How Did We Do The Job Back In The Day...?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT
21

Wherever I went to load, and hadn’t load that particular product before, it was a case of ask, listen, and learn …either from the staff, the forklift driver, or other drivers…no shame in asking, and you’re certainly never too old to learn…

We use to load out of Vinatex (sp) in Havant, bags of plastic come rubber granules, if you dropped one off the bed of the trailer it would bounce back and smack you behind the ear, it was that bouncey and a pig to rope and sheet…First time there I asked one of their drivers the best way to load it, full load of pallets on the deck, then split the remaining pallets as spreaders across the centre top, rope every hook with a double dolly, a lot if work, but necessary, never lost or had a load shift, neither did my night trunker…

So in pulls Jack- the -lad with a 40’ trailer, shinny new ERF, and attitude. The forklift had loaded the bed, and the driver wanted the remaing six pallets on top over the rear trailer wheels, I wandered over asked him if it was his first time loading there, which it was, and suggested to him the best way to do it, didnt quite expect the response I got, a foul mouth tirade of expletives as to what I could do with my advice, and how dare I, a young upstart, tell him, an experienced lorry driver, how to load a wagon

I went and got a cup of tea…I was next up for loading, i roped and sheeted, and headed back to the yard.
Third roundabout, theres matey, his load all over the nearside, most of it on the pavement, with ropes, sheets, pallets and bags everywhere, he’d lost the lot…nightmare !

Now normally, (in those days) you’d stop and help a fellow driver…however…

No training, and no certificate can make up for common sense, and listening to those who’ve been there and done it…advice is freely given, but can be costly if ignored.

22

Fergie47:
Wherever I went to load, and hadn’t load that particular product before, it was a case of ask, listen, and learn …either from the staff, the forklift driver, or other drivers…no shame in asking, and you’re certainly never too old to learn…

We use to load out of Vinatex (sp) in Havant, bags of plastic come rubber granules, if you dropped one off the bed of the trailer it would bounce back and smack you behind the ear, it was that bouncey and a pig to rope and sheet…First time there I asked one of their drivers the best way to load it, full load of pallets on the deck, then split the remaining pallets as spreaders across the centre top, rope every hook with a double dolly, a lot if work, but necessary, never lost or had a load shift, neither did my night trunker…

So in pulls Jack- the -lad with a 40’ trailer, shinny new ERF, and attitude. The forklift had loaded the bed, and the driver wanted the remaing six pallets on top over the rear trailer wheels, I wandered over asked him if it was his first time loading there, which it was, and suggested to him the best way to do it, didnt quite expect the response I got, a foul mouth tirade of expletives as to what I could do with my advice, and how dare I, a young upstart, tell him, an experienced lorry driver, how to load a wagon

I went and got a cup of tea…I was next up for loading, i roped and sheeted, and headed back to the yard.
Third roundabout, theres matey, his load all over the nearside, most of it on the pavement, with ropes, sheets, pallets and bags everywhere, he’d lost the lot…nightmare !

Now normally, (in those days) you’d stop and help a fellow driver…however…

No training, and no certificate can make up for common sense, and listening to those who’ve been there and done it…advice is freely given, but can be costly if ignored.

Spot on Fergie!
Ask and listen and use common sense, that’s about the only things you need.

And about those “newbies” with a attitude…seems to be quite common these day’s…
As long as they can behave as normal people, I’ll always try to help one out the best I can…if they immediately start with an “air” of seen it all, done it all…well good luck to ya mate…

Cheers, Patrick

23

Hiya…just show your CPC your a trained driver…maybe the driver said to much…just chain and go…
if anyone ever asked me id done things a million times…
John

24

There are few things that do but when I read things like this I am so, so happy that I am retired, forgotten, useless and past it. It is a ■■■■ good job that I am not still doing the job because by now I would have brained somebody with a tyre bar and would be doing time.

