Long distance lorry driver - AMA

[firsttimedad79]

Like the title, but boring I know, but ask me anything :)

@justgeton

Sorry another.... where do you all stop overnight? Service stations I get, but anywhere else? Presuming you can't just stop in lay-bys?

I’ver certainly sometimes seen multiple lorries pulled in in lay-bys at night, but was never sure whether this was an official stop or whether these drivers had simply maxed out their driving time and had to stop ASAP...?

My children used to live waving at lorry drivers to see if they would wave back
So do you wave at children?

@MrsMoastyToasty

Is there much interaction between drivers and depot staff? My DH works in a warehouse for a subcontractor of a major food/clothing and homeware retailer. He has a few drivers he's friendly with (mainly the ones for whom his warehouse is the home port as it were ). *@InTheShadowOfTheMushroomCloud* does your DH work for a company with a purple logo?

Yup.

Have you ever broken the law while driving? I won't tell the police I promise!

Are you a Boogie Buddy?

Sorry I don't know all the technical terms, but what decides if it is a 'container' lorry or a curtain sided one? Is it based on the load or is it down to the company? I've always wondered why there are two types...

Do truck operators have any special maps which highlight routes which have low bridges?

Has satnav or road closures every got you into trouble? I was on the A38 the other day and the road closed. Miles of queues. Moved maybe a mile in an hour or two. Everyone had to get off the road at the next junction and was redirected through a small town. A huge lorry was going round a small roundabout. It had to go up on the pavement to get round it and then it went through a man hole cover! The wheel went through and it was stuck. I felt so bad for the driver. Also, how would you get a lorry’s wheel out of a manhole? Luckily it was outside a fire station and they came out to direct traffic coz the lorry had now blocked most of the roundabout too.

@justgeton

Sorry another.... where do you all stop overnight? Service stations I get, but anywhere else? Presuming you can't just stop in lay-bys?

There's a lay by a mile or so out from where I live, where me and my OH also a HGV driver meet up for his 45 when he's delivering where I live. Sometimes there could be no Trucks whatsoever in there. Yet other times it could be like the time I managed to lock myself out my flat and was busting for a wee, but didn't dare go round the back of where I live in case the neighbours saw me so I drove up to the lay by we use and it was like Truck Mecca It's a pretty big lay by though with enough room to get trucks on either side and still room for them to pass through the middle

Interesting thread. My grandad was a lorry driver back in the day. He went from his first job working with Clydesdale horses, ploughing on a local farm, to lorry driving! He said he always liked to haul stuff.

Love this thread.

Can you tell when someone is afraid going past you? I always slow down then go a bit faster as I drive alongside. I do that because I'm scared lorry driver won't see me and pull into the lane. My mother was hit by a lorry as a teen and I've heard the story so many times that I have a bit if fear when driving near them. So would you spot someone who is scared?

You must have seen some amazing cars, what is the best car you have seen? And is there a particular area of the country where you see more supercars? Do you appreciate expensive super cars?

Do you look inside the cars beneath you? What's the strangest or funniest thing you've seen?

Do you see (as a theme) people who drive a particular car brand who drive worse than others/have a greater sense of entitlement/dangerous driving?

@alex1889

Do international (as in, in and around Europe) drivers get paid more than just domestic/UK trucking? And if so, is that something you'd like to do - more long-haul driving around Europe?

And just to add I love this thread! So fascinating. Thanks OP!

Ive never seen the rates for European work so not a clue. I would love to do more European work :)

@LarsErickssong

When you are in roadworks on the motorway that are 50mph average speed do you still sit at 56mph? I always set my cruise control to 54mph but find HGV's are normally going faster, is this because you know you can do 56mph and not get a ticket?

That's speeding! I stick to the 50 mph... I am paid by the hour after all so why rush?

What gets me is the car drivers doing 45mph in the middle lane of the roadworks oblivious to what goes on around them!

Rant over lol

@LarsErickssong

Also I use the M62 a lot and find HGV's will quite often keep up with me doing 70mph+ on the big downhill bits, is this because they will be 'freewheeling'?

