THIS IS FROM ONE ANGRY TRUCK DRIVER.
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.
@Rox , Exactly that! And it doesn’t stop at lorry drivers either, UK has become
a society where manual labour has become looked down upon ??
Things are even getting worse with the " work" from home syndrome
currently sweeping the country !! Now there’s ANOTHER thing ??
Donkeyman! 
I always wanted to be a truck driver when I was younger too. It was romanticised (in my head) as being a noble thing, life on the road etc. Having read Rox’s post, and several others in the news talking of the horrendous conditions…well, it just beggars belief how we can treat people like this. I know in my area, many trucks have to park along the roads close to a supermarket (for food and bathroom access) because there are NO facilities for them. The spaces that may be available are often taken up by the travelling community. Heaven help anyone trying to shift THEM!
I always wanted to be a Coach or Lorry Driver, glad I wasn’t now, Motorways put paid to that, no freedom of choice as to route, endless traffic jams, no thank you very much.
Hi
Spot on.
We treat those we rely on terribly.
Time for a change.
Well it now looks like my trip home next week is off. 
Been looking forward to seeing my family and friends again. But how am I supposed to get down to, and back up from Perth, plus all the scudding about while there, on Rationed Fuel? Simple answer…I can’t.
Very good opening post, for a lorry driver delivering to North Cornwall coming off of junction 27 there is but one toilet stop, torridge council closed one some back in 2015.Driving lorries to this part of the world cannot be attractive.
The two lay-bys have been an essential part of lorry drivers rest stops and “pit stops” for holiday makers and the general public for many years . There is nowhere else on the A39 that has these facilities as they too have been closed over the years.
@caricature , l wonder WHERE the 100,000 lorries that the missing drivers
drove are parked ??
Surely Eddie Stobart can’t own them all??
Donkeyman! 
Good point, there’s a lorry park somewhere.
Maybe this thread needs merging too ??
Donkeyman??
IR35 hasn’t helped either. Forcing lorry drivers to pay the same PAYE and NI taxes as an employee but in return …
- No holiday pay like an employee
- No sick pay like an employee
- No expenses like an employee
- No redundancy pay like an employee
- No work - no pay unlike an employee
- No maternity/paternity pay like an employee
- No pension like an employee
- No free eye tests like an employee
- No private health care like an employee
etc
It’s a joke … if you want the self employed to pay the same tax as the employed you need to give them the same in-work benefits. Turning them into 2nd class workers is no surprise they walked away from a job with shit conditions to work in in the first place.
Here’s what one HGV driver thinks:
I have never been told what route to take. Knowing your way round the country is part of the skill set that a driver develops & the routes are often very different to those that car drivers take, as the signposted routes often add on miles & thus gallons.
But a bus driver, well thats different, there for some reason they get really stroppy if you know a better route. 