Are you looking for a job that makes you travel and allows you to be versatile? Then you’ve come to the right place: by becoming a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver, you’ll have the opportunity to spend time on the roads, aboard a motorized vehicle that doesn’t go unnoticed! Our heavy goods vehicle driver job description will give you all the information you need to know if this profession is right for you.
Description of the job of heavy goods vehicle driver
The role of a truck driver is obviously to drive his truck and ensure the delivery of goods to the company’s customers. This is the main mission, but there are others! This job description for a truck driver will show you what to expect! In addition to driving, the driver is responsible for loading and unloading the cargo. He must also maintain his truck to guarantee smooth journeys over long distances. Small administrative tasks, such as managing delivery documents and the logbook, are also an integral part of the job.
By choosing the profession of truck driver, you do not work traditional hours. You may drive day and night and sometimes even on weekends and public holidays. You will spend a lot of time on the roads of France, in the city and in the countryside, on departmental roads and motorways. Sometimes, you will be able to cross a few European borders to deliver to customers on time. It is therefore the ideal opportunity to see the country at a moderate speed and with freedom as a bird!
What skills and qualities do you need to become a heavy goods vehicle driver?
To do this job, you need to be a road expert. This job description for a heavy goods vehicle driver reveals the skills and qualities that are essential to excel in this profession.
A true all-round professional, you must have different skills, starting with the C license, which authorizes you to drive a vehicle of at least 3.5 tonnes.
As a trucker, your in-depth knowledge of the Highway Code is essential. With a long, high and heavy vehicle, you also need to know the routes dedicated to trucks to avoid unexpected incidents.
Essential behavioral qualities
Becoming a freight driver also means demonstrating a great capacity for attention. Your sense of concentration is essential for driving long hours, whatever the weather and traffic conditions.
To be a professional truck driver, you also need a certain sense of organization to define the best route according to your different delivery locations and the authorized roads. Obviously, GPS is there to help you, but on the road, you are never safe from a small change. It is also your sense of organization that helps you to logically arrange the goods in your vehicle according to the order of your deliveries.
Good physical condition essential for handling
To carry out the operations of coupling, loading and unloading goods without too much effort, you must therefore be in great shape! Your physical condition will very quickly prove essential for your position as a heavy goods vehicle driver!
Let’s not forget an important quality which is the sense of customer relations. It will be useful to you to communicate with customers during your deliveries. A PL driver is the worthy representative of his company
Solitude and distance to consider
Hitting the road on Sunday evening to cross France is the daily life of many transport professionals. In these conditions, you have to like solitude because for hours, only music and the radio keep you company. In the evening, at mealtime on a motorway service station, you can meet other truck drivers. It’s an opportunity to chat, let off steam, and build relationships. You sleep in your cabin with limited but sufficient comfort and you get back on the road the next day. A strange daily life that is not for everyone, but which appeals to many truck drivers.
How to become a professional HGV driver?
Our heavy goods vehicle driver job description is here to guide you on the roads of the future! Be aware that the first condition is to obtain the heavy goods vehicle license that authorizes you to drive heavy goods vehicles, but you have to wait until you are 21 years old. Before this final step, you must follow technical studies training you in all the specificities of the HGV driver profession. You can start with a CAP Road Driver which takes two years or opt for the 3-year Bac pro road freight transport driver.
