The Please’s and Thank you’s of a HGV Driver – Things to Remember…

Local Buzz Marketing Latest news January 22, 2019HGV, HGV driver, please, responsibility, Safety, thank you 0 Comment

HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) Drivers are highly trained to drive a vehicle up to ten times the size of yours. We carry a large amount of heavy and important goods to deliver to a customer. Whilst we are in a rush to make the delivery in time, an HGV driver is mostly concerned with the safety of those they drive with. It’s no surprise that every year accidents occur regarding lorries and vans making deliveries, and while it is our responsibility, there are a few ways you, as a car-driver, can help prevent and decrease these accidents.

As professional hauliers, we want to offer you the best advice – So, as well as the offering of distribution and warehousing in Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire, we want you to understand the wishes of an HGV driver regarding the fellow drivers out there. As it is a huge vehicle, consider the fact that we need to be ten times more careful and aware of our surroundings than you, because we don’t want to cause an accident.

Distribution and Warehousing in Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire

As a result of this, here are our please’s and thank you’s of an HGV Driver i.e. things we please ask for you to remember, you will thank us later…

Please don’t park inappropriately

As a small vehicle, you can park more or less anywhere. All we ask of you is that you consider other drivers, including us and emergency service vehicles, that your space is appropriate. What we mean by this is it doesn’t cause too much obstruction for passing vehicles or even pedestrians. Therefore, please do not park on opposite junctions (unless it is completely safe to do so) or park anywhere that will block us large vehicles from passing by, as it can significantly disrupt our delivery schedule. Thank you…

Please keep a safe distance

Particularly on roads like motorways, there have been times where we have come across vehicles driving closely behind our Heavy Goods Vehicles, also known as tailgating. This can be extremely dangerous for the vehicle tailgating because if we suddenly need to break, you won’t have an efficient amount of time to react and stop your vehicle within safe time, and as an extraordinarily huge and heavy vehicle, your small engine probably wouldn’t stand a chance running into the back of us.

Additionally, as a larger vehicle we have larger blind spots, meaning that due to the long length of our load, we probably wouldn’t be able to see you if you were tailgating us. This gives you much more reason not to drive too close as 1) there is a chance we could break suddenly and even after checking our mirrors you can still be in harms way and 2) the purpose of your tailgating would be completely unnecessary, as we can’t even see you to feel the slightest intimidation or pressure. So PLEASE be safe and keep an efficient separation distance from us. Thank you…

Please understand that we are also in a rush

Please take your time…

You might be in a rush to work, an appointment or to meet friends, and whilst your social life will be much important to you than our delivery, we please ask you to understand the fact that we too are also in a rush. We may not seem it because we are still driving below the speed limit and taking our time, but providing a successful delivery accurately on time is a huge priority to us. However, it is not our main priority – that is, in fact, the safety of the load, the driver, and the vehicles around the HGV. So whilst we are “taking our time” and “disrupting” yours, we are also taking great consideration into your safety and trying our best to prevent an accident. Thank you…

Please share lay-bys

Us HGV Drivers have strict rules requiring us to have a regulated break after four and a half hours of driving, and when the majority of our journey is taken up on motorways and dual carriageways, usually our only chance of a break is to park in a lay-by and relax. Lay-bys are ideally the easiest option for a large vehicle, as it is probably the most legal and safest place for an HGV to park. Now, we aren’t demanding our own territory here, as other cars and vehicles also have the rights to a lay-by in case of an emergency, but all we ask is to share. Furthermore, often when drivers approach a lay-by, they come across a car parked right in the middle of one, completely obstructing our rights to access. So please ensure you are parked with plenty of room (and more) for other vehicles to get through. Thank you…

Please indicate

Indicating Vehicle

Finally, please indicate your direction clearly to us. Whether you are in behind, in front or next to us, it is important you communicate with us where you are intending to go, so we can prepare and aren’t introduced to any surprises. Doing this genuinely keeps us at ease when driving, as we have a lot of pressure on us anyway. Failure to do so risks causing an accident or a slight scare for us, so please help us out. Thank you…

Here at Swannells Transport, we are a team of experienced individuals offering distribution and warehousing in Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire. We aim to offer excellent service, customer service and take responsibility for our actions – that is why we want a safe and easy ride, here was our advice to do so.

Thank you for reading.

Our Daily Responsibilities When Working For a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Local Buzz Marketing Latest news January 9, 2019haulage, Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, organisation, responsibility, risk, service, vehicle

Looking at the job description, being an HGV driver looks simple as all you have to do is drive and deliver… right? Well there is much more to it than that!

