I’ve always been paranoid that passing your test means that you can and should be expected to drive to the same standard as other truck drivers but in reality this just isn’t true.
I’m not dangerous on the road but I take longer getting into tight areas, sometimes I take a wrong turn, sometimes I hold up traffic for longer than is probably normal, sometimes I struggle to find an address and drive round in circles because the delivery address I’ve been given isn’t the actual receiving address.
All of this causes me to generally take longer to deliver compared to others and I’m just wondering if this is expected of new drivers or as a manager are you just thinking this kid isn’t up to the job?
Almost everyone* is pretty poor as a new pass.
Almost everyone doesn’t realise it though.
Don’t worry too much about your driving, but be happy that you are more self critical than most.
.
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.*modesty forbids…
The things you describe aren’t so much the mark of a bad driver, they are the kind of thing you’d expect from an inexperienced one though. Most employers / transport managers (in my experience) know this and wouldn’t expect any different. Passing your test is just the start, the real learning is to come.
In terms of finding places, try not to rely too much on a sat nav. Invest in some decent maps and try to plan your routes. Your geographical knowledge will improve ten fold if you do.
With time comes experience. It’s this that eventually makes everything slot into place and before long you find that many aspects of the job will come as second nature to you. Until then, keep doing what you’re doing.
TruckerWannabe123:
I’ve always been paranoid that passing your test means that you can and should be expected to drive to the same standard as other truck drivers but in reality this just isn’t true.
I’m not dangerous on the road but I take longer getting into tight areas, sometimes I take a wrong turn, sometimes I hold up traffic for longer than is probably normal, sometimes I struggle to find an address and drive round in circles because the delivery address I’ve been given isn’t the actual receiving address.
All of this causes me to generally take longer to deliver compared to others and I’m just wondering if this is expected of new drivers or as a manager are you just thinking this kid isn’t up to the job?
Hi, I think everyone starts of like this and I’m sure we all felt the same when we passed. Just remember when your learning to drive, your actually learning to pass the test. The actual learning to drive only comes after you have passed your test. I’m a newbie myself.
Don’t rush anything as a professional driver take your time and don’t worry about cars waiting. If you rush and hit something they will be the first to laugh. Take along as you need to be safe and not hurt yourself or others.
After a few months you will be wondering what all the fuss was about
Everyone ■■■■■ when they first start, its a fact of life. A planner or manager is not going to think you are an idiot or that you are not up to the job because you are slower than anyone else. Hell even experienced drivers for the first week or two can be seriously slow.
The only thing that will see you out of a job immediately is if you hit something. Irate customers calling about late deliveries i can deal with, i do not want to have to deal with an accident. If you are agency you will be gone as soon as i can get the keys off you and even as an employed driver i would be having second thoughts about keeping you on.
So take it steady and in a month or two you will be wondering what all the fuss was about.
On another note, if you do get proper hassle (and not just a little bit of sarcasm) from the traffic office about how slow you are. It may be worth looking for a new job, if you are treated rubbish on day 1, whats the rest of the time at the company going to be like.
Dont worry about it. Go at your own pace. Dont rush about thats how accidents happen. Slow and steady wins the race. If your unsure GET OUT AND LOOK! In a few weeks you’ll look back and laugh
mark1284:
Dont worry about it. Go at your own pace. Dont rush about thats how accidents happen. Slow and steady wins the race. If your unsure GET OUT AND LOOK! In a few weeks you’ll look back and laugh
YOU MY FRIEND,NEED to take a serious look, at are you in the right employment, you have been on this sight since 2019, all this zb-ollocks your a newbie etc,get a grip of your self. get your head in the right place you will be a danger to yourself and others,there is something else going on and it needs to be left at home …
whatever age you are, i have no idea i would not work with you,admitting you miss a entrance you know,or even not know,there are always signs whenever you get near any type of transport operation signs on the road, tire marks ,lorries nearby,noise put the windows down be aware, it is not nerves .first switch the radio OFF,silence,listen to the motor.stop worrying about others zb-em. you cannot be for real i do not believe what your saying…go back to what you were doing before whatever that was …driving is not for you ,my views only ,by reading what you have put on this site.
I’m with those who’ve said we all have good days and bad days. I’ve got plenty of experience and yet there’s been a sufficient number of times where I’ve given myself a mental kick up the backside for being a “less than optimal” driver.
My advice would be, don’t sweat it too much - as long as you haven’t damaged property or injured anything living.
And don’t believe the ‘driving angels’ who can’t admit to a FUBAR or two, these types always make me highly suspicious of everything else they say.
peggydeckboy:
YOU MY FRIEND,NEED to take a serious look, at are you in the right employment, you have been on this sight since 2019, all this zb-ollocks your a newbie etc,get a grip of your self. get your head in the right place you will be a danger to yourself and others,there is something else going on and it needs to be left at home …
whatever age you are, i have no idea i would not work with you,admitting you miss a entrance you know,or even not know,there are always signs whenever you get near any type of transport operation signs on the road, tire marks ,lorries nearby,noise put the windows down be aware, it is not nerves .first switch the radio OFF,silence,listen to the motor.stop worrying about others zb-em. you cannot be for real i do not believe what your saying…go back to what you were doing before whatever that was …driving is not for you ,my views only ,by reading what you have put on this site.
Absolutely disgusting. A new driver comes on here for support and guidance and he gets this level of abuse. You should be ashamed.