Bewick speaks of the ISO 9000 rubbish. I too was blackmailed into getting this certificate which supposedly examined the Company and guarenteed it for ‘quality’. During the second day of the extensive ‘Audit’ we had checked every form of piece of paper we produced and followed them to their logical conclusion as invoice, return note, order, delivery note, etc. etc. And I asked the Auditor when he would want to check our workshop and the work therein (we serviced supplied and renewed Life Saving equipment for ships so it was nothing casual). Imagine my surprise when the august person - previously an inspector at Sellafield - told me that he could not care less what we did in the workshopk, he only cared about the ISO Manual and the traceability of our paperwork. It was then that I realied that all this sh*t was a pure, pointless moneymaking operation

So good luck lads and I am not expecting to see any examples of professionalism, experience or, especially, common sense.

David

25

What we had in them days was buckets and buckets of plain old common sense…

26

Retired Old ■■■■:

coiler:
Wasn’t Caberboard at Irvine was it? They used to do the laminated chipboard that was as slippery as the loads of steel I used to take up to Irvine before loading the chipboard back.

That comment reminds me of the “Oiled & Pickled” steel we used to carry. Dozens of straps, ropes, old sheets and hessian bags were employed to stop the ■■■■ stuff moving.

We still carry pickled and oiled steel. And it still slides everywhere if you let it.

27

Iv’e been driving lorries for over forty years with manual gearboxes up to 13 speeds, iv’e never been ‘trained’ on a manual just told to drive it. I just work weekends now filling in when drivers are off so i drive a different one each weekend. All of the 100 tractors we have are manual except for 2 auto’s and they gave me one to drive a month ago. i thought this is cool and loaded up my night out stuff then drove it over to the ready line to go in the office. The shop manger saw me and asked if i’d driven an auto before and i said just my car, you put it in D then off you go !

No he said, you have to watch the video, i asked what video and he said the video that shows you how to drive an auto. I said your not serious and he replied yes i am, you cannot drive that truck without seeing the video ! So there i sat getting paid to watch a training film showing me how to twist a little switch from N to D ha ha.

28

My son turns 50 next month and his hgv ( or whatever they call it now )license expires then . He announced today that no way is he renewing it , he’s had enough of all the bullcrap and idiocy that surrounds the job . I can’t say that i blame him and as he so sweetly put it " I don’t want to end up like you " . It just goes to show , he’s been in the job 28 years and can cope with any load , where’s the replacements for men like him coming from ? Dave

29

Before I started driving a lorry, I worked in the Labs at Glaxo in Ulverston. As everywhere, there were good people and wa****s. Oxbridge types to Secondary Modern types. One of the Oxbridge men was Steve Goulden. I don’t know if he’s still alive, but he was one of the ‘Chosen Few’, many of whom are in Parliament now and think that the plebs should stay silent and do as they are they are told.

Steve was in his early twenties. He wasn’t from the north, but immediately loved the Lake District and became a ‘Guardian of the Lake District’ or whatever it was called in the late sixties.

One Sunday, he and another guy who worked in our lab, and told us the story, motored up alongside Coniston Lake. The other guy was also a Cambridge graduate, but a good deal less up himself!

He said that as they went out of Coniston towards Hawkshead, at the edge of the lake, was parked, illegally, a very old car. It was so old it had front doors that swung backwards, the driver’s door was open 180 degrees and In the car was an old couple, enjoying the sunshine and the view, drinking tea from a flask.

Steve spluttered ‘Good God, look at that!, they shouldn’t be there!’ And pulled to a halt. 'Excuse me, how long have you been here? ’ he asked in his plum accent.

‘Eighty four years’ Was the reply, ‘How about you?’

Mr Goulden retreated to his car and drove off without another word.

It’s not about trucks, but I think it illustrates how people who have possibly good intentions, but minimal experience, sometimes try to tell others, who really know what they’re doing, what they should and shouldn’t do!

30

rigsby:
My son turns 50 next month and his hgv ( or whatever they call it now )license expires then . He announced today that no way is he renewing it , he’s had enough of all the bullcrap and idiocy that surrounds the job . I can’t say that i blame him and as he so sweetly put it " I don’t want to end up like you " . It just goes to show , he’s been in the job 28 years and can cope with any load , where’s the replacements for men like him coming from ? Dave

The Eastern Bloc ?

31

At least two good things seem to have come out of this story.

  1. you won’t have to worry about being bothered by that bunch of ■■■■■■■■■ again.

  2. their precious engine didn’t get there on time, which is a real bonus.