As a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, we can assure you that working in the haulage industry is no piece of cake – it requires organisation, concentration, safety, reliability and accuracy.

Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Whether you are just trying to understand or training to become an official HGV driver, we have gathered a few daily responsibilities and factors we have to consider before going on one of our journeys.

Basic Responsibilities

As a basic job template, your daily responsibilities working for a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire would probably include:

Transporting finished, raw, important and fragile goods from point A to point B, to and from manufacturers or retail and distribution centres.
Inspecting your vehicle regularly to ensure safe delivery and the prevention of any harm.
Absolute safe and legal driving when operating the Heavy Good Vehicles, ensuring no harm comes to the loaded materials, surrounding vehicles and people including yourself.
Planning delivery routes and following the schedule accurately.
Ensuring all deliveries are made on time, respectfully and professionally – treating our customers with the best customer service possible.

These are just your basic responsibilities as an HGV driver, but there are also a lot of more in-depth responsibilities we need to consider before going on our journeys or even starting our day.

How To Join A Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire

Obviously, every professional job requires some sort of training and practice, so especially due to the risks and responsibilities of operating an HGV, loading and unloading goods and interacting with customers, you need to be properly acknowledged and experienced. We will just go over the bare minimum for this one, however, if you would like more information on how to join the Haulage industry, check out one of our recent blogs, “Becoming an Official HGV Driver For a Haulage Company”.

Firstly, employers must be able to evidently prove they are over 18 years of age, own a full valid driving license and a Certificate of Professional Competence. These are three incredibly important things to have (apart from experience) when applying for an HGV driver position, as they are legal requirements.

You also need to be skilful for the job, such as responsibility, good time management, respectful, problem-solving, driving skills, the ability to focus for a long amount of time, great judgement etc. Skills are required for any job, they look impressive on your application and they help get the job done significantly.

Finally, and probably most importantly, you need to understand the full risks and responsibilities of your designated job, and how you can manage them. For instance, you need to know how to check your vehicle, your mental and physical state, how to plan and organise a route and delivery etc. put your problem-solving skills to the test.

Checking Your Vehicle

Your HGV should be regularly checked by yourself and a professional – Ideally by an expert on a weekly/monthly basis whereas you should be checking the basics before leaving for a journey. This includes things like tyre pressure, lights, petrol, oil levels etc. just in case of an emergency. After all, your job is running on time quite crucially and running late can affect your clients’ impression on the company quite dramatically, depending on the level of your tardiness.

When working for a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, the majority of the time your designated vehicle is your responsibility, so you need to check your vehicle regularly and organise an expert inspection etc. whilst your company just covers insurance, damages or other factors. Again, it all depends on your contract and the organisation you work for.

Failing to check your vehicle at these times can increase the risk of any unexpecting breakdowns or vehicle emergencies. It just wastes time, creates stress and can cause the company to look unprofessional.

Planning Your Journey

Organisation is the true key to a stress-free drive. Being prepared hours before a journey creates relaxation and a happy driver ready for the day ahead. Want to know how you can achieve this, here are just a few ways:

Check the weather the night before and when you wake up. This way you can prepare for any dangerous conditions you are going to be driving in.
Have a nutritional, delicious meal about an hour before you leave – This way you have the right energy levels and it has time to settle before you leave.
What about time management? Work out how long it will take to get there, plan your route and then consider adding extra time to your journey duration in case of any emergencies or traffic that could arrive.
Will you need anything for the journey ahead? For example, water? snacks? entertainment (things that aren’t too distracting) such as podcasts or CDs etc.

This might be your job, but it is your journey, so make yourself safe, organised and comfortable ready for the delivery ahead.

Taking Care of Yourself

A huge responsibility you should be doing even if you aren’t an HGV driver is taking care of your physical and mental state. This includes eating properly, sleeping regularly, keeping yourself active and regularly exercising etc. Not being in a fit state can really affect your journeys and personal reliability, causing you to not only NOT enjoy the journeys but also potentially become an unsafe driver.

If this is quite a difficult challenge to you, ensure that you at least do it the night before i.e. have a healthy meal, a relaxing evening, a night of great sleep and an energetic breakfast ready for your journey.

As a Haulage Company in Cambridgeshire, where there are a variety of villages, towns and cities full of busy roads and construction, we understand the risks and responsibilities of loading, unloading and transporting goods to and from relevant locations. We are an excellent, experienced team of individuals that obey these daily responsibilities we have just listed above. If you are looking for a high-quality haulage and transportation service, contact us today!

Thank you for reading.