Whats the worst driving job you ever had,?

[thecoder0]

I Will start the ball rolling and to clarify what i mean …hours conditions…pay…employer…etc…

My worst 9 weeks was tipper driving for a small firm who were dead dodgy and dispite a catalogue of issues ranging from running bent … overloaded…didn’t pay on time…vehicles were always roadworthy though …

They were reported on numerous occasions and still trade today…pretty unbelievable really.

I could write a book about the dodgy dealings in those 9 weeks but the one that stands out in my mind was the Paperclip incident…anyhow it goes like this…

After numerous hints about running without a tacho etc etc I find that in week 4 my vehicle has been changed and replaced with a Volvo that Noah used to have…When I asked the question

Why have I been given this motor its a shed and 5 nights a week aint gonna be fun Boss.

Gaffer : Ah well you see I know your not keen on running without a Tacho in (never did in nine weeks by the way)

Me : Yes and your point is

Gaffer : Well no need now because if you look at the Tacho head and you remove this bit and that bit there…and the you put this paperclip in that hole it will stop the tacho working and and record break Hey Presto…

Me : Best get mi P45 then Boss.

Gaffer : Ah well if you change yer mind its up to you.

This actually is only one of many dodges the guy had…but hey I said I would start the ball rolling…

No names obviously folks

…so come on whats the worst job youve had or maybe even got at the moment ?

[chrisy_boy]

the worst for me was bakery-work on for the agency,a typical day would be something like this;pull into compound at 2.30am then walk quarter of a mile to transport office,find out what route you would be on that day,walk back quarter of a mile to compound to fetch your shed,its not in the correct bay and worse its not there at all! walk back quarter of mile back to the office,TM then realises truck is already on bay 13!great now you can get on with the job of loading it,before doing your 20 drops in oxfordshire.So you get on bay and theres 40 stacks of bread dumped in random order on your bay,but then you realise that you need 40 sets of wheels,as theres none on your shed,so you beg,steal and borrow and end-up with 25sets.Now you can start hooking the stacks onto the wheels and load your shed up,theres a very sophisticated numbering system at the bakery consisting of a piece of cardboard stuck in one of the trays of each stack.you eventually get your load on after about an hour and then you can start your job!So at 4am(already an hour late)you head of from Birmingham.As most of the drops are back of beyond you get later by the minute,phone rings’where are ya?’ you explain late loading,new route etc and then carry on,your last 4 drops refuse the loads as youve missed the mid-day cut-off by 3hrs! so you head back to brum,when you get back theres a queue waiting to un-load there empties on THE ONE UN-LOADING BAY,so you wait your turn,tip sort-out you paper-work etc,park up the shed go home go to bed repeat the process 6 days a week if your lucky you might stay on the same route,theres plenty of other hassles that go with the job but my typing fingers about to drop-off so im gona leave it there! NEVER EVER AGAIN

[coffeeholic]

In 23 years I’ve only ever worked as an OD and been employed by 3 companies, and I’m only just into my 8th week with the third. All have been good jobs with no problems so thankfully I haven’t got a worst.

[kls]

The worst agency job ive done so far was doing a night run for white arrow / reality / home delivery network, or whatever they call themselves these days. got to the depot, went to the transport office, got the paper work and keys to the unit, found unit and then told to go and fill it with diesel, the diesel tank is on another part of the industrial estate find it and fill up,
then told to collect a trailer, eeerrr parked at another industrial estate about 5 miles away
collected the trailer, and eventually headed off to find first drop, found it ok, had to get help reversing it in as there were trailers parked in the most awkward places imaginable
dropped trailer, hitched up loaded one and headed of to the next drop, found it ok, factory shut, no one there
i phone the transport office to tell them
“are you sure your at the right place?”
me “yes”
“are you sure, can you see the name on the warehouse?”
me “yes”
“oh right bring it back to the depot then”
me “ok”.
got back to the depot, “we dont keep the trailers here”
me “what?”
“we keep the trailers in a different part of the industrial estate”
found where the trailers are kept
“park it on numer 18 parking bay”
me “ok”
had a few attempts at parking the trailer, but with about 8" to spare each side of the trailer because they had parked them so close together, and no room to straighten up so you couldnt park it without hitting the trailers either side.
me "get your shunter to park it "

I phoned agency and told them never to send me there again
Looking back it might all have seemed worse at the time because i had only recently passed my test, but ive never seen such an awkward setup as they had there

[mixer-driver01]

