Truckie shortage

Chocs

I don't see the problem.

A senior position is being offered on terms that any employer and employee should expect for a professional placement. Look at the list of requirements for police, pilots, firemen, seamen, paramedics etc etc all far more onerous and demanding often for less pay than a truck driver.

Truck driving in many cases is a job of last resort along with taxi driving and waiting tables for those too proud to sit back on the dole. How many owners (your dad probably amongst them) have been driven insane by unreliable, untrustworthy, lazy and incompetent drivers. All these companies are trying to do is make sure they get the good people with a good work history. A bloke who gets that job will be prized in the industry and someone to emulate by the young fellows driving the yard trucks keeping him loaded.

You just can't do what you want anymore, no matter how much we want the old times back.

Let's work with the system and maybe it can be twisted a little in the truckies favour . Fighting it is a lost cause.

Lang

Lang with all due respect I feel you have it wrong we should never stop fighting for what we think is right maybe I am a lost cause but we should never give up the fight for whats right in life not just with the transport game

We should always should be looking back to compare if what we are doing is working better or worse other wise you have nothing to compare it to

Vic something else to think about after 12 months if the young bloke didnt like it its better to find out then than after investing more money in him later on
I guess they cant all be winners

Paul

Vic, I doubt the transport industry will see the dedication and skills of your generation again. It is a different world now where that long term relationship between employer and employee is not valued or even acknowledged. At the same time we have a new breed of "middle managers" and "experts" like the lady pictured above who don't fully understand what their staff do or the skills needed to do it.
But what of the your lad at your place? It is not the end of the world, he may come back to transport one day and I am sure your boss at least broke even on the exercise. Even if he has to put five such trainees through the same process before getting one who stays for 30 years it will worthwhile.

atkipete wrote: Vic, I doubt the transport industry will see the dedication and skills of your generation again. It is a different world now where that long term relationship between employer and employee is not valued or even acknowledged. At the same time we have a new breed of "middle managers" and "experts" like the lady pictured above who don't fully understand what their staff do or the skills needed to do it.
But what of the your lad at your place? It is not the end of the world, he may come back to transport one day and I am sure your boss at least broke even on the exercise. Even if he has to put five such trainees through the same process before getting one who stays for 30 years it will worthwhile.

gee your a lot better at words than me



Paul

Lang wrote: Chocs

I don't see the problem.

Lang

I don't either....

I copied that Job Advertisement over into this thread, as it is part of what is part of what we are all talking about.

That is Truckin in 2016..

I know the person who posted that Advertisement.
I would expect Mark to accept nothing lesser in an applicant.
Mark's requirements, even for someone to get a look in, are very responsible.
The requirements for the applicant to primarily meet, are a minimum in TODAYS Road Transport Industry.
Mark runs good gear, his gear attracts attention, for all the right reasons.
His level of care and attention to detail is very evident and I would suggest that ANY driver should reflect that.

I do agree that perhaps in the past that Truck Driving may have been classed as a lower end job by some, but it is a way and a means to provided an income for many people and I for one have been fed, and continue to be fed by this great industry.
Truckin in 2016 is different to when we started, different to the way many would like it to be.
Changes have been made, you cant jump into anything and go anywhere any more..

Do I agree with the way our industry has gone?
No, I do not. I think it has gone overboard. It has gone to far one way and its all starting to slide one way.
There needs to be a balance, that balance needs to be restored. We are witness to what has evolved with our current path of industry management. There have been so many advances made but along the way, some of the great things that made Australian Road Transport what it is, have been lost.
But really, its not isolated to this industry as we are all aware..
If there are rules put in place, they have to apply to all, If one rule is deemed to keep the road users safe, it should apply to all road users. (That should be a discussion for another day too)

But this is all about the supposed shortage of Drivers..
Largely, I don't believe there is a genuine shortage of drivers.

Yes we need training, yes we need a standard BEFORE we let someone lose with any motor vehicle.
Yes we need a professional presence and a professional attitude to go with it.
Not everyone is a major player, not everyone wants to be, for the most part, Ol Mate just wants to go out and earn a feed like everyone else..
Is this industry overregulated....Perhaps it is....Does the punishment fit the crime...No, not all the time, it does not.
Sometimes the odds are extremely stacked against the Truck Driver...An yes, sometimes the hat fits..
For every action, there is a reaction.. some actions are way overboard...
Truck operators and drivers alike are heavily penalized for some very very minor items, many of which would or could not be classed as life threatening.. The downtime, the fines and the points all stick..
Todays world has gone just a bit silly in spots and it doesn't know where to draw the line between safety, revenue and sensibility.
That is what I believe is causing a part of the so called driver shortage.

I still maintain there are too many people making decisions about too many things they know too little about.
Will that change.....I doubt it, until someone bangs a big fist on the red laminex kitchen table with the chrome legs and says 'enoughs a bloody nough!'

Me, I am proud to be a part of Australian Road Transport, but I'd like to see a bit more of the old retained.
I'm for change but 'im for sensible and well informed change..

chocs

Lang wrote: Chocs

Let's work with the system and maybe it can be twisted a little in the truckies favour . Fighting it is a lost cause.

