A distribution driver has the important job of delivering products, and making sure to meet the costumers expectations. This is an important and demanding job, that can start early in the morning, and end late at night.
A typical day for a distribution driver starts early. The alarm could go off at 04.00 am, and you could be expected to be at work by 05.00 am. Usually you would want a shower and some coffee to wake yourself up. It’s important to be awake when you are going to spend most of your day on the road.
After this the driver has to plan their day in order to reach all their destinations. This could be the same route they do every day, or a completely new route. They would then have to plan how they will get to each place, plot in breaks and how long it will take them.
Once the plan is made, the driver needs to inspect the vehicle to see that it is safe to drive. After this they need to load the cargo onto the vehicle. This is very demanding as there could be a lot of heavy cargo. At maybe 07.30 am the delivery driver sets off on their journey. This could be a local route, or they could be going up and down the country.
Along the way safe driving is key. There would be no point in driving recklessly and possibly causing an accident in order to get there a couple of minutes earlier. Good planning is important for this. If the drive is planned correctly, they should get there in time regardless. Especially nowadays with GPS, when you can plot in your route and find an estimated time of arrival.
It is also important to take frequent breaks as a distribution driver. There are stops along the motorways where you can rest if you feel you need to, and some large vans even have beds. They are encouraged to take rests and sleep if it gets late so that accidents don’t happen.
No two days are the same as a distribution driver. One day you could be making small stops all over the place, another day you could be doing long stretches of driving and hardly any stops. Anything could happen along the way. There could be traffic disruptions, queues, rush hours, diversions and delays.
In the UK you are restricted not to drive on duty for more than 11 hours, and after 5 hours and 30 minutes of driving you have to take a 30 minute rest. These are the rules the distribution drivers must follow.
The length of the days can vary every day, and some days you could be doing a 16 hour shift. You could expect to be home about 18.00 -20.00 pm.