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Just got back from QMC again........the last eight days have been a bit Traumatic to say the least,,...blood tests,,X-rays,,and today a visit to a Consultant........cut a long story short......problem

Result........CT Scans all clear......just got letter..been sweating for a fortnight......

Two years ago today..........my life changed forever,,,about this time i was on my way down to the operating theatre for what turned out to be a ten hour operation...........its been life changing in

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In that case read what a HGV driver has to say.

 

So, you are running out of food on the shelves, fuel in the garages, you can’t buy things you need, because the shops can’t get their supplies.
Why is that?
A shortage of goods? No
A shortage of money? No
A shortage of drivers to deliver the goods? Well, sort of.
There isn’t actually a shortage of drivers, what we have, is a shortage of people who can drive, that are willing to drive any more. You might wonder why that is. I can’t answer for all drivers, but I can give you the reason I no longer drive. Driving was something I always yearned to do as a young boy, and as soon as I could, I managed to get my driving licence, I even joined the army to get my HGV licence faster, I held my licence at the age of 17. It was all I ever wanted to do, drive trucks, I had that vision of being a knight of the roads, bringing the goods to everyone, providing a service everyone needed. What I didn’t take into account was the absolute abuse my profession would get over the years.
I have seen a massive decline in the respect this trade has, first, it was the erosion of truck parking and transport café’s, then it was the massive increase in restricting where I could stop, timed weight limits in just about every city and town, but not all the time, you can get there to do your delivery, but you can’t stay there, nobody wants an empty truck, nobody wants you there once they have what they did want.
Compare France to the UK. I can park in nearly every town or village, they have marked truck parking bays, and somewhere nearby, will be a small routier, where I can get a meal and a shower, the locals respect me, and have no problems with me or my truck being there for the night.
Go out onto the motorway services, and I can park for no cost, go into the service area, and get a shower for a minimal cost, and have freshly cooked food, I even get to jump the queues, because others know that my time is limited, and respect I am there because it is my job. Add to that, I even get a 20% discount of all I purchase. Compare that to the UK £25-£40 just to park overnight, dirty showers, and expensive, dried (under heat lamps) food that is overpriced, and I have no choice but to park there, because you don’t want me in your towns and cities.
Ask yourself how you would feel, if doing your job actually cost you money at the end of the day, just so you could rest.
But that isn’t the half of it. Not only have we been rejected from our towns and cities, but we have also suffered massive pay cuts, because of the influx of foreign drivers willing to work for a wage that is high where they come from, companies eagerly recruited from the eastern bloc, who can blame them, why pay good money when you can get cheap labour, and a never ending supply of it as well. Never mind that their own countries would suffer from a shortage themselves, that was never our problem, they could always get people from further afield if they needed drivers.
We were once seen as knights of the road, now we are seen as the lepers of society. Why would anyone want to go back to that?
If you are worried about not getting supplies on your supermarket shelves, ask your local council just how well they cater for trucks in your district.
I know Canterbury has the grand total of zero truck parking facilities, but does have a lot of restrictions, making it difficult for trucks to stop anywhere.
Do you want me to go back to driving trucks? Give me a good reason to do so. Give anyone a good reason to take it up as a profession.
Perhaps once you work out why you can’t, you will understand why your shelves are not as full as they could be.
I tried it for over 30 years, but will never go back, you just couldn't pay me enough.

Thank you to all those people who have shared this post. I never expected such a massive response, but am glad that this message is getting out there. I really hope that some people who are in a position to change just how bad it is for some drivers, can influence the powers that be to make changes for the better. Perhaps some city and town councillors have seen this, and are willing to bring up these issues at their council meetings. It surely cannot be too much to ask of a town/city to provide facilities for those who are doing so much to make sure their economies run and their shops and businesses are stocked with supplies. I never wanted any luxuries, just somewhere safe to park, and some basic ablutions that are maintained to a reasonable standard. I spent my nights away from my home and family for you, how much is it to ask that you at least give me access to some basic services.
There are tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of licence holders just like me, who will no longer tolerate the conditions. So the ball is firmly in the court of the councils to solve this problem.
 

