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Delivery Work In France – Vive La Difference
The lorry or van It's probably a pretty sweeping statement, but many would argue that the commercial goods vehicle, ranging from the tiniest right up to a 15m articulated lorry, now carries with it a certain stigma in the UK. Okay, most people accept that society currently cannot do without them, but hardly a day goes by without you reading about pressure groups trying to ban HGVs from their town or campaigning to stop them parking anywhere even remotely close to where people live. Oddly, this seems to be far less so in France. Sure, nobody in France wants a huge haulage yard right outside of their bedroom window, but the French appear to be far more indifferent to lorries and vans than many people in the UK. When you travel around in France, it's pretty easy to see evidence of this. New housing developments that are built in close proximity to busy motorways seem not to have to work very hard to sell the houses on them. Some French communities, with busy roads passing right through the centre, seem to be entirely unaware of either the volume of traffic or the number of goods vehicles passing through the centre of town. In fact, sometimes if you stop local people and ask them whether they mind the goods vehicles on the road, they often appear to be surprised by the question and sometimes respond, “why should we”? Of course, there are exceptions and some French towns seek to move goods vehicles on to the, usually exceptionally well built, ring roads that surround them. However, sometimes the underlying motivation appears to be as much to facilitate the passage of goods vehicles themselves, as it is to remove them away from the public. Attitudes to drivers In France, HGV and delivery work drivers appear to be viewed far more as ‘artisans’ than is the case in the UK. The profession of being an HGV driver is still an honourable and respected one across the Channel and something akin to being a baker, farmer or mechanic. At the risk of sounding slightly paranoid, this is quite different to the UK where, all too often, the delivery work driver seems to be regarded as someone who is single-handedly setting out to destroy the environment and a pariah to be shunned! If you spend any time in France, if you make the effort to both observe these things and talk to local people, you may find some surprises. For example, in some French villages you will often see HGVs and smaller vans parked in peoples’ gardens or outside on the road adjacent to residential properties. You see this to an extent that would be unthinkable in many areas of the UK, where parking a 12m trailer anywhere even remotely close to your neighbours’ houses could easily start a major confrontation! By contrast, in France, many people appear to believe that the goods vehicle is part of the tools of their neighbours’ trade and, therefore, something that it is perfectly legitimate for them to bring home with them and keep locally. It's quite an interesting cultural difference (one of many!) between the UK and France. Doubtless France is not heaven on earth for delivery work drivers, yet spending time working over there might make a pleasant change! Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for haulage companies to buy and sell www.haulageexchange.co.uk/available-loads.html"> delivery work , road transport and www.haulageexchange.co.uk"> delivery work in the domestic and international markets. |
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