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Winter 2018 Truck and Track 39
“I really enjoy being part of the Bristol team”, Said Vicki.
“Prettymuchallofourregularcustomersandcontractsget
used to seeing familiar drivers and you build up a rapport
with them. When any concerns arise, they appreciate it if
you can ‘call base’ and sort it there and then... it helps your
shift run smoothly whilst strengthening relationships. I
enjoy interaction with our customers and, here at Culina
Logistics, I have the good fortune of working alongside
great colleagues who are helpful, patient, and always on
hand to lend their expertise.”
Vicki enjoys telling others about her job, “I have spoken
withmany people about what I do,” said Vicki, “ I tell them
that haulage is not a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday career. It is
a demanding job, the hours can be long and, being a food
and drink logistics operator, contractual deadlines have
to be met 24/7. Flexibility is expected, but it works both
ways.”
Whether you are Male or Female, the role of HGV Driver
is a constantly evolving career, literally non-stop in
many ways with changing legislation, improving fleet
equipment and the progression of logistics technology.
“To anyone thinking about earning their licence, it’s not
just about the driving; you can learn a lot more and after
27 years I am still learning,”said Vicki, “The company will
always keep us updated on new rules and regulations
that affect HGV Drivers, and our fleet is modern and
complies fully with current legislation. Training days are
provided so we are always developing individually and as a team.
There are also opportunities to go further in the career if youwish, you
can become a Driver Trainer, Driving Assessor, Coordinator or Planner.”
Vicki, one of an increasing numbers of women throughout the UK
today that are proving beyond all doubt that being an HGV driver is
a really great career choice.
“In the earlier days I did experience some resistance to being awoman
in the industry, but that didn’t fazemewhatsoever,” said Vicki, “Times
have changed and now I see more women than ever in the role!”
Working alongside Vicki at Culina Logistics in Bristol is Rebecca
King. A newer addition to the Bristol HGV Driver Team, she gives her
own perspective on this exciting career opportunity.
“I’d had thoughts of becoming a Driver for a while, but never acted
on the idea,” said Rebecca, “I would tell myself that there is no way
I could drive a HGV but this was only because I’d never seen a female
driver. Looking back now, that’s because I wasn’t really looking, there
are thousands of women driving HGV’s!”
“I’m not exactly sure what made me want to become a driver? After
completing my A-levels, I didn’t knowwhat I wanted to do in terms of
a career. I went to college to learn beauty therapy. I completed the first
year but realised I was not enjoying it. I hadn’t yet told anybody about
my thoughts on driving for a living; I had kept them to myself. But
as I was leaving the college on the last day, my tutor told me to do
something different, something that I enjoy. He saidmaybe you should
go and be a lorry driver. That was my mind made up! It reaffirmed the
fact that others had faith in me to do a job like that. So, I booked my
training a month later and here I am today!”
Rebecca has held her licence for nearly 6 years,
she achieved her Class 2 at 19 years old, and
Class 1 the following year and has been with
Culina Logistics now for nearly 5 years. Her
first driving job was in Bristol with a family run
company, doing multi-drops around Bristol city
centre and further afield. She believes this job
gave her the best start to her career.
“I love working for Culina Logistics,”said
Rebecca, “Being part of a bigger company gives
me much more security. You’ll never get asked
to take a truck out that has a bald spot on the
tyre and never get asked to go over your driving
time to make a delivery. Culina Logistics respect
the fact that it is the drivers themselves who will
get the points or a fine if the authorities were to
find anything wrong with a truck or trailer. Plus,
we have an excellent rating with the DVSA which
means we have a well-maintained fleet that is
fully compliant with road safety laws.”
“My favourite part of the job is the freedom. We
can choose the route whichwe feel will be fastest
or most likely to avoid the major traffic areas.
We get to see beautiful parts of the country that
we wouldn’t see if we were behind a desk, meet
lovely people and all with a company behind us
that appreciates the work we do and treats us well.”
“The advice I’d give to anyone looking at joining the industry would be
to JUST DO IT! It’s a great job and, within the right company, you can
really thrive and better your knowledge of the industry. If you get a
year into it and decide it’s really not your cup of tea then you can find
something else but, as long as you keep your CPC training up to date,
you can always come back to it.”
More and more women are seeing a career as an HGV Driver as a
valid option for them. If you have good time management, want to
meet new people and explore the country, then HGV Driver might
just be the career path for you!
If you have the drive and want to make a positive difference in the
logistics industry, why not join Culina Group’s winning team. You
can view all of our current vacancies at
SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE HGV DRIVERS
Rebecca King