Yes, and they shouldn't be. Their digital tachometer will pick this up and if mr dvsa man pulls them they will get fined!

@Sirzy

My partner is a tramper and it has certainly given me a whole new respect for drivers when I am driving. I am much more aware of the challenges they face.

I am also much more aware of driver hours, types of trucks and ADR!

Thank you OP and other truckers for keeping the country moving

I also have my ADR in tanks and packages so can pull tankers as well. No experience of tankers though so hard to get into that role!

@Namechangebuttercup

I'm loving this thread. Thanks for starting it OP!

Are the ice road truckers really in drugs?!

Would you ever like to give ice road trucking a shot (possible drugs aside obviously) - like getting teleported to Winnipeg to try? Or would you fancy giving lorry driving on some of the most dangerous roads (think it's a Nat Geo show) a try (with the guarantee you'd not come to any harm!)?

Oh god yes! I love trying new things. I'm very boring in myself but I do love new challenges!

@justgeton

I don't know how to say this without sounding goady but I'm genuinely not..

When 2 lorries drive side by side for ages is it just that one of you wants to get in front? I mean it always strikes me as pointless.. you won't gain much? I always wonder if there's a reason I don't know of.

I think you do a great job btw.. since the pandemic I've realised we need you!

All truck speed limiters are different. So we could both be doing 56mph on our speedo but one of us will be 1/2 mph faster and obviously we like to be in front ;) lol

@KosherSalt

This is really interesting — thanks, OP. I’ve often passed lorries parked at night in a layby with lights on in the cabs and wondered what kinds of lives the drivers led, as it looked lonely and slightly glamorous in a seedy sort of way...

What got you into driving? Do you think it requires a specific solitary personality type? Does it affect the way you drive your car when off-duty? What are you thinking about during all those hours of driving?

I've always been into driving :) doing this job you do have to be a certain type of person. I think about everything from what I'm going to do at the weekend, to any problems I need to think over, to day dreaming about being rich and not having to work lol

@justgeton

Sorry another.... where do you all stop overnight? Service stations I get, but anywhere else? Presuming you can't just stop in lay-bys?

Stop in lay-bys, industrial estates or truck stops as well as services :)

@MrsMoastyToasty

Is there much interaction between drivers and depot staff? My DH works in a warehouse for a subcontractor of a major food/clothing and homeware retailer. He has a few drivers he's friendly with (mainly the ones for whom his warehouse is the home port as it were ). *@InTheShadowOfTheMushroomCloud* does your DH work for a company with a purple logo?

There can be, all depends on the drivers and the depot really!

@Whythesadface

My children used to live waving at lorry drivers to see if they would wave back So do you wave at children?

If children are waving at me they get a wave or a honk of the air horn :)

Great thread
My dad was a HGV driver in the 70s and 80s and I went with him a lot when I was very small
There is nothing like being in the cab as a kid
Did you ever travel in a truck as a kid?

@PolPotNoodle

Have you ever broken the law while driving? I won't tell the police I promise!

Only speeding! Breaking the law in a lorry is more severe than in a car. Car drivers get dealt with just by the courts. We get dealt with by the courts and then get further punishments by the traffic commissioners office as we are held to higher standards.

For example I was banned from driving before I got my hgv license. I appealed the ban and during the appeal process I was allowed to drive again. So that's when I did my hgv licenses. When it came to court my ban was upheld. I still had to go to a hearing at the traffic commissioners office even though the ban was just before my hgv license. The traffic commissioner banned me from hgv driving for a further 4 weeks after my car ban ended.

@BaronessBomburst

Are you a Boogie Buddy?

No idea what this is, did a google and it came up with a Bluetooth speaker!

@MidnightHangingTree

Sorry I don't know all the technical terms, but what decides if it is a 'container' lorry or a curtain sided one? Is it based on the load or is it down to the company? I've always wondered why there are two types...

A container is a big metal box that comes off a ship and is lifted onto a trailer. These are obviously swappable.

Curtain spiders are the trailers with curtains both sides.

Flats are the same as curtains, but without the roof and curtains lol