32

remy:
Iv’e been driving lorries for over forty years with manual gearboxes up to 13 speeds, iv’e never been ‘trained’ on a manual just told to drive it. I just work weekends now filling in when drivers are off so i drive a different one each weekend. All of the 100 tractors we have are manual except for 2 auto’s and they gave me one to drive a month ago. i thought this is cool and loaded up my night out stuff then drove it over to the ready line to go in the office. The shop manger saw me and asked if i’d driven an auto before and i said just my car, you put it in D then off you go !

No he said, you have to watch the video, i asked what video and he said the video that shows you how to drive an auto. I said your not serious and he replied yes i am, you cannot drive that truck without seeing the video ! So there i sat getting paid to watch a training film showing me how to twist a little switch from N to D ha ha.

I bet the video didn`t explain how to control the ■■■■■■ thing when trying to reverse in a tight spot uphill onto a loading bay , no doubt I will get a reaction for that remark :wink:

33

They’re already here. The traditional skills that folks of our generation relied on to do the job in a safe, efficient way are no longer needed. Apart from the few specialist jobs that are left- abnormals, machinery, etc.- anyone who can pass a test can, after an hour or two’s training, jump in a modern, comfortable lorry and drag a curtainsider up and down the motorways without even knowing how to change gear. Power, brakes and reliability have all improved to a degree that doesn’t need a skilled driver to do the job.

34

ROF since the demise of “in house training” and “on the job learning” its all gone to pot. The introduction of training schools to pass the test and call ones self a driver was and is only a cash cow to earn money from drivers. No pride left in the job now.

35

I am now retired from work as an HGV1 driver after more years than I care to remember.
I retired to a small bungalow [after 40yrs of sleeping in a HGV suited me better than a Big house]’ To save space in said bungalow the central heating boiler has been installed in the loft space. Recently had problem with heat exchange unit so a heating engineer called to make repair… I was informed by the engineer that he would be unable to execute the repair as the boiler was in the loft and he hadn’t been “ladder trained” !! I thought I hadn’t been trained to strip tilts but just has to do it!!

36

All the comments confirm that we are sinking under the weight of all the idiocy and red tape associated with the job these days…but when its suits purpose rules can be ignored by those supposedly enforcing them, and the following example is the reason why I didn’t renew my HGV Licence a few years ago when it was due for renewal.

One morning when we were running a few grain tippers one of a driver’s young daughter was knocked down by a car on her way to school. Fortunately she wasn’t badly hurt but obviously this driver needed to get home quickly. He was loaded with oil seed ■■■■ for Cargill at Brocklebank Dock in Liverpool, so I went to tip the load. Now Cargill is one of the richest and biggest agri-trading companies in the world, a truly massive business. So I arrived at Liverpool and only one weighbridge working, so tippers queuing outside all along the road. “Been like this for days mate” another driver told me. Twenty minute wait to weigh in. Weighbridge man says “report to the lab, the probe isn’t working”. So I did as instructed, reported to the lab and was given a container to fill with my sample. The lab technician said “roll your sheet back, climb up your trailer and get the sample manually”. OK thinks I, no problem with that I can still do it, but last time I came here anyone climbing up a trailer was instantly banned from site. Health and Safety eh? Gone out of the window when it suits them. So, got my sample, tipped the OSR and another twenty minute wait to weight out. Thinking to myself, a company as wealthy as this and (a) they can’t repair the weighbridge, and (b) they can’t repair the sampling probe. To cap it all as I was driving back to base on the M62 I was minding my own business in the first lane and down a slip road comes a fancy Scania with a low loader plant trailer behind it, all bells whistles and extra lights, and the driver pulls straight onto the motorway across into the middle lane causing me and the truck alongside me to slam our brakes on. That was the moment, after all that had gone on at Cargill’s,that I decided I was done with driving trucks

37

Big Leggy:
I am now retired from work as an HGV1 driver after more years than I care to remember.
I retired to a small bungalow [after 40yrs of sleeping in a HGV suited me better than a Big house]’ To save space in said bungalow the central heating boiler has been installed in the loft space. Recently had problem with heat exchange unit so a heating engineer called to make repair… I was informed by the engineer that he would be unable to execute the repair as the boiler was in the loft and he hadn’t been “ladder trained” !! I thought I hadn’t been trained to strip tilts but just has to do it!!

