really going to acknowledge once its 60mins are up.
You want to make a program to show the unsung hero’s, well I for one would find it far more interesting to really know what this particular industry is really about, rather than just another toss job of an effort such as the Stobart series.
Anyway best of luck with it, cant see too many drivers watching it as BBC3 s now online and I cant see the broadband signal being that great on the Hard shoulder of the 25 @3am…
My name’s Adnan, I’m writing to you from BBC Three. We are filming a very exciting new documentary series that focuses on the unsung heroes whose work extends into the hours between midnight and 6am. This would be part of a host of incredible programmes that we are planning to broadcast in Spring, speaking to various contributors who carry out services in these hours.
The dedication of the truckers and the staff at this time is nothing short of admirable, and we want to reflect this in the series. Having recently spoken with various truckers, we feel we can tell an incredibly engaging story regarding the world of night and early morning work in the trucking community.
Wouldn’t it be a better idea to do this on the radio, given that we can’t watch TV when we’re driving?
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