Bakery job,

Started at 2am counting all the various types of bread and cakes loaded my van up with 10 deliverys, got them out of the way by 4.30am then loaded up 4 vans to the roof and went out with mine untill 3pm, then got back and cleaned up for a hour

crap pay, got treated bad… needless to say i didnt stay long
bloody long hours, on top of that they didnt like us having breaks

[steve07]

my worst agency job was, phone rang agency can you do a rigid for a week my reply what pay £7 ph came the reply mine NO hour later they offered me my class 1 rate for the week and asured me everything would sack barrow off load so i agreed turned at 5 am mon to be shown to my home for week a 93 volvo that was battered, i thought oh well 1 week not so bad 23 drops school furniture all over 2 days to do them, gets to first drop 100 class room tables that couldn’t be sack barrowed off, that was me shut door 4 and halfs back to barnsley a quick call to agency don’t put me back there.

[scania245]

hard work and long hours have never bothered me but some jobs ive had (what the boss thinks is a days work) opened my eyes and i mean small and national companies 48 hours paid for 60 hours work 20 hours a day work and 4 hours off pre loaded trailers 15 ton overweight running on dutch plates yes ive had a few jobs sometimes upto 6 a year but rather than think about the crap employers ive had im really happy with my new job it just ticks all the boxes that i usually consider important and are hard to get

[thecoder0]

Coffeeholic:
In 23 years I’ve only ever worked as an OD and been employed by 3 companies, and I’m only just into my 8th week with the third. All have been good jobs with no problems so thankfully I haven’t got a worst.

Coffee do you run out of DHL Hatfield I was over the road Sunday morning at Bookers.

I am working fridges at the moment for a small firm. just been left a bit of cash thinking of OD route …what would your advice be?

[spy]

Van driving for a small courier firm. Had no fork lift and no way of removing anything from the van. It was all two day delivery contracts, half the van would go as far south as cornwall one day (with the next days load in it as well) then up to scotland the next day. Sent me to do several drops around devon and cornwall one day and wanted the van back for 5pm!

Final straw was when I swapped vans with a bloke in the services, was on the way back up and something was rattling in the back. Pulled over to check it out and it was loaded to the roof with fireworks.

They though nothing of 15hours driving, pushed you to speed constantly and would carry absolutely anything. They sent me out in a transit once loaded to the roof with engines and gearboxes, barely moved and wouldnt stop.

Told em to stuff it in no uncertain terms after the pyrotechnics warnings on all the boxes I was carrying! I am no exoert but I assume this would come under ADR?

[scania245]

depends on the boxed quantity radioactive and infectious are the only classes of hazardous goods that have a zero tolerance ie any amount is covered by A.D.R.

[pop_larkin]

34 years completed this November and apart from the last 5 or 6 years on agencies - never had a job and I ain’t admitting to me being the worst job I’ve had!
Looking back, I’d have to say the first 5 years as an OD were the worst. Not that they were bad - far from it. It’s just that I discovered by mistake that at the end of the week what I earnt driving other people’s lorries was better than when using my own. OK, the invoice was smaller, but by the time the running costs of mine were taken out, it was far better not to have it. And that was without the extra time spent on paperwork and maintainance.
Some jobs seemed bad at the time, but once you’d worked out that the rain that was clean as it fell was always oily as it ran down inside your sleeve when you pulled the ropes, that sheets didn’t roll up well when frozen and would blow off the load in the wind just as you’d climbed up to spread them out, that tilts were best tied down before stripping them in the wind, that wooden roof boards in tilts actually bent a long way before breaking and if they did break you would stop falling after about 8 foot anyway. That soaking wet, freezing cold and hungry, an A series ERF isn’t the best accommodation for the night and that scraping the ice off the inside of windows wasn’t the best way to start the day. That when the man at Aachen looked up and said ‘problem’ then he usually meant it. When the Austrian at Salzburg said ‘problem’ he certainly meant it! That even when the sea was smooth, a flat bottomed freighter is still going to be bumpy and that it took practise to catch the coffee as it slid past.
All little inconveniences that came with the job, but looking back, it was fun, folk were helpful, cafes did good food and offered the chance of some Russian Roulette before plunging into the crater filled park. Trailers used to creak and groan when they were heavy and tell you when they were thinking of falling over. Mirrors were minute, usually misted up or frozen, but usually only needed one piece of string to tie the arms to the front bumber to stop then folding into the doors when you managed to cajole the beast up to 40mph. Silent neutral actually worked better down hill than the piece of wood wedged onto the throttle on the flat. Log books could be started when you were sure you’d get home, or filled in quickly as the ministry man approached, usually knowing what you were doing.
The job just ain’t got no fun in it anymore!

