So how hard of a job is driving a truck?

Ah but you mention the WTD and working 48 hours, earning what was it? £16.11 per hour, you didnt mention the Road Transport Directive or RTD which than involves Periods of Availability so that takes us back up to 60 hour weeks, plus when you go to work as a fairy cake salesman or a teacher, or a computer programmer. Do you have Vosa constantly checking your driving hours? Do you have the Traffic Commisioners monitoring your every move?

If you get done for speeding, or god forbid using a mobile phone while driving, you can pay your fine , get three more points and ring the missus to tell her you will be home for tea. HGV drivers are subject to further punishment by the TC and will have the driving licence suspended for up to 3 months.

Of course fuel explosions are few and far between, due to lots of safety devices, driver training and legislation. But look at the state of the UK when Buncefield had a small explosion. What is known as a crossover, a spark caused by static electricity in a fuel depot is enough to trigger this. The fumes are laying in pits, gulleys and in bund waiting for an opportunity to go bang.

As well as the pressure to meet ridiculous deadlines set by someone in an office, trying to be in 2 places at once while still acting in a safe manner. I have driven tankers for over 30 years and actually finished a job delivering Chocolate at Christmas, for this I was paid 40k and that wasnt enough for the time I was away, living and eating in a tin box. having to park up in foreign lands because of a driving ban while the car drivers take their screaming kids away for the weekend.

Trucks are not welcome in any city or town now, send freight by rail I hear you scream! Fine, just nip to your local Tosco and see where the rail depot is? 3 days without trucks will have you all clamouring for the anti depressants, as you realise your car is short of fuel, the bread is stale, your milk is sour. The cows are dying in the fields because they have no food, they cannot be milked anyway as there is no storage in the dairy even if you could get it there.

5 days without trucks and all the cashpoints would be empty, the pub will be dry, the fridge empty, the pizza boy has no fuel for his moped. Well you get the picture

Plus I didnt mention the microlise system, where you are monitored by GPS 24/7 inluding speed, direction etc so you cant even make time up by putting your foot down without a call from the office telling you to back off the speed, thats why so many trucks now do only 40 mph on A roads, and cause all sorts of hold ups.

BTW Wheelnut, do you rememeber hickson and welsh going up a few years ago ? one driver and two operators vapourised when a nitotoluene, the nt part of tnt, line ran dry and overheated the pump, blew a tank up ?

Originally Posted by stewie

BTW Wheelnut, do you rememeber hickson and welsh going up a few years ago ? one driver and two operators vapourised when a nitotoluene, the nt part of tnt, line ran dry and overheated the pump, blew a tank up ?

I do, I used to pull ONT out of there for Norman

I find it insulting that some people think that just because you have a degree you are automatically entiltled to more money, err hang on so you spent 3-4years ****ing about getting drunk maybe attending a few hours of lectures a week and expect the world to owe you a living, wake the f**k up!!

most degrees in this country are uslless and dont show any proof of higher inteligence. I always Laugh at the fact that i earn far more than 99% of my degreee educated mates from school. And when i leave the forces i will be able to get a well paid comms job , comms bores the tits off me but pays well. The differance between me when i leave and sone usless **** from uni is i have the experiance to back up my quals.

At the moment i am studdying to get on my FofS course where i will spend 20 month back in full time education to get a degree in telecomunications.

So truckers are surrounded by red tape telling them what to do and what not to do. No good complaining, nobody forces anyone to drive a truck. Plus which, the rules are there for truckers' benefit as much as the protection of the public.

I don't see why driving a petrol wagon is so different from any other wagon. What about driving a bus - bus drivers commonly have 50+ people on board and I think the average salary for a bus driver is around £22K.

Originally Posted by neio79

I find it insulting that some people think that just because you have a degree you are automatically entiltled to more moner, err hang on so you spent 3-4years ****ing about getting drunk maybe attending a few hors of lectures a week and expect the worlt o owe you a living, wake the f**k up!!

most degrees in this country are uslless and dont show any proof of higher inteligence. I always Laugh at the fact tahti earn far more than 99% of my degreee educated mates from school. And when i leave the forces i will be able to get a well paid comms job , comms bore the tits off me but pay well. The differance between me when i leave and sone usless **** from uni is i have the experiance to back up my quals.

At the moment i am studdying to get on my FofS course where i will spend 20 month back in full time education to get a degree in telecomunications.

you mean you dont have a degree in spelling ?

Originally Posted by hovis

you mean you dont have a degree in spelling ?

i dont, but have one in typing to fast for my own good so i mess up every other word!

Originally Posted by Ed

So truckers are surrounded by red tape telling them what to do and what not to do. .

sounds the same as a lot of other jobs

Originally Posted by neio79

i dont, but have one in typing to fast for my own good so i mess up every other word!

Just because many a truck driver has poor taste in check shirts and cowboy boots, looking at the wider picture and their contribution to the countries economy and infra structure should not be under valued at all.

Again looking down one's nose or from the lofty perch presented by you being in possession of a degree is for me very weak indeed.

To set about questioning the salary offered in another field without experiencing what the job actually entails is a very cheap shot.

To take perhaps a contentious line for an example..a Lawyer? Glorified clerk who has 90% of the work done by underlings who receive a way lower rate. Much of the work involved is repetitive and via pre set forms and documentation. So how much an hour is that worth then?

Please dont hate me any legal eagles on here.