Can our reporter step up to the job of truck driver?
THOSE famous words that should never be uttered out loud went through my head as I got into the cab of the lorry – “how hard can it be?”.
True to form, things didn’t quite go to plan as I attempted to see what it’s like behind the wheel of an HGV.
Lorry drivers have become national news over recent months, with numerous reports over the shortage of drivers and vehicles available to transport goods.
The shortage has got the Government and businesses concerned, and changes are already being made in response. Some firms in our region are offering HGV drivers jobs with salaries of more than £40,000 a year.
Two people who aren’t quite so worried are Kevin and Hayley Skipworth-Grey, founders of S-G Transport Training and Logistics Ltd.
The firm, which is based in Allenton, is an accredited driver training centre for Derby, Nottingham and the surrounding areas, and is the perfect place for people looking to get into the business.
While the driver shortage is bad news for many other firms, Kevin and Hayley say they are delighted to be working overtime because they have had so many enquiries from people wanting to do their training.
Indeed it makes a nice change of pace for the pair, after the Covid pandemic forced their business to grind to a halt at points during the past year.
“We cover most areas of the logistics side, but at the moment the main area seems to be the drivers because of the shortage that’s out there,” Kevin says.
“I don’t think it’s [due to] the pandemic, because the tests were delayed, but I think since Brexit there’s been more of a problem because of a lot of the drivers not coming back.”
The pair added there was also a shortage of vehicles due to the owners in Europe not bringing them back over, while a strike at the DVLA meant paperwork is being processed more slowly than normal.
They added it can take only two months to get your HGV licence from start to finish.
“As long as you pass everything first time and put the effort in, you’re looking at about two months, and then you can get the class 1 [which allows you to drive articulated lorries] a month after that,” Kevin said.
The practical test involves a reversing exercise and a 45-60 minute journey covering town, open road and dual carriageway driving.
These tests take place in Watnall, Nottinghamshire, at the moment, although from October 4, practical tests will also be run from Sinfin Commercial Park.
“The amount of tests that we need for the demand we have, means we’re going to have to use both locations,” Kevin says.
In order to get an idea of what is involved in actually driving an HGV, Kevin and Hayley very kindly offered to let me try out one of their learner vehicles.
Being a classic city-dweller, the biggest vehicle I’ve ever driven is my driving instructor’s Ford Fiesta when I was a learner driver nearly a decade ago, so this was a big step up for me.
It was probably in everyone’s best interests to avoid sending me out on to public roads in a truck weighing more than a tonne, so I was given my chance behind the wheel in the safer environment of Sinfin Commercial Park.
HGVs have a reputation for having more gears than most people have fingers, so perhaps it was a blessing that the one I was operating was an automatic, something I’m told is a lot more common these days.
Walking up to the truck, the first thing that struck me was the size of it – you travel past these vehicles every day, but you have to pause and take a good look to appreciate the size of it.
This becomes even more apparent when climbing up several steps to get into the cab, and I got a lovely view. You can appreciate just how much easier it is to see what’s coming up ahead on the road in one of these vehicles.
The rear and the side of the HGV was a different prospect altogether. I had great difficulty judging exactly where my wheels were and, more importantly, where the back of the HGV was.
Kevin very helpfully guided me through where I was supposed to go for the reversing exercise, although unknown to me at the time I managed to knock over one of the cones I was supposed to be very carefully avoiding.
That’s an automatic fail on your test, but I imagine it’s child’s play compared to driving a truck on real roads, with other road users darting past you.
While I didn’t leave with my pride intact, and I don’t think a career in haulage is in my future, I definitely left with a better understanding of how difficult it can be for the people tasked with driving these leviathans on the road.
Walking up to the truck, the first thing that struck me was the size of it.
Matthew Lodge