I hold an auto car licence. I have genuine reason for this (car crash, 2x discs damaged, nerves in arm affected). I will be taking my class 2, then class 1 later in an auto. Will this hinder my chances of work? If so, by how much.
I am occasionally prescribed Tramadol for this. Will that be a big no as a HGV driver?
Why is the money deemed poor? Until 3 months ago I was training to be a software developer. My brother worked as a full stack developer (lead). He earned £45k for that, plus a 10% bonus. Sounds good right? Well no, imagine having zero life, being on call 24/7/365. Why? Because who repairs the systems when they go down, hit a snag, or develop a bug? The Devs do, even if on a cruise ship in the Carribbean. Add to that 6 days, 10-12 hours a day, often without breaks because nobody enforces them… £45/50k doesn’t seem like much. I got £22k but had many less responsibilities, still 50+ hours.
Anyway, I was made redundant. So my choices were £7500 on a bootcamp to earn £25k first year. Or spend £1500 to earn the same money or better first year. Seems a no brainer to me.
I am based on Burnley. Ive found a driving school called Ben Shaw’s that offer the full class 2 package for £1812. Is this competitive? Anyone got experience of them?
I’ve got many more questions but these will do for starters.
I have no doubt that an auto only licence could be a problem in some places. But the huge majority of trucks being produced are auto and have been for a few years - so there’s a very good chance it would cause no issue.
Dont miss out on the 20% off available for bookings made this week.
Peter Smythe:
I have no doubt that an auto only licence could be a problem in some places. But the huge majority of trucks being produced are auto and have been for a few years - so there’s a very good chance it would cause no issue.
Dont miss out on the 20% off available for bookings made this week.
Apply for your provisional LGV now? It’ll cost about 50 or 60 quids for the medical, but you will find out first hand how your own exact medical history stands with the authorities.
Other people’s experiences are valuable, but it’s not expensive to get the facts for yourself.
I hold an auto car licence. I have genuine reason for this (car crash, 2x discs damaged, nerves in arm affected). I will be taking my class 2, then class 1 later in an auto. Will this hinder my chances of work? If so, by how much.
I am occasionally prescribed Tramadol for this. Will that be a big no as a HGV driver?
Why is the money deemed poor? Until 3 months ago I was training to be a software developer. My brother worked as a full stack developer (lead). He earned £45k for that, plus a 10% bonus. Sounds good right? Well no, imagine having zero life, being on call 24/7/365. Why? Because who repairs the systems when they go down, hit a snag, or develop a bug? The Devs do, even if on a cruise ship in the Carribbean. Add to that 6 days, 10-12 hours a day, often without breaks because nobody enforces them… £45/50k doesn’t seem like much. I got £22k but had many less responsibilities, still 50+ hours.
Anyway, I was made redundant. So my choices were £7500 on a bootcamp to earn £25k first year. Or spend £1500 to earn the same money or better first year. Seems a no brainer to me.
I am based on Burnley. Ive found a driving school called Ben Shaw’s that offer the full class 2 package for £1812. Is this competitive? Anyone got experience of them?
I’ve got many more questions but these will do for starters.
Hi Chris, Peter Smythe offers you the whole lot, even a medical. It’s a total no fuss deal with them.
Few companies specify manual vehicles any more, basically no bugger can drive them anymore without buggering up either the box or clutch or both (can’t even manage a hill start in an auto without auto hold it appears ), so no, an auto licence is fine.
My instructor told me there’s a fairly good chance I will never ever drive a manual truck, if I was to stick to big companies with modern fleets.
On the buses you DID need a manual licence even though EVERY bus was automatic because driving the (manual) staff shuttle car was a necessity. I imagine it might be similar with HGV work. If they have a car or van that’s manual that they expect you to get in however occasionally, then it might be a no, but some places will be fine with it no doubt.
I don’t want to put a damper on anyone’s ambitions but to be honest if your health issues mean that you cannot drive a manual vehicle then being restricted to automatic vehicles may not be the only problem you have in finding a HGV driving job.
