Age, Health and Professional Drivers' Network

The haulage industry is constantly changing, with improvements to vehicles, equipment, and greater use of technology. The introduction of more automatic systems, such as power steering, automatic gears and braking, and technology in the cab, may make driving easier but do they? How easy it to adapt to new technology? The personal views of some older HGV drivers and their managers are below:

“Fifteen to twenty years ago there wasn’t the technology and the vehicles were a lot more manual. There’s a lot less to do to drive the vehicles now. They almost drive themselves. This is a good thing, and power steering takes a lot off you.”

“You’ve nothing to do, not even changing gear because it does it for you. You become like in a tunnel vision. It’s harder into the early hours of the morning.”

“You can look [at the screen to look through the mirrors] or you can look through the mirrors, which I’ve been taught to use the mirrors more than the screen. So I actually found that not too bad for the first couple of hours, and because it was there constantly, it’s just there in your peripheral vision. I actually covered it over with a hat. It was just a constant light there. So, I suppose it was distracting, because we’re taught, and I’ve always used the mirrors to see what’s around me. So I don’t need the extra.”

“Because younger people are brought up with technology, e.g. they just pick a tablet up and do it. Older people think about it too much.”

“Older guys are less au fait with the technology, so have a bit more time with the driver trainer to get used to it.”

“Nothing to do with their age, but their background and willingness to “get stuck in” [find out how new technology works and use it].”