Surprising Skills That Can Help HGV Drivers

If you’re thinking seriously about becoming an HGV driver, or you’re well on your way to becoming one, there are a few additional things you might want to learn before you hit the road.

We can take care of your HGV licence, but once you’re qualified and out on your own, is there anything else you need to know?

We’ve compiled a list of a few extra skills that we think will help you when you’re driving around the world for a living.

Languages

 It might seem a little obvious, but it’s still worth saying: learning other languages will always help when you’re driving abroad for a living. If you have a particular route, and a particular country you regularly drive through, then that would be the best language to start with.

 Not only can it help you to negotiate road signs, understand warnings and find your way around fuel stations – which are all part of your job – but it can also make your life on the road a bit more fun and enjoyable. Being able to interact with the people you meet as you go can enhance the experience, and you can help to show the world that Brits can learn other languages after all!

 If you’d quite like to learn another language, but you’re not sure how to start, you can take advantage of all those hours in your cab and download an audio book that you can listen to as you travel.

Maths

 Basic maths is something that many of us struggle with, and we’re increasingly reliant on our smartphones and their calculator function. That’s no good if you’re in a hurry to work out the exchange rate on a foreign currency, or check whether you’ve got enough cash on you for the toll right in front of you.

 Maths isn’t something you can pick up as easily through an audio book, but there are plenty of adult online courses if you have the patience. It’s a myth that you can’t get better at maths once you’ve left school and the only thing stopping you is the belief that you can’t improve.

Nutrition

 Plenty of us use the excuse of travelling to eat badly. We think that just because we’re on the move we can temporarily set aside our health and grab whatever tasty looking food is at hand wherever we are, and drink caffeine and sugar to stay awake. That’s fine for the occasional journey, but if you’re travelling for a living, that’s a sure fire way to become overweight, age prematurely and develop serious health problems. You’re already going to be spending a lot of your day sitting down, just like most office-bound full-time workers, so don’t compound that with a terrible diet.

 You might even think you’re making healthy choices when you’re actually not. Low fat food options at service stations, sugar-free energy drinks and fruit juice might seem like good choices, but they’re often some of the worst things you can have.

Knowing a few basics about nutrition and how different foods work inside your body will give you the basics you need to make sure you look after your health when you’re on the road. Not only will that help you to feel better personally, but it can also make you better at your job, keeping tiredness at bay, giving you better quality sleep, and better concentration when you’re driving.

 There’s plenty of basic information online about what to eat and drink to stay in shape on the road, so educate yourself rather than trusting what’s on the packaging of so-called ‘healthy’ options that you might pick up at a service station. If you have the option to cook for yourself in your cab, find a few healthy recipes with ingredients you can take with you that won’t spoil.

What did we miss?

 If there are any other unusual or unexpected skills that help with life on the road driving an HGV, we’d love to know about them. Leave your comments below for any new drivers.