Do you sometimes get really frustrated when things seem to have such an obvious solution?

I think the chancellor will stop the money he has been giving to people to stay at home .I think it is next month, then more people may be wanting a job

The existing drivers needs to be given a decent wage. Those new to the role should be offered a minimum graduated pay scale no matter which company they work for. The European drivers left because of the pathetic wages and the complicated and expensive process of applying for 'visa" type papers to enter/work in UK. Had the wages been worthwhile perhaps more would have stayed or UK workers would have taken HGV jobs in the first place without the need of those from Europe.

As the Mother in Law of an HGV driver, I know that they work very long hours, for not a lot of money and mostly go unappreciated. I also know that the majority of British drivers are law abiding and get very angry when they see continental drivers, flouting the rules, driving dangerously and giving HGV drivers a bad name.
It’s time we gave our drivers credit for what they do, and better wages. Maybe more people would apply to train.

My son told me recently that some companies are offering a £1000 signing on bonus for HGV drivers . I’m not sure how true it is .

nanna8

Can you use those long road trains like we have here or is the traffic too heavy?Longest one here was 113 trailers. Mind you wouldn’t want to be stuck behind it! Usually they belt along though.

Roads arent big enough am afraid. Our roads wouldn’t cope at all. Small country compared to yours - space wise ??

Peasblossom

Perhaps better pay and conditions would be more effective that a training grant?

Why not both?
And regarding the insurance issue, I would imagine that many servicemen would be excellent drivers having driven army vehicles, including in some cases tanks.

Can you use those long road trains like we have here or is the traffic too heavy?Longest one here was 113 trailers. Mind you wouldn’t want to be stuck behind it! Usually they belt along though.

I suspect historically female drivers were put off by : no facilities at truck stops for females; sheer physical barriers with the older rigs (not so much now with modern tractor units and auto transmissions) ; safety! Always safety, we passed have had to factor in the " am I likely to be attacked?" Element into oh so many professions! I've always wanted to learn to pilot an HGV but all these put offs were so very prevalent in 70s and80s I simply out it out of my mind☹️

NotSpaghetti

As a temporary measure I think HGV drivers should be on the same list of exemptions as ballet dancers.
At least the port checks would be shorter.

Whaaa?!? Tell me this is a joke??? Ballet dancers? Really? ....although thinking about it opera and ballet get heritage lottery funding while brass bands are not considered either part of our heritage-or even music according to the greedy stuck up snobs er ,I mean the powers that be at the lottery bank!

There was a man on a radio phone-in programme the other day who had trained and passed his HGV test but couldn't get a permanent job, just a couple of days here and there doing agency work. The companies wanted experienced drivers.

NannyG123
That was one of the reasons why my friend sold his Haulage company and retired some years ago. Another, self employed, also gave it up.

Sarahmob

My husband is an HGV driver and considers himself to be well paid by the company he works for. To clarify the ‘retesting every five years’ Germanshepherdsmun it isn’t a retest of driving skills, it’s a simple medical/eyesight check. Mr mobile says that there is a bit of a problem getting people who are qualified to do those, but it’s not impossible.

I agree with NannyG123 on this one; its a bit more than an eyesight check every five years. Its not even "just" a test of driving skills.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_CPC

Mamgujane

Old-fashioned idea - why not go back to more freight by rail? Much less polluting, fewer drivers needed - only for shorter journeys from goods station to final destination.
I’m sure there are a dozen arguments against this, one of which will be our already overloaded passenger rail system. But a bit of intelligent thought (haha with this government?) should be able to come up with a plan.

Far better for the environment as well. Not beyond the wit of man but outside this government’s agenda. There are still many old sidings that could be used if upgraded etc.

Govt has said it will not relax the immigration regs for HGV drivers but will encourage the employment of ex services and apprentices.

I saw an advert on Facebook yesterday, looking for HGV test examiners. So a lack of those is part of the problem.
My OH used to be a delivery driver for John Lewis (not the same I accept) but he got out of that because of the unrealistic delivery schedules, and the use of agency staff as co-staff with poor English, leading to serious H&S issues, some of which led to injury sustained by my husband because the co-staff member didn't understand what was being required of them when moving heavy items into customers' homes. I would imagine there could be similar negative aspects to HGV delivery drivers' jobs.

I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but apparently there are quite a few young men who have paid for their HGV drivers training but are not allowed to work because the lower age limit is 25. Surely if there is a test at the end of the course this should enable the younger trained people to drive HGV's? It was said that they are getting jobs driving smaller vehicles, doing shelf stacking or whatever because they're too young to be employed as HGV drivers

Oh Lesley 60 I see you’ve posted the same idea!

Old-fashioned idea - why not go back to more freight by rail? Much less polluting, fewer drivers needed - only for shorter journeys from goods station to final destination.
I’m sure there are a dozen arguments against this, one of which will be our already overloaded passenger rail system. But a bit of intelligent thought (haha with this government?) should be able to come up with a plan.

I don’t understand why these big container lorries can’t be transported by rail it would certainly free up the roads a little

Thanks for this! I have just emailed the link to my daughter who I know may be interested in some of them. Would be myself but I am retired now and kept quite busy with my grandchildren!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I guess the pandemic coupled with Brexit has taught us that low paid jobs are often the most valuable to society - and in some cases the highest paid …aren’t that valuable at all! As for the short term answer I’d say a relaxation the visa issue could help somewhat - coupled with better wages and conditions.

HGV drivers have no status. Some service stations wouldn’t even let them use their loos. It’s like work in slaughterhouses, great shortage there I believe. We allowed east European immigrants from lower paid countries to do these poorly paid jobs with loads of stress and poor conditions, inhuman in some cases, and no status.
Companies pay as little as they can to keep prices low. Millions of animals are slaughtered a week and sold really cheaply. It costs more to buy a plant based sausage than one made from a living suffering sentient animal. Perhaps it will be a good thing that proper prices will have to be charged reflecting the reality behind cheap food.

My husband was an HGV Driver for about 40yrs. Then was told he would have to have a CPC licence which meant 5 days in a classroom which he would have had to pay£500 for.And he would have to do this every 3 years. My husband was just turning 60 at the time and stopped hgv driving. He said after 40yrs why do I need to go into a classroom to be taught how to do my job.

My husband is an HGV driver and considers himself to be well paid by the company he works for. To clarify the ‘retesting every five years’ Germanshepherdsmun it isn’t a retest of driving skills, it’s a simple medical/eyesight check. Mr mobile says that there is a bit of a problem getting people who are qualified to do those, but it’s not impossible.

I read yesterday, one store I can’t recall which, bought a load of transit vans. They can now use drivers who don’t require the HGV licence, not very green as more trips are required and obviously you need the money for the vans.