Just try and find the steering wheel adjustment button on the new Merc Actros !!..yes i had to ask !! 
or try to restart it when the immobiliser kicks in !!
driving with an agency, some of the companies just give you the keys and say bye, but some do ask if you have driven that sort of unit before and do you need to be shown around it etcā¦
but no matter what if you dont know just ask, it will save alot of bother !!
Its possible to pass your test and be trained in a 20 year old pile of junk.Then an agency sends you to a yard where the old hands talk about long stands and glider engines but will do the sum total of absolutely nothing to help you out.The first time that I had to fuel a truck I asked about the procedure,was told that mine was No.24.I key in 24 nothing happens asked for help none forth comming had to go to the office and pull the T.M.out into the cold.Where they said that 24 means 0024.This sort of thing goes on up and down the land.Would it really be so difficult to make sure that a new man is made familiar with the equipment and possibly made welcome.
Often when confronted with an unfamiliar motor my biggest worry is finding the interior light switch so I can then try and figure out how everything else works with some light.
I believe we have a duty to pass on our experience (little that I have) to noobs. Iām lucky as Ive been twunting about with large motors since before I could walk (although I was a late bloomer in the walking dept, shagging was also an issue but Iām going off on a tangent now).
Anyway a good opening gambit when approaching a noob who has either just past their test or been out the game for a while (thats providing they speak our mother tongue)is:
āhello drive would you like me to help, in the same way that someone helped me on my first dayā¦ā
Although this doesnāt go down to well when approaching an old hand with the same question 
Pointing fingers and laughing can open one up to karma a little, not that any of us would do thisā¦
scanny77:
I know a certain company who have had mercs and volvos for years and years. They got a couple of hired scanias in (5 series) and their own guys wouldnāt drive them because they couldnāt figure them out. I would love to see a stralis appear in that site. The mileage would not change much
Yepā¦ Stralis not the easiest to fathomā¦ This is where employed lads on the same wagons struggle against agency and S/E lads sometimes. If you drive the same make truck all the time, you often havenāt a clue when thereās a change.
I agree with Juddian. It wouldnāt have hurt for the watchers to go and help him a bit, rather than watch from a distance then slag him off on here!
Dipper_Dave:
Often when confronted with an unfamiliar motor my biggest worry is finding the interior light switch so I can then try and figure out how everything else works with some light.I believe we have a duty to pass on our experience (little that I have) to noobs. Iām lucky as Ive been twunting about with large motors since before I could walk (although I was a late bloomer in the walking dept, shagging was also an issue but Iām going off on a tangent now).
Anyway a good opening gambit when approaching a noob who has either just past their test or been out the game for a while (thats providing they speak our mother tongue)is:
āhello drive would you like me to help, in the same way that someone helped me on my first dayā¦āAlthough this doesnāt go down to well when approaching an old hand with the same question
Pointing fingers and laughing can open one up to karma a little, not that any of us would do thisā¦
^^^^^ What a good post Dipperā¦If everyone showed the same degree of courtesy - weād all be better off!!! No matter how experienced/inexperienced the driver every new job/site/delivery/customer/vehicle make & model has or have their own peculiarities and it pays to be assisted when required to some degree. Remember we all have to learn - none of us knows everything about everything - except for Chris Packham on Springwatch!!!
I take my hat off to you lads who have to encounter different trucks daily with different controls in strange places! 
Not sure that I could cope with it, in 20+ years I only drove five trucks and one of those I had for eleven years, plus four of them were the same make so basically similar in control layout. The worst thing of all was having to take someone elseās truck while mine was on service etc, the seat/mirrors/column/sheet would all be set up wrong and these were identical trucks to mine. It must take a day or two to just get used to where things are on trucks now, so I can well imagine some drivers having problems and getting flustered with a different model especially with an un-helpful and critical audience! 
Pete.
He could have been one of the breed of new drivers that have only ever trained / hooked up with a drawbar trailer so a 5th wheel and pin was an alien concept.
Never had a problem with Renault but I did find myself somewhat stumped for a minute when I got in a stralis trying to find drive.