Lang

No.......
Lets have a well informed voice and a very large input into the so called 'system', BEFORE that system is put in place and you are forced to tow the line within that 'announced' system.
Systems are great if they are for the mutual benefit of those directly involved.
Someone who draws on a computer model of a projected whatever, based on a study of who knows what, who is given a set of figures and a budget constraint, does not constitute a system where I came from..
Some of these so called systems are possibly part of the supposed driver shortage.

The Roads are sort of better in spots, the horsepower is certainly available, the comfort level is greater, loading and unloading is certainly easier,the money isn't too bad..
So why is there a shortage of drivers?
Because the industry as we knew it, has turned to shit because of the level of unnecessary pressure that has been imposed on people trying to do a job the best way they know how.

When someone gets knocked off for 300kg over on an axle and another ol mate drives past with a permit hangin out the window and a sticker jammed on his sleeper box saying he can overload that same axle by far more than the 300kg mate got booked for..
Because he pays for a 'system', he can do that.. Really?
That's just some of the shit that could causes driver shortages.. Thats just some of the stupidity that make blokes walk away from a job they used to like..

Systems are great too, but they have to be real and practical..

I do notice too....the word 'Commonsense' is missing from these postings....hmmmmm

chocs

Perhaps an example of the regulation and possible stupidity that could see a driver walk away from an industry?

A driver of a heavy combination vehicle was stopped for a roadside chat / inspection.
The person of authority was very polite and professional throughout the 'interview', the driver commented he was a nice bloke and doing a job.
While standing beside the truck and peering in over a steer tyre on a cabover unit, the authoritive person deemed the steering linkage to have excessive movement.
The driver responded to this comment in a knowledgeable manner explaining the joint and its adjustment etc.
There was a subsequent defect notice attached to the windscreen as the movement was deemed excessive in his opinion and was dangerous.
The inspector, by his admission was not a mechanic.
There was NO fine attached to this 'interview' , but a full roadworthy and inspection was required to have the notice removed.
That unit was driven approximately 10 kilometres , in its 'dangerous' state, to a certified Heavy Vehicle Mechanic for further inspection.
Inspection, in an equipped workshop followed and the joint in question was undoubtedly within specification.
Adjustment was checked and verified correct via the instructions in the makers workshop manual, but was disassembled to further rule out any internal wearing of components.
That vehicle was presented to a Licensed Heavy Vehicle Tester for inspection and testing.
The tester was quite jovial in his response to the defect and is validity.

The vehicle was workshop and road tested and passed the necessary requirements..
Then off to the Authority to have the defect removed.

This whole exercise took place over a 4 day period as inspection bookings etc were required.
The cost associated with the whole deal, including lost income would run into thousands of dollars.

Of course injury or loss of life would be far more tragic, should the circumstance been different.

Who pays for the downtime of that well maintained vehicle?
Who pays for the costs associated with the whole scenario?

I dunno......

This is not an isolated story and possibly something that needs looking at in our overall quest to retain drivers and avoid supposed driver shortages?

PS.
Nothing better than standing on the side of the road with an infringement notice for being over length (120mm)
on a 19 metre unit and a double road train drives past....
Possibly 10 or 15 metres longer

Yer I know, its the rules
hmmmm

atkipete wrote: There is no real shortage of truck drivers. There is a shortage of people prepared to work for the money and conditions currently offered.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pete nailed this 37 posts ago I reckon..

Name another profession/Career/Job were someone can be fined a couple Days wages for a Spelling Mistake..

Chocs

Last say then over to the others.

I do not like the way things are with a lot of regulation. If you blokes think trucking is bad you should look at aviation - the bullshit has piled so high Australian aircraft fly less than half the hours they did 20 years ago. People have just given up.

You can talk about the iniquity of loading fines and the constant pressure from inspectors but what about the fact 8 of the last 10 drivers or other road users killed by falling asleep at the wheel truck accidents had exceeded the log book times in the last 48 hours. In the 1960's in some depots an icecream truck playing "Happy days are here again" would arrive selling nothing but methedrine (well, it was so open it was almost like that). The drug problem, right through the community, is 100 times worse today. Outside every highway pub you would find a few trucks with the drivers being refreshed. Most blokes used pencils and typewriter carbon (which hardly copies) and an eraser, many ran two or more log books.

The accidents and deaths per mile was more than double the figure today. Company super/pension, sick leave and compensation arrangements were as good as non-existent.

Old Joke but true:

A little bird was freezing in the snow when a cow came along and buried him with shit. The warmth revived him and he was so happy he burst into song. A fox heard him and pulled him out and ate him.

Moral: Not everybody who shits on you is your enemy. Not everyone who pulls you out of the shit is your friend.

If you are going to fight, don't fight everything out of sheer bloody mindedness, fight the things that are wrong, many of these pain in the arse hurdles have made this a better, more just world. The bastards just don't know where to stop.

Lang

PS Hayseed
The spelling mistake is an urban myth. The explanation section of the standardised log book specifically says you will NOT be penalised for spelling mistakes or arithmetic errors.

Just putting it out there
How many of us out there whether you have driven for a living or interested in the transport industry could put up with the rules and regulations imposed on this industry??