Q I am employed as a lorry driver in South East
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England and recently was asked to collect a generator from a point in Lincolnshire and return it to base, a round trip of 360 miles. I was to drive a four-wheel 9.5ton-gvw truck. When I told the firm that I could not do the journey in a day, the firm employed an outside contractor to do it.
Is the journey, in your opinion, a oneday job, allowing one hour for loading?
A It is difficult to generalize about the
time/distance relationship of a job because so much depends on the route taken and the delays which might be met on the road.
Superficially, at an average operating speed of, say, 40 mph a round trip of 360 miles would not be possible in the prescribed 10 hours driving time, much less allowing time for loading. Even 40 mph is a high average speed to expect, bearing in mind that the road system in East Anglia and Lincolnshire leaves much to be desired. Another factor to be considered is the delay which might be caused going through or round London.
You should ask your employer what is the average operating speed he expects, and what route should be taken, if you are again asked to undertake such journeys in a day.