Did he have the handbrake on when he got out of the cab?
Bottom line is, might of been a bit harsh sending him away but if the OPās firm is competition &.are expecting competition drivers from the agency with 2 years full time experience & then they send mr newbie in, I can see the problem.
I tell the agency straight away, no muppets, no newbieās, only proās or theyāre gone.
Silver_Surfer:
Did he have the handbrake on when he got out of the cab?Bottom line is, might of been a bit harsh sending him away but if the OPās firm is competition &.are expecting competition drivers from the agency with 2 years full time experience & then they send mr newbie in, I can see the problem.
I tell the agency straight away, no muppets, no newbieās, only proās or theyāre gone.
How do newbieās become proās then?
I agree no muppets, but shouldnāt a newbie be given a chance to prove they are not a muppet?
But I guess it depends on if youāre paying enough to be able to pick and chooseā¦
Silver_Surfer:
Did he have the handbrake on when he got out of the cab?Bottom line is, might of been a bit harsh sending him away but if the OPās firm is competition &.are expecting competition drivers from the agency with 2 years full time experience & then they send mr newbie in, I can see the problem.
I tell the agency straight away, no muppets, no newbieās, only proās or theyāre gone.
And when there are no experienced lads available? It will happen if no one ever gives them a chance!
Iāve never been asked by any haulier if I was a muppet. I doubt many drivers would admit to it anyway, even if they did! And some of the most experienced drivers are the ones that drive too fast, tailgate, and think they know it all. They can be as bad a a complete newbie, who at least will usually try their best if nothing else.
Iāve never worked full time as a driver for two years, although Iāve had my licence and worked as a driver a fair bit longer than that. I guess you should never judge a book by itās coverā¦ Or a driver by his experience.
In my experience, the places that insist on these conditions, drop them all when theyāre desperateā¦ You find yourself working with lads that have just passed, even when there is a two year rule supposed to be in operation.
Years ago when you started out in the game, an old hand would usually take you under their wing and put you right, you were glad of it, and you never forgot them, my mentor was a bloke called Dennis Cowell , long dead now but i remember him well.
It might be an idea to turn the clock back a bit and some older hands mentor those who need a bit of help, ā ā ā ā sight more satisfying than finger pointing and sniggering.
Juddian:
Years ago when you started out in the game, an old hand would usually take you under their wing and put you right, you were glad of it, and you never forgot them, my mentor was a bloke called Dennis Cowell , long dead now but i remember him well.It might be an idea to turn the clock back a bit and some older hands mentor those who need a bit of help, ā ā ā ā sight more satisfying than finger pointing and sniggering.
I do get where youāre coming from, and totally agree with the sentiment, but when he ducked under the back the reversing lights would have been clearly visible on the unit and the beeper was going too.
There are some folk that itās just inexperience and once pointed in the right direction initially will grow into some of the most competent drivers out there. However. thereās others that, regardless of efforts to train them, will spend their whole working lives as accidents waiting to happen.
I can remember 1 guy who crewed a coach with me.
it was an old scania with a 5 speed split box.
I did the first leg up and down the box in all ratioās
then after changing over I realise he is just using low box and screaming the unit along. I discreetly ask to put it in to high box. He just looked at me and said whats that!!!
This guy had used this motor many times and the guvnor kept saying how poor his fuel usage was!!
To put it bluntly this driver of 25 yrs had never been showen or trained on a splitter.
took me 2 mins to show him and job done.
Something I was trained to do 3 days after my 21st birthday. 1
Iām too small to train drivers up, let Eddie train them & then I can use them.
Not to mention that if your paying an agency Ā£14 per hour for a driver, you expect someone who can at least couple a trailer properly & not bankrupt you by writing the wagon off!
Juddian:
Years ago when you started out in the game, an old hand would usually take you under their wing and put you right, you were glad of it, and you never forgot them, my mentor was a bloke called Dennis Cowell , long dead now but i remember him well.It might be an idea to turn the clock back a bit and some older hands mentor those who need a bit of help, ā ā ā ā sight more satisfying than finger pointing and sniggering.
