Tongue in cheek some respected drivers on here plus some pure idiots mention the old days.
Did end end with introduction of:
the tachograph
Dcpc
beds in trucks
Anyone any other ideas
2004, when the eu abandoned its decades-long policy of only allowing new member countries to join if their economies broadly approached that of existing members and instead allowed the whole of eastern Europe to join at once. The British continental haulage industry collapsed overnight.
A friend who I’ve known for over thirty years, and who I worked for for over ten years recently took an exhibition trailer to Amsterdam. He said afterwards “Not only was I the only British driver on the (Dover-Calais) ferry, I think I was the only western European driver on it”.
So for me, 1st May 2004 was “the day the music died”.
Good old days ended for me when I started driving for a living!!! Its wasn’t the same as riding in the passenger seat of my dads truck when I was younger.[emoji22]
articulated vehicles, ratchet straps, boxes, fridges, power steering, FM radio, colour tv
Around 1983 ish when Cab phones, and then later on trackers came out.
In the ‘old days’ you set off on a Monday and the boss said ring me ( pick a day of week 
) when you are tipped.
I’ll bite.
The old days haven’t ended for some of us, and won’t while we draw breath, we can still do our jobs within certain limits how we see fit and despite it becoming increasingly unfashionable we can take a pride in doing it old school if we want (and it annoys many if you do which is a massive bonus), so long as we nod and wag our tails in the office yes sirring and no sirring when we leave the yard we are in charge, not the planner who thinks 55mph is an average speed everywhere on his 3ft x 4ft map of the country, nor the pretent tough guy who hassles the driver on the phone every 20 minutes trying to gee them along, just so long as you do the yes sir no sir three bags etc then restart the lorry and resume your progress soon as the hassle call ends there’s bugger all they can do about it.
Anyway.
-
Real transport managers, time served that knew their business what a lorry was for and could recognise a lorry driver when they saw one, vanished from the scene…their box ticking replacements are not anywhere near the same league.
-
When a lorry could be driven by anyone no matter how weak or stupid, and increasingly by itself.
These are the old days to the present young generation of drivers, they’ll remember fondly these days when they were responsible for the steering and braking of their vehicle, calculated their own route or got some electronic toy to do it for them and followed that and actually started their own fossil fuel engines.
As Gladys Knight says “one day these will be the good old days” it never ends.
Also the early 1980,s when my 6 -2 morning and 2 - 10 afternoon shifts became up to 12 hour shifts including Sundays and bank holidays on a rota. Starting time for the afternoon shift was any time from 2.00pm until 5.00pm and I had to sit by the phone at home waiting for the morning driver to ring and say when he would be back. We were also paid on a salary basis. All the hours worked were divided equally between all the drivers , the one that did the least got paid the same as the one that did the most. The firm even worked on 100 minutes in the hour and I can not remember what that was about.
It all ended when the borders and customs finished, since then any monkey could steer it across Europe.
As some on here will remember we had no phones, it was find a cafe with a fax for the reload address of 12 collections.
Change the blown tyre yourself.
robroy:
Around 1983 ish when Cab phones, and then later on trackers came out.
In the ‘old days’ you set off on a Monday and the boss said ring me ( pick a day of week
I agree with that 100%. Another point is you actually HAD a boss, not a 19 year old whizzkid sat with his phone and diary in his agency office selling you to all and sundry.
Regards. John.
I gave up driving in 91 definetly good days took it back up in 08 definitely bad days with regards to drivers etiquette, couldn’t believe how much it changed.
Only been driving for just over 10 years for me it would be paper tachographs, manual gearboxes, doing the odd shift in a 7.5tonner down the motorway at 70-80mph.
The biggest change I’ve seen is the credit crunch where before they were desperate for drivers and you got a bit of respect to there being to many drivers and getting treated like crap by many companies who used it to change things for the worse.
My job i quite like i go in grab my paperwork and keys, sometimes have a chat with the person then left alone the rest of the day, until i either phone my hours/mileage in if I’m staying out or if i,m back at the depot handing keys in downloading card for 5mins. No real hassles.
People say truck driving not as friendly or drivers don’t stick together, anytime Ive had a problem in a depot, service station, truck stop another driver has always appeared willing to help out. Anytime i’m waiting to load unload or generally hanging around usually end up chatting and moaning to other drivers.
The ‘good old day’s’ ended today to the person who is asking the question in 20/30 years time.
I reckon the good old days ended at the same time it did for not just lorry driving, not just other industries, but in general. I’ve been thinking about it and think the good old days end when technology and communication started gathering real momentum.
Technology has played it part, but for me, the rise and fall and rise of the likes of Stobart, Maritime etc with their economies of scale and race to the bottom mantra killed all the fine old companies, and with them went all the camaraderie and romance that made that era a little bit special.
Also before some plantpot Stobart apologist says drivers are smarter and trucks are better etc, there were smart drivers then, and some exceptional fleets, and the rites of passage were not 35hrs in a classroom, but tangible feats of graft and skill, like sheeting up loads, and actually driving the vehicle, rather than the other way round.
When lorries became trucks
Ossie
robroy:
Around 1983 ish when Cab phones, and then later on trackers came out.
In the ‘old days’ you set off on a Monday and the boss said ring me ( pick a day of week
+1…that would just about sum it up nicley… along with the idiot that knocked down the berlin wall and opened the floodgates of flotsam coming our way…
Yesterday? 
Janos:
Technology has played it part, but for me, the rise and fall and rise of the likes of Stobart, Maritime etc with their economies of scale and race to the bottom mantra killed all the fine old companies, and with them went all the camaraderie and romance that made that era a little bit special.
Also before some plantpot Stobart apologist says drivers are smarter and trucks are better etc, there were smart drivers then, and some exceptional fleets, and the rites of passage were not 35hrs in a classroom, but tangible feats of graft and skill, like sheeting up loads, and actually driving the vehicle, rather than the other way round.
I agree with your first paragraph but not your second. Technology will always improve and make our working life easier, but it will also cut down on man hour’s. Today’s world is only going to get worse. I’ts all me, me, me, now and ■■■■ everyone else. Yesterday and every day that is yesterday is the good old day’s.
Surely it was when we (women) started driving lorries!