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A bit clickbaity title. Reality: UK government sends letter to all drivers in the UK with a truck license to consider driving trucks. Germans with old licenses

A bit clickbaity title. Reality: UK government sends letter to all drivers in the UK with a truck license to consider driving trucks. Germans with old licenses happen to automatically have a truck licence. End of story. Edit: Netherlands also has something similar with older licenses, so it's likely that not only Germans but more foreigners in the UK got this letter.

dogorman 5y ago
Your 'Reality: [...] End of story' claim does not contradict the title. They may automatically have a truck license, but also have never driven a truck. If I got a truck license more than 20 years ago (before 1999) but never drove a truck in my life, I would definitely feel uncomfortable driving a truck. Shit, I feel a bit uncomfortable driving my car after a two or three month break. For 20 years to elapse between licensing and putting that activity into practice seems justifiably eyebrow raising to me. The headline doesn't even mention the 20 elapsed years part of it.
gerdesj 5y ago
I'm a 50 year old Brit. I too have a 7.5 tonne lorry plus trailer endorsement on my license. Also, small PSV and various others. Everyone used to get them and that was probably EU wide. Not sure when it stopped. Provided you take corners carefully and use all the mirrors, a "box van" or a smaller "Luton" is easy enough to drive. The controls are pretty obvious and familiar but hillstarts and reverse hill starts need a little practice. When loaded, allow extra stopping and maneuvering space!
- gbronner 5y ago
  Don't make K turns either.
- xyzzyz 5y ago
  Yeah, in US you can rent and drive 26 foot long truck (these are rated to 26000 pounds, so just below 12 tons) on a regular driver license in most places. And yes, these aren’t that hard to drive, if you are paying attention. I like being able to just rent one if I need it, without going through complex licensing rigamarole like you do in Europe, and apparently lack of it has not caused the society to collapse ( we have not had terrorist truck attacks either). I find the American lenient system much more preferable.
  - labster 5y ago
    > ( we have not had terrorist truck attacks either) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - noizejoy 5y ago
    The spaciousness of North America compared to Europe makes a significant difference in many driving related (and numerous other) issues.
  - djrogers 5y ago
    Federal law says you can actually drive a much longer vehicle than a 26 foot box truck, as long as it's GVWR isn't over 26k lbs. A few states may have more restrictive policies, but as far as the US Gubbmint is concerned, the weight is the key.
    - xyzzyz 5y ago
      It is not federal government that will pull you over, so I think it’s the state law that matters here.
- bserge 5y ago
  Even a 40 tonne tractor+trailer isn't hard to drive. I did it with a friend on long stretches of motorways. Surprising amount of torque and braking power. Reversing and maneuvering it anywhere is the real challenge :D
- this_user 5y ago
  > I too have a 7.5 tonne lorry plus trailer endorsement on my license. Also, small PSV and various others. Everyone used to get them and that was probably EU wide. Not sure when it stopped. It was pretty much the same in Germany. It was changed when the system was switched over to the new European driving license which was implemented in July 1996. Anyone who got theirs after the change will usually only have class B for up to 3.5t plus a 0.75t trailer. I'm a German who actually happens to have C1E. So who much do you currently pay for lorry drivers?
  - gerdesj 5y ago
    No idea but I will enquire ... If you search for "salary HGV UK" you get £19-24K. That was probably last year and frankly wrong, now. I'm an IT consultant and MD of the firm and now wondering if I should get my big rig thang on! OK, I can drive a 7.5 tonner on my driver's license and have done so, many times. I can also drag a trailer, according to my license.
quadrifoliate 5y ago
A bit clickbaity is a reasonable criticism, but not "end of story". I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that older licenses that had these sort of automatic endorsements unbacked by any experience should have been excluded from the letters – so there is a story here. 1999 was 22 years ago!
- gumby 5y ago
  German driving licenses didn’t use to have expiration dates and I haven’t read that that changed. My ex still uses hers, issued in the mid 80s with a photo of her in her 20s
  - tjansen 5y ago
    Newer driver licences issued after 2013 do have expiration dates. Older ones without printed expiration date will eventually expire, depending on the owner's birth year and the year they have been issued. The first ones will expire in 2022 (for drivers licences issued before 1999 and drivers born 1953-1958). If she was in her 20s in the 80s, it will probably expire in 2023 or 2024. https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/reise-mobilitaet/unterwegs-sein/alter-fuehrerschein-mindestens-bis-2022-gueltig-auch-in-allen-eustaaten-10393 https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/reise-mobilitaet/u...
    - tharkun__ 5y ago
      If you click through to the BMVI, nothing really changes. Basically just the format. I.e. the old paper driver's licenses expire first ("Lappen") and you just get a new plastic card with a new photo. However you are still allowed to drive exactly what you were allowed to drive beforehand and the license expiry seems to be 15 years after that. Even some of the plastic card ones will expire and you get a new plastic card. Funny that I have to read this on HN though. Gotta go back and get a new card in a few years it seems lol EDIT: Downvote? For giving extra information? In case this is post-Brexit racism, I don't live in the UK so keep it to yourselves.
  - tomjen3 5y ago
SkyPuncher 5y ago
In the USA, a standard driver's license lets you operate vehicles up to 26,000lbs or up to 45 feet without a CDL. That's essentially a lorry.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  But only for personal use (most places in the US you can register a tractor as an RV). For business you'll need that CDL. Hell, if you deliver fifth wheels for a living you'll need a CDL and you'll even be stopping at weigh stations. Though you probably wouldn't get caught if you chose to skip them.
wnevets 5y ago
The fact they're so desperate for drivers they'll willing to ask folks who haven't driven in decades is THE story. On a related note there's a meme going around of Boris asking the Queen if she would drive a truck since she did in WW2.
- OJFord 5y ago
  But it's not an intentional 'hey you have some ancient technical reason to be considered but no experience please do it anyway', which is what makes it a boring non-story. It's a bug in the query, at most.
  - stuaxo 5y ago
    The lack of attention to detail is a symptom of them making it up as they go along. This is the most dysfunctional cabinet in living memory.
    - OJFord 5y ago
      Do you honestly think the (current, or any realistic hypothetical) cabinet is anywhere near the implementation of such a thing?
- HatchedLake721 5y ago
  Haha, please share the meme
  - wnevets 5y ago
    Just in case you weren't being sarcastic https://imgur.com/yfeA4Hs https://imgur.com/yfeA4Hs
aaron695 5y ago
> A bit clickbaity title. It's the definition of fake news. Obviously you possibly have hundreds of types of licenses given the many countries and many systems the way licensing works in the UK. There will be mistakes and obviously you will see if the person sends their resume they have no experience. Like any job ad. Tom Peck is a anti-Brexit journalist. He once referred to Brexiters as - "Parliament Square was a knuckle-dragging carnival of irredeemable stupidity". Anti-Brexiters enjoy seeing Brexit fail it gives them a sense they were correct / Sunk Cost Fallacy, so this is big business. It gets clicks, it controls votes. Fake news or not this stuff it power / money. Look at the comments here eating up something that's not even an admin error, some of those Germans will have driven lorries, for the cost of cents it's worth targeting them. And this in not just a Brexit issue, it's also a Covid issue, but you'll notice that bit is missing from the article.