This reminded me of a story a mate told me a couple of years ago.

My mate is a very highly qualified communications technician. He installs and maintains satellite kit for that industry. Well his old Mum is getting on in years and had recently moved in to a new little bungalow. So he decided to get Sky TV installed for her. Being a good son he arranged for their installer to come and was present when the bloke came so Mum would not be bothered.

My mate told me he had identified the perfect place for the dish. The installer agreed. It was to be placed 2 metres up on one of the walls. But before it could be installed my mate had to sign a consent form allowing the Sky technician to drill a hole in the wall to install a hook to which he would attach his safety harness that would ensure his safety whilst he worked at the giddy height of 1m75 up a stepladder…

What has happened to society in the great country our ancestors bequeathed us?

38

gingerfold:
All the comments confirm that we are sinking under the weight of all the idiocy and red tape associated with the job these days…but when its suits purpose rules can be ignored by those supposedly enforcing them, and the following example is the reason why I didn’t renew my HGV Licence a few years ago when it was due for renewal.

One morning when we were running a few grain tippers one of a driver’s young daughter was knocked down by a car on her way to school. Fortunately she wasn’t badly hurt but obviously this driver needed to get home quickly. He was loaded with oil seed ■■■■ for Cargill at Brocklebank Dock in Liverpool, so I went to tip the load. Now Cargill is one of the richest and biggest agri-trading companies in the world, a truly massive business. So I arrived at Liverpool and only one weighbridge working, so tippers queuing outside all along the road. “Been like this for days mate” another driver told me. Twenty minute wait to weigh in. Weighbridge man says “report to the lab, the probe isn’t working”. So I did as instructed, reported to the lab and was given a container to fill with my sample. The lab technician said “roll your sheet back, climb up your trailer and get the sample manually”. OK thinks I, no problem with that I can still do it, but last time I came here anyone climbing up a trailer was instantly banned from site. Health and Safety eh? Gone out of the window when it suits them. So, got my sample, tipped the OSR and another twenty minute wait to weight out. Thinking to myself, a company as wealthy as this and (a) they can’t repair the weighbridge, and (b) they can’t repair the sampling probe. To cap it all as I was driving back to base on the M62 I was minding my own business in the first lane and down a slip road comes a fancy Scania with a low loader plant trailer behind it, all bells whistles and extra lights, and the driver pulls straight onto the motorway across into the middle lane causing me and the truck alongside me to slam our brakes on. That was the moment, after all that had gone on at Cargill’s,that I decided I was done with driving trucks

Nice story, it just takes one incident (or two in your case) to think, " that’s it, I’ve had a enough"

The youngsters will accuse us oldies of looking back through rose tinted glasses, but, there is absolutely no doubt we had the best years , no mobile phones, trackers, and this H&S, which has gone far to far… you got on and did the job using common sense, and if you got a bad governor who pushed you to much, or ran crap wagons and gear, you walked around the corner and got another job…if you were a good driver, then your reputation preceded you, and by word of mouth you’d end up with a decent job at a decent company…

On a very cold, wet, and miserable Thursday night in November up at Scotch Corner, I met a 63 year BRS driver in the café, we got chatting over a meal, “May I give you some advice nipper ? Get out of this game by the time you’re forty, if not, you’ll still be doing it when you’re my age, and you’ll hate every day”
I was fourty five, within six months I was out if it, and never regretted it…so, like you Gingerfold, that was my trigger moment…

39

This thread is giving me some wry smiles.

My personal bugbear is Aviation level 4 or whatever they are calling it today, for handling known cargo. Refreshed every two years and it’s watching a video and listening to a chap, who tries to make it interesting, but realistically it isn’t going to be remotely interesting the second/third blah blah time. The stuff we carry needs licenses from the Home Office and all sorts of authorisations and security considerations, so getting my lads to watch a video about sealing doors is the proverbial teaching your grandmother to ■■■■ eggs.

the worst thing is that new drivers will just accept this as the norm.

40

Hands up all the old lads who want to go back on the job today. No, c’mon lads, be serious, surely one of you wants to put your hand up…no?? ah well, I thought as much.
Me ■■ I’m glad I’m out of it. I had a good working life, I enjoyed the good days(and yes, the bad days) but not now.