If using a manual gearbox is an issue for you then you should consider whether or not you’ll be able to do things like open and close curtains on a curtainsider, would you be able to pull a pump truck loaded with a pallet to or from the back of the vehicle ec’t, there is some light manual work involved in most HGV driving jobs.
If you can manage a manual gearbox then I would suggest training in one so as not to restrict your employment chances, as others have said most HGV vehicles these days are auto but there are still some manuals about, I suspect most agencies would have you at the bottom of the jobs list unless they have a contract with a company that runs only automatics, so you’d most likely have to look at working directly for a company … not that that’s a bad thing
tachograph:
I don’t want to put a damper on anyone’s ambitions but to be honest if your health issues mean that you cannot drive a manual vehicle then being restricted to automatic vehicles may not be the only problem you have in finding a HGV driving job.
If using a manual gearbox is an issue for you then you should consider whether or not you’ll be able to do things like open and close curtains on a curtainsider, would you be able to pull a pump truck loaded with a pallet to or from the back of the vehicle ec’t, there is some light manual work involved in most HGV driving jobs.
If you can manage a manual gearbox then I would suggest training in one so as not to restrict your employment chances, as others have said most HGV vehicles these days are auto but there are still some manuals about, I suspect most agencies would have you at the bottom of the jobs list unless they have a contract with a company that runs only automatics, so you’d most likely have to look at working directly for a company … not that that’s a bad thing
Hi Tachograph,
I had similar concerns when I started to think about this as a career again but I am confident I will be fine with such graft.
Having worked at Buoyant and Furnico round here, helping load and unload lorries in the past, I expected the job will include some graft. Tbh its the reverse parking that I am most concerned about, kudos to all of you who can slot these behemoths into spaces some people couldn’t get a smart car in!
Thanks to everyone else who has posted as well, some helpful advice to take on board.
Something interesting I found out today, I already knew my granddad on my dads side was a trucker, but it turns out relatives on my mums side also have a bit of history in the industry. A chap called Robert Rushworth, owner of Expect Distribution (if you’ve heard of them).
Not that I intend to rock up cap in hand hoping for a pity job of course, just interesting. I like to think of it as confirming this job is in my blood.
I would recommend working on your core strength as a way of helping to lessen the chances of relapsing onto painkillers. There would be nothing lost. I would also definitely check with your doctor to see if a referral to a physiotherapist could be made for some proper instruction on appropriate exercises for your situation.
Try holding your stomach in and breathing. It really does help your core.
I had similar concerns when I started to think about this as a career again but I am confident I will be fine with such graft.
Having worked at Buoyant and Furnico round here, helping load and unload lorries in the past, I expected the job will include some graft. Tbh its the reverse parking that I am most concerned about, kudos to all of you who can slot these behemoths into spaces some people couldn’t get a smart car in!
That’s great
Don’t worry about reversing, after training that’s something that comes with practice, we’ve all had to learn this stuff from scratch so you’re not on your own
Well medical went fine. I have 20/20 vision apparently, though I am not sure about that, it was a bit blurry but it was the third to bottom line and I had had about 3 hours sleep due to the kids being barstewards the night before.
No urine test, just a question on diabetes. Wasnt bothered about Tramadol either.
Good luck mate, like taco said just make sure your body can take the strain of the job. Guess it would just be finding a job that wouldn’t put too much on you, I’m on flats dealing with steel and cement and consider myself quite physically fit. But 12 hours of securing a load with chains takes it’s toll on me.
If your on medication and pretty strong painkillers does it say anything about driving in the instructions for them? If it does it may cause a problem, if it doesn’t I guess it would be up to employers discretion as most places will ask for a brief description of your medical history (or most did for me anyway)
Concerning the reversing, it will come pal. Don’t worry yourself with it, I couldn’t reverse the most simple of corners when I first passed. But once it clicks in your mind which way to turn and what angles you need you’ll be spinning it on a six pence!
Anyway like I said good luck hopefully it all works out for you fella
), so no, an auto licence is fine.
