HGV drivers are being offered up to £50,000 pa now, due to a supposed
shortage of people willing to do the job ??
I think it is a good thing ! Let the market decide what it is worth !
After all the justice system and other professions have for years cited the
shortage of judges etc as the reason for the high costs of their services ??
It’s about time the other end of society started doing it as well, ??
Donkeyman! 
For years employers have been getting away with paying low wages to pretty much everyone except themselves.
I was a delivery driver and the wages were shocking so good to see that there are changes for the better.
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It’s not all about income and some of the problem is all down to logistics where loads do not connect and deliveries arrive late which makes for bad driver relations and ill feelings. Also after some long runs there are no or very little in the way of facilities for drivers.
I believe that the amount of pay one receives should equate to how much demand there is for your services. Consequently, lorry drivers are now going to get what they deserve.
However, as Long Driver says, in addition to the money the whole system needs to be organised better, though I’m not sure what better facilities for the drivers are needed as I’ve never been one.
That sounds good, but the normal working week for an HGV driver is 15 hours per day for 5 days plus alternate 6th day working due to that being permitted under tachograph law.
Also, many drivers are away from home tramping around the country or Europe all week, or on occasions for longer. And an HGV driver does not overnight in a hotel, it’s their cab & with minimal places available to park in safe-ish locations with toilets etc, it’s normally a layby now. With all the risks that brings.
All HGV drivers routinely get asked if they have driven their 9 hours or worked their full 15. Few other jobs require that level of working hours & unlike someone in an office an HGV risks imprisonment for any mistakes they make at work. You cannot spellcheck a journey before sending it & even if management does have a no blame culture for themselves. VOSA & the Police do not for drivers.
About 20 years ago I was earning more than my wife who is a dual qualified nurse & I was routinely offered better paid jobs. As due to the nature of the job & the hours worked the money can be very good, even if the working conditions are poor at many companies.
To give an idea of the kind of hours worked. One Bank Holiday I worked 60 hours between Friday night & Tuesday breakfast. I was doing vehicle recovery, which is tachograph exempt.
That’s a bit of a shock. I thought there were strict limits of how long they could drive in a day and that that is recorded on their tachograph.
15 hours a day doesn’t leave much time for meals and sleeping, does it?
@Gee3 , l agree it is a pretty awful life doing long distance , specially if you
are a family man Gee! And has been undervalued for years !
But l must say l thought you were only supposed to drive for about 4hrs at a stretch before taking a break for about an hour,( ??)
Perhaps you can correct me on this ?
I think it is disgusting that management pressures you to work such long
hours, didn’t your union object to this ??
I also think it is long overdue if they are indeed getting decent wages at last ?
Even if it puts the prices we pay up ?
Donkeyman!
Those are the highly regulated working / driving hours.
The law allows for 9 hours of driving per day, which can be extended to 10 hours on a certain number of days. And the 15 hours includes breaks from driving & other duties.
You can drive for a maximum of 4.5 hours, but must take a break of 45 minutes. That 45 minutes can be broken up. So drive for example 30 minutes take 15 minute break. Drive for 4 hours take 30 minutes. And then the next 4.5 hours starts.
But a break from driving is a period where you do no other work.
Edited to add. The above is driving under EU laws. Some work is done under domestic laws, which are slightly different & some work, such as vehicle recovery work is tachograph exempt. But it is all complicated & would take paragraphs to explain, even basically.
The unions that cover HGV’s are a bit dubious. There is the United Road Transport Union, who are the only union dedicated to road transport & what was the Transport & General Workers Union.
Back in the 70’s or 80’s the URTU left the TUC over rasism within the TGWU at Ford & the TUC’s refusal to deal with the issue. Then about 15 years ago it rejoined.
That nice film about the women at Dagenham ignored the racism there & racism that was union instigated. As due to TGWU rules no black people were allowed to be employed driving HGV’s for Ford.
I have a truck licence, you are not allowed to drive more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period (including loading and unloading), must take regular breaks, and keep an accurate log book. Trucks over a certain weight are speed limited to 100kph and have a tachometer.
Separate licence is required for semis, B doubles and road trains which I don’t have.
@Gee3 , Thanks for the detailed reply Gee, much appreciated .
Some of it now makes sense to me, but l suppose to understand it better
I would need to have been a HGV long distance driver ? 
Donkeyman!
Not really. Most drivers are not long distance now. The days of the Saudi run are long gone. A friend used to do a run into Italy & back on a tax dodge for a well known brand, but most UK drivers work within the UK.
Being out multiple (3+) nights a week is called tramping & the drivers who do that week after week are in a minority. As it is possible to get to most places in England & back in a day. But odd nights out can be normal.
Typical runs I used to do from Norfolk include, Bristol & Avonmouth & home, sometimes via Cheltenham. The following night it might be Liverpool meat market & home. Croydon, Dunton near Sevenoaks, Basildon & home. Rochester, Canturbury, Waltham Abbey & home.
Glasgow was a regular weekend run. Deliver on Saturday morning, sleep, then collect paper from near Accrington, then swap the trailer near Newark & deliver that trailer to another yard near Newmarket & then home with yet another trailer for Sunday afternoon.
No facilities back in the 90’s and now very few…Husband compares France to the British Isles…
France is set up for the traveller whether camper or Long distance lorry.coach drivers…as far back as my first visit here it was like that…loads of pull in bays loads of rest ups with all essential facilities.
Land free size is obviously part of it, but also many people travel through France to other countries…so the need is there and business run off that as well no doubt.
.They have good shops and other services within the Service Areas…showers always…plenty of hot water and the places are very clean…
…The motorways are gradually becoming free as well…
,
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I would’ve loved to have driven a lorry.
the nearest for me was when we took turns in towing our Caravan whilst abroad…I never felt it was enjoyable as the concentration to me was hard…Husband sleeping helped me keep attentive though… 
I had been a passenger with him driving many a HGV and that is much the best place from my view…
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I was about 15 or 16 when I lived close to the A96 up North. I saw the lorry divers all the time and thought it was such a cool job to do! I had visions of driving haulage trucks across the country, just me and my dog, music playing all day, and sleeping in the cab at night.
Having read recently the reality of driving a truck, I’m quite glad I didn’t pursue that line of work…especially being female…I think it wouldn’t have turned out well. 
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