Saying as someone who last night missed a sign in a Tesco rdc and had an embarrassing reverse out once I realised I couldn’t get our that way without causing damage.
Good drivers are not perfect. They make plenty of mistakes. They just know how to get out of them. Anyone who claims to be perfect is just blissfully unaware how bad they are.
You pass the test which takes your basic driving skills to a certain min level, but that’s all. Like driving a car, you learn all the useful stuff afterwards and theres a lot of that.
Don’t hit anything as that really slows your day down, don’t bother arguing with other road users as that just makes you late and just so the job as best you can.
That’ll make the traffic office happy…well as happy as traffic offices ever are.
Oh and ignore the driving gods who critisise everything you do. I often find they either have the highest failure rate in the company, or are agency but never get asked back after.
peggydeckboy:
YOU MY FRIEND,NEED to take a serious look, at are you in the right employment, you have been on this sight since 2019, all this zb-ollocks your a newbie etc,get a grip of your self. get your head in the right place you will be a danger to yourself and others,there is something else going on and it needs to be left at home …
whatever age you are, i have no idea i would not work with you,admitting you miss a entrance you know,or even not know,there are always signs whenever you get near any type of transport operation signs on the road, tire marks ,lorries nearby,noise put the windows down be aware, it is not nerves .first switch the radio OFF,silence,listen to the motor.stop worrying about others zb-em. you cannot be for real i do not believe what your saying…go back to what you were doing before whatever that was …driving is not for you ,my views only ,by reading what you have put on this site.
Absolutely disgusting. A new driver comes on here for support and guidance and he gets this level of abuse. You should be ashamed.
Quite right sammym, but perhaps peggydeckboy has actually read the rest of the posts in this topic and now realises how out of place his overly harsh reply is, particularly as this is the Newbies’ Forum.
As it’s a stand-out post when compared to the rest of the replies in this topic, I’m thinking that the OP might simply ignore it and take the rest of the very good advice given by the rest of the posters.
I’ll echo the sentiment that anybody can have an off day, then advise the OP that a mistake can be turned into a handy learning opportunity.
Thank you DIESEL Dave ,Class 1 postie has been a member since 2019 AND POSTED 119 POSTS he might know, whatever you post it will attracted comments [that is a the forum for you ]
Newbie driver or not .we are not talking ,just messing about as a occupation its a grown mans job as you well know… in my view, repeat, you need to get your head around the job you are doing ,and ,yes maybe new drivers need to relies it is a serious occupation not just flash motors swanning around… your HEAD needs to be in the job ,[FOCUS] how did anyone even you diesel dave survive ,by" paying attention."…your not talking kids, theses men and women who want to do this job have a lot of responsibility new driver or not… COMPANIES i worked for you never zb up if you did goodbye. yes i dinged the odd mirror ,anyway time will tell …
peggydeckboy:
Thank you DIESEL Dave ,Class 1 postie has been a member since 2019 AND POSTED 119 POSTS he might know, whatever you post it will attracted comments [that is a the forum for you ]
Newbie driver or not .we are not talking ,just messing about as a occupation its a grown mans job as you well know… in my view, repeat, you need to get your head around the job you are doing ,and ,yes maybe new drivers need to relies it is a serious occupation not just flash motors swanning around… your HEAD needs to be in the job ,[FOCUS] how did anyone even you diesel dave survive ,by" paying attention."…your not talking kids, theses men and women who want to do this job have a lot of responsibility new driver or not… COMPANIES i worked for you never zb up if you did goodbye. yes i dinged the odd mirror ,anyway time will tell …
All agreed mate, it’s just that the tone of your other post was overly harsh for the Newbies’ Forum.
That tone would have been fair enough in the other forums, but it’s not welcome in this one.
peggydeckboy:
Thank you DIESEL Dave ,Class 1 postie has been a member since 2019 AND POSTED 119 POSTS he might know, whatever you post it will attracted comments [that is a the forum for you ]
Newbie driver or not .we are not talking ,just messing about as a occupation its a grown mans job as you well know… in my view, repeat, you need to get your head around the job you are doing ,and ,yes maybe new drivers need to relies it is a serious occupation not just flash motors swanning around… your HEAD needs to be in the job ,[FOCUS] how did anyone even you diesel dave survive ,by" paying attention."…your not talking kids, theses men and women who want to do this job have a lot of responsibility new driver or not… COMPANIES i worked for you never zb up if you did goodbye. yes i dinged the odd mirror ,anyway time will tell …
I agree with Peggy, but for a different reason, he has got two posters confused. Class1postie missed the depot and got it wrong in the yard and I think Peggy was replying to that post. The OP was Wannabeetrucker who thinks they ■■■■!
dieseldave:
I’m thinking that the OP might simply ignore it and take the rest of the very good advice given by the rest of the posters.
It’s the internet there’s always going to be trolls or people that think they’re the dogs ■■■■■■■■ and ■■■■ talk others
Appreciate all the advice everyone has given. I just want to be the best driver I can be and it’s frustrating that I’m not as good as I want to be that’s all, but I’m still new to the job so I’ll give it time.
The way I write,is the way I think and they way I would talk to anyone about anything, like it or not…
I am 76 one thing I told at 16.when I stated at deep sea as a deck boy was…keep your tounge in your mouth ,and your ears and eyes wide open.and anyone will learn and progress…dbp
I’ll echo the sentiment that anybody can have an off day, then advise the OP that a mistake can be turned into a handy learning opportunity.
