Hi all.
Had a couple of jobs since my very first. Delivered 7.5 tipper down to Romford. Got stuck on M25 due to bad accident between two trucks. Then big learning curve last night. Went to a mini hub and told thats your truck there (usual driver off for some reason). Its loaded, all you have to do is close the curtains. Checked round the vehicle. Good job I noticed the tail-lift control still attached and trailing on floor. Got into a MAN 18 tonner. MMMMMmmmmm automatic!!! well here goes. Off I went. This thing must have been driven by the smallest guy there is before I got in and he likes it hot, heated seat, where’s the bloody switch. First drop just thirty miles away. Got there and tacho went immediately to cross hammers. Twenty minutes later I’m off again. Two hours later and a search in this little town in the middle of England for a big warehouse takes me another 30 mins to find. Reverse up to the ramp and keys taken off me so that they can load the truck. Truck loaded and 45 minute break taken. Drive back north and arrive back at depot. Told usual driver would have been back three hours previously. MMMMMmmmm so had some thinking after. Obviously he has the advantage of knowing where he’s going and I think when he pulls up at the various hubs to deliver/pick-up he switches the tacho to break… So am I being nieve and should do the same■■?
Tigger1
Hi Tigger
Dont worry about it you did the job and brought the truck back unharmed you were on an unfamiliar route remember that the guy who was off that night prob does that run day after day and knows it like the back of his hand , the place where i work never expect agency guys to do the job in the same time as the regular guys if i go to a place a second time i can normaly do the run quicker as i know exactly where im going , some people are the kind of people who always have to point out a flaw in someone else normally they are people who are unhappy with themselves you know the ones always there with some crack that undermines a person take no notice of this numpty you did a good job the load was picked up delivered etc and the truck was brought back in one piece thats a good job to me (dont you think?)
all the best
Jennie x
Hi tigger, the main thing is that you got the job done safley, legaly & without misshap, the more experience you get (especially if your on the same run), the quickness will improve (because you won’t waste time looking for somewhere when you get to know your way around). 
Companies often expect agency drivers to do the job in the same time as the driver who does the same run every day so don’t worry about that as long as you did your best no-one can ask more 
One thing I am a bit confused about though, did you have your break whilst on the bay being loaded or after being loaded, there’s no reason why you couldn’t have your break whilst on the bay being loaded as long as it wasn’t you doing the loading,and that’s probably what the usual driver does.
Overall it sounds like you did a decent job and gained some experience so well done
Now wait for people to jump on this thread saying you shouldn’t have your break on a bay, it’s illegal, it’s immoral, you can’t freely dispose of your time, it’s against the British worth ethic blah blah blah
I would say that you have done a good job and its not a race.You are not familiar with the tackle or the roads so of course you took a bit longer than the usual driver.Dont let anyone harass you into driving like a numpty,always remember its your licence and how much it cost to achieve.
I used to get that a lot, the usual driver will just look at the paperwork and off he goes. If you don’t know where anywhere is, you’re likely to be ■■■■■■■ about going up and down the road looking for the place. Unfortunately mate the agency driver often gets a bit of a raw deal, something I’ve learnt very quickly since doing agency work.
One company I worked for (delivering steel) did this to me. Got there in the morning, gaffer says here’s your wagon (crap old erf), 5 drops and you’ve got all day so there’s no rush! Brilliant, set off and got to the first drop but ended up being there just over an hour while they [zb] about getting me an ■■■■■■ around the site etc. Got the wagon fired up to get gone and it wouldn’t let me take the handbrake off. Look down and there’s hardly any air in the tanks! So I have to sit there for 10 minutes revving it up to charge the tanks up again. Seems ok now so figure I’ll tell them at the end of the day and crack on. Get the second and third drop done and get on way to the fourth, try to pull off at some traffic lights and it ■■■■■■■ happens again 
. Manage to drag the thing to the side of the road and ring them up. Gaffer says try lifting the tag axle and see if that helps (don’t see how the ■■■■ it will but I gave it a go - wouldn’t lift anyway as there’s too much weight on). Eventually gets a fitter on the phone who tells me to rev it up with the handbrake off which works, then I’m told to drive it back without using the handbrake! (50ish miles home). On the way back I get a call from the agency saying the cheeky ■■■■■■■ are complaining that it took me x amount of time to to the drops and they want me back tomorrow (FOR FREE!!) to finish the drops. Absolutely unbeleivable, like it’s somehow my fault that they don’t want to spend money maintaining their bag of ■■■■ wagons. Thankfully agency understood anyway and obviously weren’t prepared to offer their drivers out for free.
You’ve got all this to come mate 