NEVER underestimate

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE STUPIDITY OF A GOOD DRIVER because in the UK that’s what most drivers think they are. The problem is that evaluation is in their own mind.
Most pass a basic test and carry on learning very little. Of course there are some who take things seriously and drive professionally.
Recently I have driven up and down the UK and the standards from most is fairly attrocious. Of course some know how to drive correctly but choose their
own style and make the rules to suit themselves and of course blame everyone else apart from themselves.

The only way to eradicate this is for retests or assessments every few years (yes I know it will never happen) but in the meantine we will continue to see people getting killed and badly injured and probably by one of these “good drivers” getting it wrong.

My driving days are coming to an end (health reasons) and to be glad I don’t really care because it makes me sad to see the way standards have gone downhill so much recently and the way drivers act on the roads nowadays. I am so glad we live in a rural Dutch village.

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New motto…Ignoring the trolls. How ironic

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2 outta 10…

One of your worst efforts. You’re getting too old for this now.

Don’t nick my 3 dots trademark either Jakey.

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msgyorkie:
New motto…Ignoring the trolls. How ironic

I don’t think.Jakey is trolling, he just has a massive bee in his bonnet about how crap us drivers are. :smiley: , which is why he keeps banging on about it.
Thing is up to a point I agree with a lot of what he says tbf.

There have always been good and ■■■■ poor drivers for as long as I remember, …granted a lot more bad ones today, but maybe not as many as Jakey jeeps telling us, but yeah deffo more than what I remember in my time in the job.

Number of reasons…
1.The complete dumbing down of the job where fewer skills are needed.

2.Improvement in trucks,…again where fewer skills are needed, to the point it is now just like driving a ■■■■ big car that bends in the middle.

3.Drivers being put under pressure on phone.

4.Drivers reacting and complying to pressure on phone. :unamused:

And what exactly has the DCPC done to improve things to make us all ‘professionally competent’…aye right :unamused: ,.all it has done is created a lucrative industry for it’s self, and ruined 5 of my days off every 5 ■■■■ years :imp:
I certainly have seen no evidence of improvements on the roads in that way, since all that crap started. :unamused:

Driver training is the initial root and core fault imo, with the criteria of how to get around a set test route,.rather than how to competently drive a truck competently and professionally :bulb: .

Also maybe in that initial training course, set a days classroom training on driver courtesy and empathy towards other drivers, would be a good idea. I have noticed a distinct reduction in both, from truck drivers to other truck drivers especially. :unamused:

Also on day 1 of training…maybe some kind of aptitude test to weedle out those types who have in the past managed to blag their way through a course,.when the rest of us know he will never be a proper driver as long as he has an hole in his arse…(ie the ones who would never have managed to blag it before my example 2 :bulb: ) usually car drivers with a Class one, essentially.

As for assessments and re tests?.., Yeah ok, but only if there has been reported incidents of bad driving.
So then that gets us back to another aspect and reason for crap drivers, the lack of policing in the roads,.where 9 times out of 10 bad driving is going to be consequence free.

As for re.tests?, waste of time and money making it a blanket thing, chucking out the baby with the bath water,.and the day I would say ■■■■ it I’m off ,.I reckon… :smiley:

Anyway seeing as I am starting to sound like Jakey…time for a coffee. :smiley:

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Nah he’s trolling. He doesn’t contribute anything other than criticism of fellow drivers.
He preaches as much as Sploom does

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It doesn’t help that there has been this consistent culture these past 30 years where a driver with “six points on licence, 10 years experience” is more likely to get signed up than a “new pass with a clean licence”…

This has been slowly improving since the driver uplift two years back, but it amazes me how much people get away with, as OP has stated.

You’d think that people would be sacked for things like “Ripping taillift off” or “load falling off back” rather than “three WTD infringments in six months” or “took wrong route during school hours” etc etc.

The guy who originally passed me decades ago stated “You didn’t do anything that could kill anyone” which surprised me on the day, as I expected to fail because I’d done at least half a dozen mistakes like “Forgot to signal out of roundabout” or “took wrong lane” and of course that old catch-all chesnut of “Not using mirrors enough” which must be 99.99% of the time to appease THAT requirement (meaning you’re not looking ahead anymore - right?)

The public seem to treat us all with contempt, no matter what though, sadly… :frowning:

Far better is the quality of job these days when it is “non-customer facing” let’s say…
I think I’m starting to see where drivers for outfits like “Sugarich” or “Biffa” are coming from!

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The trouble is there has been a great “dumbing down” across the board kids leaving school are taught to aspire to the lowest level possible taught not to question or think to the point they can barely function in society with out supervision and that to the instilled belief that they alone are special and deserve to be treated as such and you have the mess that we are in now. Add to the mix all the laws and rules that we are told are there to protect the employee which in reality only protect the lower bounds. Quite clearly the laws were brought in because 75% of the workforce would be unemployable and the country would grind to a halt.

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Winseer:
You’d think that people would be sacked for things like “Ripping taillift off” or “load falling off back” rather than “three WTD infringements in six months” or “took wrong route during school hours” etc etc.

obviously the reason someone is sacked for infringements etc is because it has the potential to drag the company in front of the powers that be if anyone did a check and potential loss of o license

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I don’t think.Jakey is trolling, he just has a massive bee in his bonnet about how crap us drivers are. :smiley: , which is why he keeps banging on about it.
Thing is up to a point I agree with a lot of what he says tbf.

For once… :stuck_out_tongue:

I agree with you and you are correct I do have a massive bee in my bonnet. How could any true professional driver NOT.

As i’ve said before I thoroughly enjoyed my days on the road and always stuck up for other drivers but how could I do that these days.