dogorman 5y ago

Your 'Reality: [...] End of story' claim does not contradict the title. They may automatically have a truck license, but also have never driven a truck. If I got a truck license more than 20 years ago (before 1999) but never drove a truck in my life, I would definitely feel uncomfortable driving a truck. Shit, I feel a bit uncomfortable driving my car after a two or three month break. For 20 years to elapse between licensing and putting that activity into practice seems justifiably eyebrow raising to me. The headline doesn't even mention the 20 elapsed years part of it.

gerdesj 5y ago

I'm a 50 year old Brit. I too have a 7.5 tonne lorry plus trailer endorsement on my license. Also, small PSV and various others. Everyone used to get them and that was probably EU wide. Not sure when it stopped. Provided you take corners carefully and use all the mirrors, a "box van" or a smaller "Luton" is easy enough to drive. The controls are pretty obvious and familiar but hillstarts and reverse hill starts need a little practice. When loaded, allow extra stopping and maneuvering space!

gbronner 5y ago
Don't make K turns either.
xyzzyz 5y ago
Yeah, in US you can rent and drive 26 foot long truck (these are rated to 26000 pounds, so just below 12 tons) on a regular driver license in most places. And yes, these aren’t that hard to drive, if you are paying attention. I like being able to just rent one if I need it, without going through complex licensing rigamarole like you do in Europe, and apparently lack of it has not caused the society to collapse ( we have not had terrorist truck attacks either). I find the American lenient system much more preferable.
- labster 5y ago
  > ( we have not had terrorist truck attacks either) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- noizejoy 5y ago
  The spaciousness of North America compared to Europe makes a significant difference in many driving related (and numerous other) issues.
- djrogers 5y ago
  Federal law says you can actually drive a much longer vehicle than a 26 foot box truck, as long as it's GVWR isn't over 26k lbs. A few states may have more restrictive policies, but as far as the US Gubbmint is concerned, the weight is the key.
  - xyzzyz 5y ago
    It is not federal government that will pull you over, so I think it’s the state law that matters here.
bserge 5y ago
Even a 40 tonne tractor+trailer isn't hard to drive. I did it with a friend on long stretches of motorways. Surprising amount of torque and braking power. Reversing and maneuvering it anywhere is the real challenge :D
this_user 5y ago
> I too have a 7.5 tonne lorry plus trailer endorsement on my license. Also, small PSV and various others. Everyone used to get them and that was probably EU wide. Not sure when it stopped. It was pretty much the same in Germany. It was changed when the system was switched over to the new European driving license which was implemented in July 1996. Anyone who got theirs after the change will usually only have class B for up to 3.5t plus a 0.75t trailer. I'm a German who actually happens to have C1E. So who much do you currently pay for lorry drivers?
- gerdesj 5y ago
  No idea but I will enquire ... If you search for "salary HGV UK" you get £19-24K. That was probably last year and frankly wrong, now. I'm an IT consultant and MD of the firm and now wondering if I should get my big rig thang on! OK, I can drive a 7.5 tonner on my driver's license and have done so, many times. I can also drag a trailer, according to my license.