Agree 100 %. 30- odd years ago when I was a gormless apprentice engineer at a machine tool dealer, I regularly went out in the firmās artic. The driver, a Barnsley lad with the ironic surname of Skidmore, (yes, honestly!), took the time to show me how to rope, sheet, strap and chain to the point where when I finally got my HGV licence, I knew how to load properly and safely.
Iāve never forgotten his help and always help anybody that needs it.
The training side of the industry needs to be sorted out ,but how to do this?I think that the initial DCPC should consist of a week in a working wagon with an intelligent and competent trainer/driver.This way a noob could be a useful addition to a firms work force.
Juddian:
Now that everyoneās condemned this bloke, lets break it all down.First things first, heās got an audience of at least one driver and an assessor/trainer, presumably watching but not being exactly shall we say helpful.
Obviously heās never had an auto DAF before cos he didnāt know about the gear selector and its manoeuvering functions, he may never have had the dubious pleasure of ZFās version of automatic clutched hell before, he may have had a Volvo, he may have had a Scania, both of which are at least able to competently control torque when picking up a heavy.
So heās now found reverse cos one of the audience has shown him where it is, heās backing under this trailer then, presumably loaded, knowing how the clutch on these things behave heās probably reached that point where you have to provide loads more torque to get the thing to push under.
Remember those watchersā¦now does it need a bit more power to push it in (often with an almighty bang) or has he got it off centre and trying to push against the king pin with one side of the fifth wheel.So being a sensible sort of chap heās pulled the parking brake on and got out to have a look see where he is before he does some damage.
Unfortunately with his audience enjoying this, and bearing in mind heās never had a ZF auto before, certainly not a DAF or MAN anyway, heās got flustered, who wouldnāt have by then, and forgotten to take it out of gear.
Now as to safety, as heās being watched at this point, did he put the parking brake on before diving under to have a poke nose?, if he did whats the big deal, if he didnāt then a gentle reminder at that point, or rather a bit of help for a bloke in a new place might have been more productive than the way he was treated.
When you who can do no wrong get another new type of lorry to drive, i hope its in a strange place, with regular full timers milling about watching and waiting (but not helping/instructing) for you to muck upā¦the you might recall this incident.
Blimey - you seem to know all about this incident and you were not even there (unless it was you in the driverās seatā¦?).
For the record - No, he did not have āan audience of at least one driverā. He had the yard pretty much entirely to himself as everyone else was busy in the warehouse, loading the rigids for that dayās runs. No assessor either as company policy is that a new (to us) driver can be used once without assessment.
Having failed dismally to locate Reverse gear on the hidden rotary selector and the parking brake (and letās face it, the Daf CF parking brake control is totally unlike those on any other make of truckā¦), he then sought advice - Unfortunately from a non-driving Temp who is employed as a driverās mate to assist a driver (me) who is recovering from a chest/shoulder injury. This non-driving Temp was naturally unable to assist him, and, feeling that the bloke really didnāt have a clue, went to find an experienced driver from the transport office who could help. Said driver just happens to be one of our assessors, and he went out to offer advice/assistance. He found the bloke already out of the cab and ducking under the trailer (Transmission in Reverse and engine running, unit park brake not applied). He was asked if he had checked the trailer park brake and fifth wheel height (response: shrug of shoulders). He didnāt appear to think there was anything wrong with what he had done (I only know that he hadnāt engaged the pin because I was tasked with taking the thing out after he had been sent off-site).
Nobody was āenjoyingā what went on - his efforts with the wiper stalk and the dog clip only came to light after the dust had settled. The only person present was the assessor who, in his own words, came to the conclusion that the only way he would feel confident letting him loose on the road would be to sit with him for the entire shift.
Roymondo:
Juddian:
Now that everyoneās condemned this bloke, lets break it all down.First things first, heās got an audience of at least one driver and an assessor/trainer, presumably watching but not being exactly shall we say helpful.