[chas_malthouse]

A very long time ago I did a short spell delivering vehicles on trade plates, one of the jobs was running Land Rovers that had been converted in to ambulances to Felixstowe, these vehicles had no heaters in them and in the winter it was f…f…f… freezing. Working now part time with an agency, recently I walked of a company that expected me to unload a trailer with 1000 boxes on it, fine you are thinking, but these boxes were not on pallets, they were on the floor and all had to be carried off one by one. (Not by me though).

[thecoder0]

Pop Larkin:
34 years completed this November and apart from the last 5 or 6 years on agencies - never had a job and I ain’t admitting to me being the worst job I’ve had!
Looking back, I’d have to say the first 5 years as an OD were the worst. Not that they were bad - far from it. It’s just that I discovered by mistake that at the end of the week what I earnt driving other people’s lorries was better than when using my own. OK, the invoice was smaller, but by the time the running costs of mine were taken out, it was far better not to have it. And that was without the extra time spent on paperwork and maintainance.
Some jobs seemed bad at the time, but once you’d worked out that the rain that was clean as it fell was always oily as it ran down inside your sleeve when you pulled the ropes, that sheets didn’t roll up well when frozen and would blow off the load in the wind just as you’d climbed up to spread them out, that tilts were best tied down before stripping them in the wind, that wooden roof boards in tilts actually bent a long way before breaking and if they did break you would stop falling after about 8 foot anyway. That soaking wet, freezing cold and hungry, an A series ERF isn’t the best accommodation for the night and that scraping the ice off the inside of windows wasn’t the best way to start the day. That when the man at Aachen looked up and said ‘problem’ then he usually meant it. When the Austrian at Salzburg said ‘problem’ he certainly meant it! That even when the sea was smooth, a flat bottomed freighter is still going to be bumpy and that it took practise to catch the coffee as it slid past.
All little inconveniences that came with the job, but looking back, it was fun, folk were helpful, cafes did good food and offered the chance of some Russian Roulette before plunging into the crater filled park. Trailers used to creak and groan when they were heavy and tell you when they were thinking of falling over. Mirrors were minute, usually misted up or frozen, but usually only needed one piece of string to tie the arms to the front bumber to stop then folding into the doors when you managed to cajole the beast up to 40mph. Silent neutral actually worked better down hill than the piece of wood wedged onto the throttle on the flat. Log books could be started when you were sure you’d get home, or filled in quickly as the ministry man approached, usually knowing what you were doing.
The job just ain’t got no fun in it anymore!

Pop what a great read and certainly brings back some memories for me …A well written piece and an even better trip down memory lane.

Thanks for that M8

[dieseldave]

spy:
Van driving for a small courier firm.

Told em to stuff it in no uncertain terms after the pyrotechnics warnings on all the boxes I was carrying! I am no exoert but I assume this would come under ADR?

“Pyrotechnics” is usually explosives of some kind, and would normally be regulated under ADR to some extent.

Without any info, I’ll guess that you were carrying small “garden” fireworks. If that’s true, then they are in division 1.4 compatability letter “S,” so that means that you have NO LIMIT, because they’re in ADR Transport Category 4. (1.4S is in TC4, which is unlimited.) The only things you would need to carry with you are: some form of photographic I.D. and a certificate of ADR awareness training- not even a proper course!!

I wonder whether the boss knew that??

[spy]

The boss knew nothing. He sat answered the phone and agreed to anything then wondered how the hell to deliver! Half of the vans were on hire, we exceeded the daily milege every day we threw engines and gearboxes in the back, pouring waste oil all over the ply lining. Funny really, every time they finally took a van back they had to find a new hire firm! Was trying to dig a van out once that was blocked in by a couple of others. The boss was watching, I asked him to move one for me. He said “I cant reverse that”!! The planning was done by a 16 year old boy with no driving license, he planned routes and estimated ETA using multimap.com.

To add insult to injury, after I left them I started getting speeding fines and double yellow parkin tickets. I had shown my license to a hire firm when I collected one of the vans!