I am not a troll and always give credit where it’s due but on the UK roads it’s hard to spot good drivers these days.

Anyway I’m actually fed up going on about it but I completely understand the ones that can’t take criticism for something that is blatantly obvious.
It’s human nature same as it’s human nature to believe you are a good driver.

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jakethesnake:
For once… :stuck_out_tongue:

Mutter…

Mutter grumble.

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I have my driving assessed every 3 years by either a current or ex police traffic advanced driver

That way I know how crap I am :laughing:

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jakethesnake:
but on the UK roads it’s hard to spot good drivers these days.

Nah…not having that Jakey.
That is only because YOU are consciously looing for bad drivers and noticing them…and they obviously stand out more. :bulb:
If I am following another truck at a safe distance in lane 1, and Billy Bigbollocks in his V8 is overtaking me,.whilst tailgating a car in lane 2 and giving him grief, and with you following them…
You don’t think …
‘Ah there’s Rob not teararsing around like an idiot but going at a safe steady pace as usual’,…

You think …
‘Look at that ■■■■ knob in front of me getting stressed out,.what a prick,.I’m gonna put this on Trucknet when I get home’’ :smiley:

Obviously Billy and his mates stand out more. :bulb:

As for human nature thinking you are a good driver…
Yep agree again.

Are you a good driver Jake?
Dont go and chuck the ‘Advanced driver certificate’ cack at me btw, it means nowt to me,…I have all that stuff down as a mild example of insecurity issues, a bit like re.newing your wedding vows. :smiley:

Reason I ask is I have known a few older guys who have came out with the old…
‘‘I’ve driven for 50 years,.and NEVER had an accident’’ chestnut.
What they fail to tell you is they have seen hundreds in that time in their rear view mirror. :smiley:…go figure. :bulb:

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ROG:
I have my driving assessed every 3 years by either a current or ex police traffic advanced driver

That way I know how crap I am [emoji38]

Car or lorry?

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yourhavingalarf:

jakethesnake:
For once… :stuck_out_tongue:

Mutter…

Mutter grumble.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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ROG:
I have my driving assessed every 3 years by either a current or ex police traffic advanced driver

That way I know how crap I am :laughing:

Same here, before I retired. In fact it was every year through training and every three by PTAD.

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Are you a good driver Jake?
Dont go and chuck the ‘Advanced driver certificate’ cack at me btw, it means nowt to me,…I have all that stuff down as a mild example of insecurity issues, a bit like re.newing your wedding vows. :smiley:

Well above average from what I have been told when being assessed or one of the many tests I have taken. However I aint perfect my biggest downfall is patience with bad and incompetent drivers although in my latter years manage to control it far better.

You know what you can almost tell the good and bad drivers apart on this forum just by their attitude and answers they give!

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PS Up in Bonnie Scotland just now staying with relatives. Just been out to the shops and OMG the driving here is still abysmal. A mixture of agressive, incompetent and dozy bar strwards that don’t have a bloody clue. :unamused:

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cooper1203:

Winseer:
You’d think that people would be sacked for things like “Ripping taillift off” or “load falling off back” rather than “three WTD infringements in six months” or “took wrong route during school hours” etc etc.

obviously the reason someone is sacked for infringements etc is because it has the potential to drag the company in front of the powers that be if anyone did a check and potential loss of o license

WTD infringements though?
How can the “punishments” for full-on infringments, such as “driving over 4.5 hours” or “working longer than 15 hours” be waived during the Lockdown - when you are in the crapper for not taking your first break until 6hrs 10 mins into your duty - three times in succession?

These newer vehicles these days come up with “working time flashing” at 9:45 and then 10 hours - assuming one hasn’t opted-out like many firms have around the country…
Are there any firms left who ridgedly enforce “10 hour limit for working nights” btw?

“Enforced” would have to mean “Hi Boss, I’ve just parked up for the night and popped my card, as I’m on 9hrs 55… Can you come and get me, or pay me night-out money?”

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jakethesnake:
Well above average from what I have been told when being assessed or one of the many tests I have taken. However I aint perfect my biggest downfall is patience with bad and incompetent drivers although in my latter years manage to control it far better.

You know what you can almost tell the good and bad drivers apart on this forum just by their attitude and answers they give!

As my old Gran used to say Jakey…''Self praise is no recommendation :bulb:…neither is blowing your own trumpet.
.
If I took a test or an assessment I too would maybe be deemed a good driver , but purely for the fact that on the day I would drive to the textbook,.sat upright,.hands at 10 to 2,.checking my mirrors like a ■■■■ nodding dog, feeding the wheel through my hands and all the rest of it.

Then get back in my truck, seat right back, lounge at the wheel, with Whitesnake playing at a volume just below the pain barrier and drive with one hand. :blush:
And this is EXACTLY why your assessments and periodic tests would NOT work!!.

Now if YOU asked ME as I asked you if I were a good driver, my answer would be…
That opinion has to be formed by other people…not me.

I can physically drive a truck,.I can competently drive a truck.I show both empathy and courtesy, but I have some real ■■■■ bad habits, as every other long term driver has …whether that makes me a crap driver is again open to debate by others.

Would your assesnents and re.tests stop me doing these bad habits when I was out on my own ?
Would they ■■■■…I am too set in my ways.

As long as I can maintain my licence which has been clean since the 80s,.and keep getting from A to B,.without any problem,.without hutting bridges etc, or without ■■■■■■■ other road users off.in any way, then I could not gaf what anybody else thinks of my driving style tbh mate… :neutral_face:

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ROG:
I have my driving assessed every 3 years by either a current or ex police traffic advanced driver

That way I know how crap I am :laughing:

And judging by the amount of accidents involving cop cars, I’m wondering if a police traffic advanced driver would be appropriate.