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Rikki Chequer, community manager of TruckNet UK, reports on some of the latest topics to be discussed by professional drivers.
Page 22
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We start this week with a quick look at the not-so-rosy past from the Old Time Lorries, Drivers and Companies forum, While 1980s trucks were a considerable improvement over those from the days of the Guy J4 and Bedford KMs, they still had a way to go.
A discussion on the worst truck of the '80s reveals quite a few contenders. At the moment the Seddon Atkinson 410/411 series seems to have the dubious honour of topping this particular poll. But other nominations are coming in all the time.
Still in the old timers' forum, the photos from private collections of trucking to the Middle East continue to be posted. A new member from Holland is avidly uploading photos from the Dutch companies that cashed in on the oil boom. The forum is quickly growing into a vast online archive of those days. And for those of us who never took part in the great adventure, it's a fascinating look into the wilder side of truck driving.
An interesting question is posted by an owner operator in their forum: Is tacho analysis by a third-party firm a legal requirement, or discretionary? Can a member of staff at a firm perform tacho analysis, or must it go BY LAW, to an outside firm?"
The answer seems to be that there is no legal requirement to have tachos analysed by an outside body, unless the traffic commissioner has stipulated it for the licence. So owner-drivers can in effect monitor their own tachos... finding and bringing to the attention of themselves (assuming they are also the CPC holder) any infringements.
As reported before in this column, there is a long-running debate as to whether by emigrating to Canada a driver and their family would be better or worse off. It is very much horses for courses, it seems, with some drivers coming back to Blighty while others are sure settling across the Atlantic is the best move they ever made.
Another ex-pat dryer has joined the forum to tell of his experiences, and he's joined the 'best move possible' side. To read all the different experiences log on to the expats' forum at TruckNet UK. Registration and use of the webs ite is totally free.