I am posting on behalf of my brother who is a qualified class 1 lorry driver. He has struggled to find employment as a HGV driver due to him being disabled. He suffers from hemiplegic migraines which are triggered by using digital screens such as computers, mobile phones and PDAs.
He currently works as a taxi driver earning about £180 per week. He has been considering setting up as a HGV owner driver to avoid his disability becoming an issue in the workplace. He has a budget of £30,000 to get him started off as an owner driver.
He is just wanting to ask whether his disability is likely to be a barrier to being an owner driver (would he have to use digital screens or get around using them by employing the services of someone). He also wants to know what the market is like for owner drivers in the North East.
He would be happy as long as he can earn any more than he is earning at the moment. He has spoken to the local DAF and Mercedes Benz dealers and would be able to secure financing for a vehicle.
I’d recommend using the search function and looking at the copious amounts of previous threads on becoming an owner driver.
It’s an insane amount of effort and responsibility for any person, irregardless of any disability, and I doubt many people would recommend it in this particular instance, I know I certainly would not.
Of course the dealers will come up with a deal. They get their money with no risk,the owner operator gets a bucket full of liability.
So can we presume the driver has notified DVLA and they have agreed that he can drive LGVs?
A quick check in the condition suggests a episode could stop driving gor some time, just remember, the finance won’t care.
Forget any disability.
Starting as an owner driver, and investing serious money in such, without any experience of the industry, is at best very risky.
It’s a gamble for anyone to start, but a much bigger one for a novice.
My brother has been okayed by DVLA to drive but initially they did revoke his licence, it is thanks to his neurologist that he got his licence back.
It’s good you are giving honest feedback as I don’t know the industry so can’t advise him. I’d prefer him to make an informed decision rather than waste £30+k.
If your brother has a dream then he should go for it, who are we to judge. However he should go into this with his eyes wide open. You’ve received some excellent advice as to the pitfalls facing even experienced operators, being disabled or not makes no difference, it’s a bloody hard way to make a living.
Personally if I had 30 odd k lying around I’d be looking at a deposit on a buy to let mortgage and then sit back and let the money work for me.
And I would be more inclined to lease rather than buy as a newbie, because if it goes ■■■■ up, you give the vehicle back. And maybe look at other ways rather than main dealers if you go down this route, although I could tell you who to avoid, but not on here.
Other than a discussion about the finances of obtaining a vehicle I’m not seeing any suggestion of understanding what is involved in becoming an Owner-driver.
Fairly obviously he’s not a qualified TM and therefore probably has little idea of what the law requires.
Who’s going to help him applying for the O-licence?
Who will be the TM? (need to know who that person is before applying for the O -licence) How much has he budgeted to pay the TM?
Has anyone explained the thirteen undertaking required to obtain an O-licence? particularly the Financial Standing…
£8000 of that £30,000 will need to sit in the bank untouched for FS requirements
Where will the Operating Centre be and how much will that cost?
Who will be the Maintenance Provider and how much will that cost?
And very obviously, where will the work come from?
Quinny:
And I would be more inclined to lease rather than buy as a newbie, because if it goes ■■■■ up, you give the vehicle back.
Ken.
Why do people not understand the financial liabilities of leasing?
The contract could say something like you are welcome to return the vehicle at anytime so long as you pay all the remaining payments expected for the life of the lease in a lump sum.
Zac_A:
4) £8000 of that £30,000 will need to sit in the bank untouched for FS requirement.
No it won’t. The SeniorTraffic Commisioner is quite clear that some (or even all) of that £8k can be an available overdraft or an unused credit limit on a credit card. You don’t need to maintain an £8000 bank balance.
Zac_A:
Other than a discussion about the finances of obtaining a vehicle I’m not seeing any suggestion of understanding what is involved in becoming an Owner-driver.
Fairly obviously he’s not a qualified TM and therefore probably has little idea of what the law requires.
Who’s going to help him applying for the O-licence?
Who will be the TM? (need to know who that person is before applying for the O -licence) How much has he budgeted to pay the TM?
Has anyone explained the thirteen undertaking required to obtain an O-licence? particularly the Financial Standing…
£8000 of that £30,000 will need to sit in the bank untouched for FS requirements
Where will the Operating Centre be and how much will that cost?
Who will be the Maintenance Provider and how much will that cost?
And very obviously, where will the work come from?
And that’s just scratching the surface.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t pick a pompous arse of a TM like you!
My brother has phoned the companies which offer transport manager services and has been quoted monthly rates of between £350 and £500.
I’ve explained to him the feedback you have given and he’s weighing up his options as some new things have come up. He has been offered a promotion at work to become a coach driver earning £330 per week for 20 hour contract. He has the opportunity to buy into a local taxi operator who has some quite lucrative contracts. He has also been speaking to a local haulier who has suggested starting like he did by buying a 3.5 tonne van and building a reputation first and hopefully then expand as business grows. He also would have less of the red tape to jump through to get started.
Disabled is a confusing word, I know a motorcycle racer who is paralysed, a rally driver with one arm, a driving instructor who is a double amputee, they have all jumped through hoops to keep doing what they know and love.
Driving an eight wheeler on aggregates / muckaway or with a Hiab grab should be within his grasp, forget the Transport Manager, employ your own lumper / driver and work the truck longer / harder,
Port to Rail container traffic may be possible but there may be some flashing touch screen operations.
I have had a disability all my life, but managed to choose the jobs I could manage.
Zac_A:
4) £8000 of that £30,000 will need to sit in the bank untouched for FS requirement.
No it won’t. The SeniorTraffic Commisioner is quite clear that some (or even all) of that £8k can be an available overdraft or an unused credit limit on a credit card. You don’t need to maintain an £8000 bank balance.
OP stated his relative has £30,000 budget to get him started; “budget” to me means all the financial resources available and would include any available balances on a pre-authorised overdraft or a company credit card.
idrive:
Let’s just hope he doesn’t pick a pompous arse of a TM like you!
Every thing I’ve listed is a fundamental consideration for anyone even considering becoming an owner driver and the very least any qualified person should do is be clear up front as what is required. Telling someone to “go for it” without being clear what is involved isn’t doing them any favours at all.
If you think that clearly stating just a few of the serious legal obligations is “pompous”, that says more about you than it does about me. Keeping clients out of trouble with the TC is a serious business, and I take my responsibilities seriously.
Zac_A:
4) £8000 of that £30,000 will need to sit in the bank untouched for FS requirement.
No it won’t. The SeniorTraffic Commisioner is quite clear that some (or even all) of that £8k can be an available overdraft or an unused credit limit on a credit card. You don’t need to maintain an £8000 bank balance.
OP stated his relative has £30,000 budget to get him started; “budget” to me means all the financial resources available and would include any available balances on a pre-authorised overdraft or a company credit card.
But you wrote - quite clearly - that £8k has to sit in the bank untouched. That’s simply not true.
My brother has phoned the companies which offer transport manager services and has been quoted monthly rates of between £350 and £500.
I’ve explained to him the feedback you have given and he’s weighing up his options as some new things have come up. He has been offered a promotion at work to become a coach driver earning £330 per week for 20 hour contract. He has the opportunity to buy into a local taxi operator who has some quite lucrative contracts. He has also been speaking to a local haulier who has suggested starting like he did by buying a 3.5 tonne van and building a reputation first and hopefully then expand as business grows. He also would have less of the red tape to jump through to get started.
Thanks again for your help.
I started with a van as well before adding trucks to the mix, so it’s not a bad idea.