1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186 
A matter of respect
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The public has a poor perception of professional drivers — LGV driver L Radley wonders why that is.
Tap of the lis1 of drivers' favourite moans— and its a very long list — is the way we're perceived by the general public. They think were stupid. They think we're incompetent. They think we're incapable of seeing past the end of our collective nose.
So we're all really keen to get the new Driver CPC under our belts, because then we'll have periodic training and updating of our skills just like nurses, teachers, vehicle technicians, and all the other wellrespected trades out there, right? Wrong.
First, we know we're good, and people should take our word for it. We don't need to learn new things. Faced with technical innovation we'll just dismiss it as useless and wax lyrical about the good old days of crash boxes. Faced with new hours rules we'll plead ignorance and blame the boss for not telling us.
Second, we want it to be free, because why should we pay? We want respect, but we don't want to offer anything for it — least of all agency drivers. Why should they waste time and money training when they could be gloating about how much higher their hourly rate is than the fools who are in permanent jobs?
Anyway, I've already got a CPC, why do I need another one? I've got an 0-level too. Just the one, mind. In woodwork. But one's enough, surely? We don't like exams. Because they're hard. And they might involve a bit of mental effort. And reading stuff. You can forget on-the-job assessment while you're at it— I mean, who is some assessor to tell me how to drive? So what if he's been trained by the manufacturer, and can get me an increase of a whole mile per gallon by letting me in on a few trade secrets. It isn't cash in my pocket, is it?
No, we want respect, I tell you. 'Cos we're professionals. Two secs while I relieve myself against this here wheel... the walk to the toilet is far too much.
They think we're stupid. T think we're incompetent. T think we can't see past the our collective nose."
Think I'm making this up? I'll leave you to decide that one. I've got a wall to be banging my head against.