The Phantom Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 I've got 10 toilet rolls, a big bottle of handwash and a Doctors appointment I'd trade for 10 litres of hi-octane? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 I've got a motor home sitting there until next year with a full tank of fuel.....................shame it's diesel and my car is petrol. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 59 minutes ago, The Phantom said: I've got 10 toilet rolls, a big bottle of handwash and a Doctors appointment I'd trade for 10 litres of hi-octane? At least 60 bog rolls, lots of rice and vegan curry. Fortunately I only drive ~15 miles a week, Volvo has a full tank and I do have sunglasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Needle almost on red so rang the local Sainsburys petrol kiosk to be told "Supermarkets mostly have their own drivers so we've got plenty". Drove down there, no queue, no problem. Not in North Manchester anyway. Although there was a large banner on the forecourt fence reading "Hiring HGV drivers NOW!" It's a problem that's been brewing for a while but, of course, all those Johnny Foreigners no longer wanting to drive in the UK has nothing whatever to do with brexit. Just like all the staff shortages in low paid but very necessary jobs like Carers etc that's got nothing to do with brexit either! Yeah. Right. You reap what you sow.... I hope they do bring in the army. It always used to make me laugh to see eg a twenty-ton Antar pulling a fifty-five ton Chieftain tank barrelling down a motorway driven by a teenager... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 41 minutes ago, GD4ELI said: At least 60 bog rolls, lots of rice and vegan curry. Fortunately I only drive ~15 miles a week, Volvo has a full tank and I do have sunglasses. you'll need 60 bog rolls if you're eating vegan curry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 what's all this fuss about having to have a £45 licence to store more than 10 litres of petrol ? (half a gerry can), UK regs seem to be that you can store between 30 - 275L and only have to notify the local PEA, no mention of a licence or fee Quote "If you wish to store more than 30 litres of petrol and up to a maximum of 275 litres of petrol at your home or premises you need to follow the legal requirements for doing this, which are: You should notify your local Petroleum Enforcement Authority in writing, giving your name and address as the occupier of the storage place or the address where the petrol is stored. This is not a new requirement but carries forward long standing requirements of the previous legislation. You can store it in: suitable portable metal or plastic containers demountable fuel tanks a combination of the above as long as no more than 275 litres is kept https://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/petrol-storage-club-association.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Onchan Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 44 minutes ago, P.K. said: Needle almost on red so rang the local Sainsburys petrol kiosk to be told "Supermarkets mostly have their own drivers so we've got plenty". Drove down there, no queue, no problem. Not in North Manchester anyway. Although there was a large banner on the forecourt fence reading "Hiring HGV drivers NOW!" It's a problem that's been brewing for a while but, of course, all those Johnny Foreigners no longer wanting to drive in the UK has nothing whatever to do with brexit. Just like all the staff shortages in low paid but very necessary jobs like Carers etc that's got nothing to do with brexit either! Yeah. Right. You reap what you sow.... I hope they do bring in the army. It always used to make me laugh to see eg a twenty-ton Antar pulling a fifty-five ton Chieftain tank barrelling down a motorway driven by a teenager... The HGV driver issue goes back to 2014 at least, it's not new.... there was a shortage then of 20K if I remember correctly. It's actually the cheap labour that's created the problem. Instead of UK haulage companies looking after their own they'd rather get cheap eastern European labour than to pay even a half decent salary to the drivers living in UK. Many, many UK drivers left the sector in early 2K because of that. Our insatiable appetite for cheap, cheap, cheap, lower, lower, lower has lead to this. The words reap and sow come to mind. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 10 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said: The HGV driver issue goes back to 2014 at least, it's not new.... there was a shortage then of 20K if I remember correctly. It's actually the cheap labour that's created the problem. Instead of UK haulage companies looking after their own they'd rather get cheap eastern European labour than to pay even a half decent salary to the drivers living in UK. Many, many UK drivers left the sector in early 2K because of that. Our insatiable appetite for cheap, cheap, cheap, lower, lower, lower has lead to this. The words reap and sow come to mind. Plus if you have driven a lot in the EU you realise their motorway service stations are actually decent places to be with food cooked to order etc. Unlike the overpriced crap in the UK. It made me laugh to hear brexiteers saying the crisis was good news as it may well improve wages in the sector. "Another" brexit bonus. They forgot to mention that it will make most things more expensive for everyone. Funny that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Non-Believer Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 35 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said: The HGV driver issue goes back to 2014 at least, it's not new.... there was a shortage then of 20K if I remember correctly. It's actually the cheap labour that's created the problem. Instead of UK haulage companies looking after their own they'd rather get cheap eastern European labour than to pay even a half decent salary to the drivers