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Life on the road
(As featured in trucking magazine)
Alex Davidson had also been busy getting his trailer loaded for Monday when we called. Bound for London - and for an area that Alex confessed to being just a little bit dodgy - he mentions a well-known haulier based in that part of the capital that, apparently, passes on any local deliveries to others prepared to risk the outcome!
Alex is 48, married, lives in Leeds and has spent the last for years driving for Shipley Transport, a company that, like many, has relocated from its original base - in this case to premises in Bradford.
He drives a DAF 95 Super Space-cabbed tractor unit, and while the climb up into the huge cab might be daunting for Alex, he’s also a mountain climber with some equally prestigious ascents to his credit. "Mont Blanc is probably the most famous one I have climbed," he says, "along with most of the well known UK ones like Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike. I don’t do as much climbing now as I would like to though, mainly because of this job."
Hoots Mon
Alex is proud of his Scottish roots and has various Scots items adorning the DAF cab, including tartan curtains, a Braveheart plaque on the front, and ‘Alba’ on the rear (which is the Gaelic word for ‘Scotland’). Huggy Bear also gets a mention on the passenger door. "He’s a cuddly toy bear and travels everywhere with me, a sort of luck mascot," Alex explains.
Listening to the radio is one of Alex’s ways of relaxing and enjoying a days drive. "I listen to Radio 2 constantly and the traffic reports are often useful. I have a CB radio fitted as well, but I don’t use it an awful lot. It comes in handy if I see someone I know on the road, or to find out why I have come to a sudden halt."
The job he refers to involves working away most weeks, delivering a wide variety of customer products around the UK in a curtain sided trailer, but he thoroughly enjoys it. "I have only been driving big trucks for around six years in total and probably had more leisure time before that, but I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy it" he tells us. "You’d give up straightaway otherwise. Occasionally I think to myself, why on earth am I doing this? Sure the traffic is bad, but you just have to be relaxed about it and chill out. Look at it this way: while you’re sat in traffic at least you are getting paid."
Cleaning his 2004 registered DAF is a regular labour of love too, as Alex always likes to keep his motor looking good. "Sharon, my wife, will quite often come down to the yard to help," he admits. "She usually does the inside of the cab for me. I suppose being a truck driver isn’t much of a job as a way of life, and it’s nice if you can involve your family in some way".
Alex describes driver loyalties to a particular truck as a very subjective thing and he says a DAF, especially a 95/105 model would be his wagon of choice even though he has driven most manufactures trucks during his career. "There is just so much room and storage space in this cab. It’s a perfect workplace and ideal for a week away from home."