quadrifoliate 5y ago

A bit clickbaity is a reasonable criticism, but not "end of story". I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that older licenses that had these sort of automatic endorsements unbacked by any experience should have been excluded from the letters – so there is a story here. 1999 was 22 years ago!

gumby 5y ago
German driving licenses didn’t use to have expiration dates and I haven’t read that that changed. My ex still uses hers, issued in the mid 80s with a photo of her in her 20s
- tjansen 5y ago
  Newer driver licences issued after 2013 do have expiration dates. Older ones without printed expiration date will eventually expire, depending on the owner's birth year and the year they have been issued. The first ones will expire in 2022 (for drivers licences issued before 1999 and drivers born 1953-1958). If she was in her 20s in the 80s, it will probably expire in 2023 or 2024. https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/reise-mobilitaet/unterwegs-sein/alter-fuehrerschein-mindestens-bis-2022-gueltig-auch-in-allen-eustaaten-10393 https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/reise-mobilitaet/u...
  - tharkun__ 5y ago
    If you click through to the BMVI, nothing really changes. Basically just the format. I.e. the old paper driver's licenses expire first ("Lappen") and you just get a new plastic card with a new photo. However you are still allowed to drive exactly what you were allowed to drive beforehand and the license expiry seems to be 15 years after that. Even some of the plastic card ones will expire and you get a new plastic card. Funny that I have to read this on HN though. Gotta go back and get a new card in a few years it seems lol EDIT: Downvote? For giving extra information? In case this is post-Brexit racism, I don't live in the UK so keep it to yourselves.
- tomjen3 5y ago

SkyPuncher 5y ago

In the USA, a standard driver's license lets you operate vehicles up to 26,000lbs or up to 45 feet without a CDL. That's essentially a lorry.

rootusrootus 5y ago
But only for personal use (most places in the US you can register a tractor as an RV). For business you'll need that CDL. Hell, if you deliver fifth wheels for a living you'll need a CDL and you'll even be stopping at weigh stations. Though you probably wouldn't get caught if you chose to skip them.

wnevets 5y ago

The fact they're so desperate for drivers they'll willing to ask folks who haven't driven in decades is THE story. On a related note there's a meme going around of Boris asking the Queen if she would drive a truck since she did in WW2.

OJFord 5y ago
But it's not an intentional 'hey you have some ancient technical reason to be considered but no experience please do it anyway', which is what makes it a boring non-story. It's a bug in the query, at most.
- stuaxo 5y ago
  The lack of attention to detail is a symptom of them making it up as they go along. This is the most dysfunctional cabinet in living memory.
  - OJFord 5y ago
    Do you honestly think the (current, or any realistic hypothetical) cabinet is anywhere near the implementation of such a thing?
HatchedLake721 5y ago
Haha, please share the meme
- wnevets 5y ago
  Just in case you weren't being sarcastic https://imgur.com/yfeA4Hs https://imgur.com/yfeA4Hs

aaron695 5y ago

> A bit clickbaity title. It's the definition of fake news. Obviously you possibly have hundreds of types of licenses given the many countries and many systems the way licensing works in the UK. There will be mistakes and obviously you will see if the person sends their resume they have no experience. Like any job ad. Tom Peck is a anti-Brexit journalist. He once referred to Brexiters as - "Parliament Square was a knuckle-dragging carnival of irredeemable stupidity". Anti-Brexiters enjoy seeing Brexit fail it gives them a sense they were correct / Sunk Cost Fallacy, so this is big business. It gets clicks, it controls votes. Fake news or not this stuff it power / money. Look at the comments here eating up something that's not even an admin error, some of those Germans will have driven lorries, for the cost of cents it's worth targeting them. And this in not just a Brexit issue, it's also a Covid issue, but you'll notice that bit is missing from the article.