living in UK. Many, many UK drivers left the sector in early 2K because of that. Our insatiable appetite for cheap, cheap, cheap, lower, lower, lower has lead to this. The words reap and sow come to mind. A lot of experienced drivers got out of the job because of the pressure being heaped on them by the suits and accountants who never go near a wagon in their lives. Unsustainable and unrealistic delivery schedules that bear no account of reality on the roads, spies in the cab/GPS etc etc made the job a lot of hassle and there were easier things to make a living out of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Andy Onchan said: The HGV driver issue goes back to 2014 at least, it's not new.... there was a shortage then of 20K if I remember correctly. It's actually the cheap labour that's created the problem. Instead of UK haulage companies looking after their own they'd rather get cheap eastern European labour than to pay even a half decent salary to the drivers living in UK. Many, many UK drivers left the sector in early 2K because of that. Our insatiable appetite for cheap, cheap, cheap, lower, lower, lower has lead to this. The words reap and sow come to mind. They were saying on TV yesterday that the uk has around 600,000 HGV drivers, most of whom left the business due to extra certification requirements brought in by the EU. So, you had guys who have been driving HGVs for decades being told they have to pay for retraining for EU regulations. They just stuck up 2 fingers and changed profession. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingfemme Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 Every year around 40,000 people pass their HGV test in the UK. For just over a year no tests were conducted. How many drivers are we now short? I echo what everyone has said about crap wages, even worse conditions and unrealistic expectations. No way would you get me doing that job (thought I do have a Class 1 licence). Businesses in the UK are run in disgustingly short-term fashion. The government encourages the “grab the money and run” mentality over building a truly “sustainable” business. Pigeons home to roost....... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Non-Believer Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 (edited) I watched an interview on Sky News yesterday lunchtime of a senior Army officer from the logistics side of things who has involvement with the mobilisation of the Army drivers to cover the situation. His take on things was that civilian operations have been so pared to the bone in the name of profitability (he cited principles such as JIT - " Just in Time") that the system no longer has any resilience for setbacks or upheavals such as changes in demand - there is no spare capacity for contingencies in other words. People talk about such policies being necessary to keep costs down for the consumer. That may be true, but it's relative pence to the individual consumer. What it does do is make a small number of people at the top of such industries much richer though. Amazon and Jeff Bezos trousering £3Bn a month or whatever it is, is the extreme example. Or the Uber boss man. Whilst their businesses pay minimum wage or ZHC for employees working 80hr weeks? IMHO Margaret Thatcher started this ball rolling all those years ago. Edited September 29, 2021 by Non-Believer extra bit 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoymouse Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 4 hours ago, Flyingfemme said: I echo what everyone has said about crap wages, even worse conditions and unrealistic expectations. No way would you get me doing that job (thought I do have a Class 1 licence). You don’t just get treated like shit by management, other road users also treat you with utter contempt, as do a lot of the customers. Even locally when the boat gets delayed and there is a back log of freight, are customers understanding or sympathetic? Are they bollocks, they won’t let you use the loo or even top up your water bottle, exceptions being building sites and the supermarkets, they were generally pretty fair, although building sites wanted everything early and it was often past 3pm, which didn’t always leave them best pleased. I also bet the ‘must get in front of this HGV at all costs syndrome’ is still alive and well, as will be the cars who ignore flashing four ways as you pull n near an unloading site and stop right up your backside so you can’t reverse, they’ll then stare and start effing and jeffing, hello it’s a bloody big delivery vehicle, it could be stopping at any moment for just about anywhere! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 EVs are coming faster than everyone thinks https://amp.ft.com/content/9f498c0c-4668-47ca-8874-a327e6f11aeb?__twitter_impression=true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Layman Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 On 9/28/2021 at 1:31 PM, P.K. said: Needle almost on red so rang the local Sainsburys petrol kiosk to be told "Supermarkets mostly have their own drivers so we've got plenty". Drove down there, no queue, no problem. Not in North Manchester anyway. Although there was a large banner on the forecourt fence reading "Hiring HGV drivers NOW!" It's a problem that's been brewing for a while but, of course, all those Johnny Foreigners no longer wanting to drive in the UK has nothing whatever to do with brexit. Just like all the staff shortages in low paid but very necessary jobs like Carers etc that's got nothing to do with brexit either! Yeah. Right. You reap what you sow.... I hope they do bring in the army. It always used to make me laugh to see eg a twenty-ton Antar pulling a fifty-five ton Chieftain tank barrelling down a motorway driven by a teenager... what was funny about that? Army driving tuition is/was quite extensive. More so than civvy driving courses 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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