Resolutionary tendencies
Page 38
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Love them or hate them, most of us make one resolution just before we break it. CM checked out some of this year's crop of New Year's resolutions. Some names have been changed to protect the drivers' livelihoods!
An owner-driver in the tipper sector provided the first contribution to this year's volume of "roadside resolutions". He (Steve) is unexpectedly frank: "My resolution is to sell the lorry."
He doesn't much like the Chancellor of the Exchequer. "I wouldn't mind paying the extra in diesel and road tax if he put the money back into fixing the roads. I get more wear and tear from potholes in the road than I do when I go off road. Diesel is such a large proportion of the cost of any job. I work for ARC and I can't put rates up every time the price of diesel goes up."
Andrew has already thrown in the towel as an owner-driver: "I have resolved to no longer work for nothing." He says this is one resolution he will be happy to stick to. He adds that many owner-drivers believe they are making money when they are working. "They will take a badly paid job this time in the hope that they'll be given a good one next time They won't. None 4 of the jobs are overpaid so there is never any fat left over."
He suggested this resolution for other ownerdrivers: "Never make a graph showing the running costs and vehicle earnings. The nerves won't stand it."
NFC driver Rod also has sim ilar financial problems. He doesn't think it will be long before he breaks his new year's resolution, which is to spend more time at home with his family. His hourly rate is not that much higher than the minimum wage rate politicians argue about on the radio. "Pay drivers more than £4.30 an hour so that we don't have to work 60-hour weeks," was his sugges tion for a resolution his bosses and fellow shareholders might make. (We changed your name Rod, just in case your boss felt keen to help out!) A Teesport driver, who recently experienced such consequences, says he subsequently applied for around 30 jobs. "They all asked me if I was prepared to infringe the law under certain circumstances." Having since found a company which operates entirely within the law, he has now set what he believes will be an impossible resolution to keep: "I'm going to try to find another one around here which is just as straight!"
Always a straight talker is Jack Crossfield at the Driver's Action Movement. He resolves to be more positive in driving home the driver's case for improved working conditions: "Politicians never listen to what's going on at the grass roots. They listen to trade union leaders, big companies and representative bodies like the RHA. They only learn about what's happening on the perimeter of the industry and we want to change that," he says.
Driving along the Ml, Lady Trucker's club president Ilona Richards resolves to continue fighting the corner for women's issues, while across at the Saltbox Cafe in Foston, two
Scottish drivers have international issues on their mind. Owner-driver George resolves to make an early application this year for compensation in lieu of the expected French blockades sometime in 1999. Tanker driver Paul vows to be pulling a more useful load the next time he is forced to take a Sunday break in France. A trailer load of scotch was his pre ferred option! Simon Rollinson said he had not been caught by any blockades in 1997, but resolved to be more inquisitive about the availability of running money for international trips—and exactly how much it will be.
It was left to Mick James, a tipper driver from Stoke-on-Trent, to capture the real spirit of the new year's resolution tradition. He resolves to make unscheduled stops by enforcement officers a much less stressful experience on both sides. He says that whenever he gets stopped at a roadside check in future (the eight-year-old vehicle with a faded livery seems to make him a sitting duck), he will be the model of helpfulness: "I'm going to smile a lot and try to remember that these blokes have a job to do and hope they will think the same about me."
So far it's working well. Mind you, they haven't stopped him yet.
D by Steve McQueen Our thanks to all those drivers who contributed to this year's collection of new year resolution& TOP FIVE RESOLUTIONS FOR NEW DRIVERS
1. Return vehicles after use
2. Remember to bring at least one drop back 3. Phone traffic desk regularly especially when lost
4. Leave SAE with all delivery notes
5. Keep deferred PG9 notices in chronological order TOP FIVE RESOLUTIONS FOR ASPIRING OWNER-DRIVERS 1. Check dictionary definition of "healthy margin" 2. Have "gut feeling" medically examined
3. Don't compare revenue earned with costs incurred
4. Worry less about saying no—it could be better than saying yes
5. Build profit margins—include "premier points" as revenue
TOP FIVE RESOLUTIONS FOR FLYTIPPER DRIVERS
1. Book dropping zone well in advance 2. Ensure all delivery notes are signed 3. Keep dog well tethered to the steering wheel
4. Ensure "Well Driven?" logo stays clean 5. Adhere to speed limits on all escape routes TOP FIVE RESOLUTIONS FOR NEW SECURITY VEHICLE DRIVERS 1. Re-fuel before all collections
2. Avoid unnecessary cargo trans-shipments
3. Check court address with relevant detainee 4. Accept no credit cards 5. Ignore pleas from hitch hikers (especially in prison attire)