As for the firework thing, there were definately pyrotechnics warnings on boxes and from memory I could have swarn it was fireworks. Legal or otherwise, it would have been nice to be told what I was carrying (although I obviously should have looked before I set off). I needed a parcel delivering cheap recently, decided they were probabaly ideal! Funnily enough the phone number doesnt seem to work anymore…

[niall_y]

i did 2 years multidrop with a wellknown nationwide company in liverpool… typical day;

arrive at 5:15am, unlock gates, meet trunker from birmingham, double deck full of 6foot cages, unload it ON MY OWN, then sort parcels by postcode into runs (1000+ consignments, 2000+ parcels, 5 sorters)… then redirect parcels at wrong depot, then sort my own run + load it… then meet second load of drivers, show them there runs, listen to there ■■■■■■■■, tell them you can do my run if you want, its only 45 drops in bootle, formby, southport, maghull, ormskirk… leave 10ish on run… do 45 drops by 2/3ish… do 15/16 collections… back at depot, label all collections… handball off van… home 7ish… sleep + repeat…

after 2 years i had had enough… on plus side i know liverpool like back of hand now!!!

[spy]

I bet you do! Sounds like a nitemare!

Anyone got any stories of terrible none driving jobs? I did a short (3 nights to be exact) stint sorting carrots on a production line. Thousands of carrots flew past and you had to pick out the rotten / broken ones! 12 Hours nights doing that really was mind numbing. Not to mention the fact that I was one of the 3 or so english speakers. In fact, when I look back it makes my ropey courier job look like a dream. The only amusing part of the job was everyone was so focused on the moving belt if someone turned it off we all staggered sideways!

Never again!

[coffeeholic]

thecoder0:
Coffee do you run out of DHL Hatfield I was over the road Sunday morning at Bookers.

Yep, that’s where I work.

[dieseldave]

scania245:
depends on the boxed quantity radioactive and infectious are the only classes of hazardous goods that have a zero tolerance ie any amount is covered by A.D.R.

Hi scania245, I’m not being judgemental here, but it might be that you’ve been misled.
With ADR, it’s wise to remember that where there’s a rule, there’s usually an exemption.
That’s why the books are:
so darned thick (1300 ish pages)
expensive (£110 for ADR plus £38ish for UK regs)
complicated
technical
oh, and did I mention heavy??

When ADR applies, it usually comes in “layers” depending on how dangerous the “stuff” is.
It’s ADR’s way of letting people get on with the job, if the “stuff” isn’t awfully dangerous, before they need to be fully regulated/compliant.
Sometimes a lot of research is needed- hence the requirements for DGSAs and why jobs and responsibilities are so clearly defined.

With explosives (Class 1,) it normally depends on the actual weight/literage of explosive excluding all packagings and anything else that isn’t an explosive substance. The Military, and civilians working for them, have a number of exemptions, and explosives of 1.4S are unlimited, since they’re in TC4.

With radioactives (Class 7) there are a number of UN numbers (UN2908 to UN2911 inc.) that are in TC4, so just those are also unlimited.

With infectious (Class 6.2) there’s two categories called “A” and “B” most of which are in TC0 and are instantly and fully regulated as you said. However, there are a number of “things” of 6.2 cat “B” that fall into TC2 with a 333lit/kg limit. Clinical Waste is one good example.

Other classes:
TC0 “zero tolerance” actually contains some really dangerous “stuff” from classes: 1, 3, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7, 8 and 9

The Devil is in the detail mate

Now my small contribution to this topic. My worst job:
Much the same as Pop Larkin, but trying to sort ADR fact from ADR fiction and save people from getting nicked runs a close second

[dieseldave]

spy:
The boss knew nothing. He sat answered the phone and agreed to anything then wondered how the hell to deliver!

I kinda guessed that

spy:
The planning was done by a 16 year old boy with no driving license, he planned routes and estimated ETA using multimap.com.

I’ve seen some awful planners, but never one that young

spy:
As for the firework thing, there were definately pyrotechnics warnings on boxes and from memory I could have swarn it was fireworks.

Answered above, I hope.

spy:
Legal or otherwise, it would have been nice to be told what I was carrying (although I obviously should have looked before I set off).

It would be nice to know, but then it’s their job to know whether the stuff’s dangerous, whether you’re trained for it, what regs apply and all that kind of stuff. With ADR, being any kind of a boss isn’t easy.

spy:
I needed a parcel delivering cheap recently, decided they were probabaly ideal! Funnily enough the phone number doesnt seem to work anymore…

Did they go broke paying hire company penalty charges and various fines■■? (Answer probably not needed )

Do we wonder why “O” licencing begins at 3,500kg gvw?? Nah!!