Tips on How to Become an HGV Driver

Not many know or recognise what it takes to become a Heavy Good Vehicle (HGV) driver. An HGV driver is a person who is directly responsible for transporting goods between both supplies and customers.

Before receiving an HGV driving certificate, the employees must prove they are over the age of 18. They also must provide they have a full car driving license and a Certificate of Professional Competence. A lot of companies specifically require that anyone looking to become an HGV driver go through a full training course or even an apprenticeship. While these are a variety of requirements you must go through to become an HGV driver, they are necessary to ensure that all of the drivers and motorists on the road are safe.

If you happen to be considering this profession, experts at Easy As HGV are here to help you be as informed as possible of the various demands that the job can lay on you. Anyone considering becoming an HGV driver should understand the positives and the negatives that come with it.

The various advantages of becoming an HGV Driver are:

• Gaining experience and continue furthering your career;
• Engage in travelling while getting paid;
• Earning a competitive salary with consistent job stability.

As you can see, there are various advantages to becoming an HGV driver. However, there are also downsides to the profession.

The various downsides of becoming an HGV driver include:

• Not having anyone to talk to while working;
• Having to deal with people who have road rage;
• Driving in unpleasant and often dangerous conditions.

Skills Required from HGV Drivers

To become a professional HGV driver, you will require various skills including:

1. Driving

You will need to be able to drive while practising safe driving habits.

2. Self-Starter

Because the job requires you to work alone much of the time, you will need to be self-motivated and be a self-starter. A lot of what you do will require you to be willing and able to work without having someone tell you what to do all of the time.

3. Concentration

You will need to be able to concentrate during your driving sessions, including at times where you might have a lot of distractions going on.

4. File Paperwork

You need to be able to log information about various things like trip details and deliveries when you aren’t driving.

Responsibilities of an HGV Driver

While your main task throughout each day will involve driving, you will have a variety of other duties to fulfil as well. These tasks include:

1. Planning Delivery Routes

You will need to plan out delivery routes to figure out ways to maximise your productivity. Changing up delivery routes based on the traffic conditions is a must.

2. Delivery Coordination

To get your goods delivered, you will need to communicate with different customers to effectively coordinate any drop-offs and pick-ups.

3. Supervising the Loading of Goods

You will need to supervise both the unloading and loading of goods.

4. Checking Different Routes

You will need to figure out whether or not your routes need to be changed to accommodate different traffic conditions or road conditions.

5. Adhering to Safety Regulations

You are going to need to consistently inspect and maintain your lorry to ensure that it is complying with all of the safety regulations.

6. Vehicle Maintenance

It is your responsibility as a driver to ensure that your vehicle is getting properly maintained.

7. Customer Interactions

To ensure that you are offering complete customer satisfaction, you will need to interact with customers politely and handle any concerns they might have.

The profession of being an HGV driver is much underrated. It is not only a lucrative profession in terms of earning potential, but there is also room for growth and it can be very personally fulfilling.