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As a holder of a class 1 licence I have some sympathy but in my experience truck drivers were only ever seen as knights of the road in their own minds, everyone else only ever saw them as big, dirty, in the way and a necessary evil. It's true during the 70's 80's truck drivers were seen as second rate, not so much now though.

 

But is a shortage of drivers due to Brexit and our continetal cousins buggering off back to Bulgaria or wherever. or are they wanting to be home with families during a pandemic? 

 

 Since greedy developers began covering every available blade of grass they can find the ability to feed ourselves has gone. Since she who must not be named played havoc with our manufacturing base we don't produce anywhere near enough to meet the home market - ergo, we need imports.

 

Without imports we are in serious trouble and any bottle neck throttling the flow over the water will have a big impact here.

On the French side they lack the capcity to hold trucks (as do we) and a recent finding forecasted there could be a knock on effect of a 60% reduction in channel crossings and a possibility of up to 7000 trucks queueing on the M20. Which is to blame, covid or Brexit? 

 

Covid has to a great extent masked the effect Brexit is having on the economy and the flow of goods so it's difficult to lay all  the blame there but if any deny it is having a major impact they are being extremely niave.

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Knights of the Road my dad used to be a lorry driver in 1930/1940 and the name came from that error, it was because lorry drives  were thoughtfull stopping to help any one breakdown ect. I agree with all post's. Lets treat all lorry drivers as you your self like to be treated.

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I don'i seem to sleep after 4 00 am I think that there must be a light switch in my head. I lay wide awake for about one hour, then give up. So I get up in my lively way. Trouble is one hour later I am nomally fast asleep  on the sofa.

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8 hours ago, Oztalgian said:

Those in the photo are Tromboncino pumpkins named for their shape.

 

Doh! I should have guessed really because some courgettes are called

( locally) the same. People here dont seem to call pumpkins by their type but put them all into the same catagory....Zucche.

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Yes there is a driver shortage here but its not affecting us much as we have sources from other parts in Europe. We did say after Brexit (sorry) that there would be difficulty in importing and exporting goods. Uk isnt self sufficient and relies on goods from other countries. Maybe why theres an increase of counterfeit food stuffs. Be careful if you come across dubious goods. We watched a documentary on them and it doesn't make you even want to look at where they come from and what they put in. Whatever the fault or inconvenience Brexit ( again sorry) or covid ) lets hope it finishes soon.

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6 hours ago, mary1947 said:

I don'i seem to sleep after 4 00 am

 

I have trouble switching my brain off and it's not unusual for 4am to be bedtime for me. On the other side of the coin of course I'm never up before late'oclock

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Yes, I've seen you recently Brew, in the early hours on this site. I often wake in the night and log in or scan the news. At 3am this morning, I was down at the bottom of the garden with a torch, watching my baby hedgehogs scoffing their food! Cute isn't the word! It was a very warm night and a couple of my favourite local moggies turned up, too! Most enjoyable.

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I woke at 2am and checked my emails. I was informed I had a winner on Euromillions. How exciting! I logged in only to be told the site was closed for the night but to return later. I had wonderful dreams on how I would spend the hundred million first prize; what causes I would donate to. 

I awoke at 7.00 as usual, logged on and found I had won £2.40! I immediately reinvested £2 on tonight’s lottery. At least I now have 40p to spend. 

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At that price for a service it should not have failed the mot! The bastards charged me £4 for screenwash even though I’d just filled the reservoir to the brim and the car was covered with greasy finger marks and had not been valeted. A satisfaction questionnaire is on the way and that’s when the shit is going to hit the fan!

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At that price you should get the car fully detailed, sock it to them that would be my last visit there is it a dealership or just a garage?. Our Toyota dealer in Regina is fantastic parts are on par to Walmart although oil filters wiper blades are genuine Toyota parts.

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