Obviously heās never had an auto DAF before cos he didnāt know about the gear selector and its manoeuvering functions, he may never have had the dubious pleasure of ZFās version of automatic clutched hell before, he may have had a Volvo, he may have had a Scania, both of which are at least able to competently control torque when picking up a heavy.
So heās now found reverse cos one of the audience has shown him where it is, heās backing under this trailer then, presumably loaded, knowing how the clutch on these things behave heās probably reached that point where you have to provide loads more torque to get the thing to push under.
Remember those watchersā¦now does it need a bit more power to push it in (often with an almighty bang) or has he got it off centre and trying to push against the king pin with one side of the fifth wheel.So being a sensible sort of chap heās pulled the parking brake on and got out to have a look see where he is before he does some damage.
Unfortunately with his audience enjoying this, and bearing in mind heās never had a ZF auto before, certainly not a DAF or MAN anyway, heās got flustered, who wouldnāt have by then, and forgotten to take it out of gear.
Now as to safety, as heās being watched at this point, did he put the parking brake on before diving under to have a poke nose?, if he did whats the big deal, if he didnāt then a gentle reminder at that point, or rather a bit of help for a bloke in a new place might have been more productive than the way he was treated.
When you who can do no wrong get another new type of lorry to drive, i hope its in a strange place, with regular full timers milling about watching and waiting (but not helping/instructing) for you to muck upā¦the you might recall this incident.
Blimey - you seem to know all about this incident and you were not even there (unless it was you in the driverās seatā¦?).
For the record - No, he did not have āan audience of at least one driverā. He had the yard pretty much entirely to himself as everyone else was busy in the warehouse, loading the rigids for that dayās runs. No assessor either as company policy is that a new (to us) driver can be used once without assessment.
Having failed dismally to locate Reverse gear on the hidden rotary selector and the parking brake (and letās face it, the Daf CF parking brake control is totally unlike those on any other make of truckā¦), he then sought advice - Unfortunately from a non-driving Temp who is employed as a driverās mate to assist a driver (me) who is recovering from a chest/shoulder injury. This non-driving Temp was naturally unable to assist him, and, feeling that the bloke really didnāt have a clue, went to find an experienced driver from the transport office who could help. Said driver just happens to be one of our assessors, and he went out to offer advice/assistance. He found the bloke already out of the cab and ducking under the trailer (Transmission in Reverse and engine running, unit park brake not applied). He was asked if he had checked the trailer park brake and fifth wheel height (response: shrug of shoulders). He didnāt appear to think there was anything wrong with what he had done (I only know that he hadnāt engaged the pin because I was tasked with taking the thing out after he had been sent off-site).
Nobody was āenjoyingā what went on - his efforts with the wiper stalk and the dog clip only came to light after the dust had settled. The only person present was the assessor who, in his own words, came to the conclusion that the only way he would feel confident letting him loose on the road would be to sit with him for the entire shift.
Interestingly, had he been āexperiencedā and belted under the trailer without checking anything on either the unit or trailer, gone tear arsing out of the yard and buggered off, thereād have been no issue. And yet potentially, such a driver would have been just as big a liability.
Itās a funny old world the driving gameā¦
Iam a agency driver from time to time. I recently worked for a company which specialised in ADR work.
The unit they gave me didnāt have a no smoking sign displayed in the cab, I went into the office to get one. The muppets said I canāt defect a truck for a sticker, I then had to educate them a that it is a legal requirement and if is not present then I can defect it, and how can you specialise in ADR if you donāt know the basics.
Ironicly this company bought 82 of these stickers the very same day I informed them.
This happened last month at a company in Haydock
How many regular employed drivers were driving them units illegaly since 2006 bloody muppets.
I donāt have to tell the drivers their job, I tell the actual hauliers how to do theirs!
chester:
How many regular employed drivers were driving them units illegaly since 2006 bloody muppets.
But they were not driving them illegally. The offence (or rather, the breach of duty) committed in respect of missing No Smoking signs has nothing at all to do with driving (or the driver) of the vehicle. As you say - bloody muppets
