One armed lorry driver!

[Doing it for the kids]

Just finished loading a lorry and noticed he didn’t have a right arm when he arrived.

said he passed his test in October and was still learning. I was at first surprised to see him driving an artic but I had an hr to mull it over.

he seemed very capable but it was hard work closing his door, I used my elbow to help him.

it made me think about how his disability must affect him and how he seems to overcome it.

could you farm with such a disability? I recall at college one of the practical instructors could cope with the old Jcb set up but not the new electrics lever ones not so well When I took my test.

harder with livestock than arable but I can’t think of many examples where both arms are needed for some of the time.

I bet many in here have found a way around these things, curious how though?

 

[TripleSix]

Quite a few paraplegic farmers, with adapted tractors etc.

There will be a fair few with a leg missing from balers etc no doubt

 

[ricky_rascal]

I guess it comes down to how much you would want to do the job.

Just thinking about my own situation and say lost an arm. I could carry a bag of rolled barley to cattle but opening the shed gate might be a prob unless I put the bag down. Of course bagging it in first place could be interesting. Mucking out the small calf pens is a muck fork job and singled handed could be difficult? The list goes on but guess you adapt your system or improvise. Not that I’d like too.

When we had some dairy cows one of the tanker drivers for what was then Express had one hand missing. He’d lost it when he was young in a circular saw. He managed to drive the tanker, connect the pipe and take a sample which was a manual job rather than auto these days. Disability’s don’t stop a lot of people.

 

[Bury the Trash]

I know of a lorry driver that lost both legs above the knee, it never stopped him.

 

[borderterribles]

I used to know a chap with only one arm who farmed and did livestock haulage, with an old Dodge lorry. He could put the ramp up, on his own but used to have someone riding shotgun with him to help him lug it round tight corners ,as it was before the days of power steering! Some of the older Derbyshire members on here may remember him too?

 

[Tubbylew]

The resilliance of many folk makes me feel ashamed and awestruck sometimes.

 

[quattro]

Go on u tube harmless Andy I think, if your ever feeling hard done by go watch his videos,unbelievable
to slow

 

[Cab-over Pete]

When I was a kid a driver used to deliver fert bags to Dad. He would carry them two at a time - 100kgs.

As years past he had to have a leg amputated and could only manage one at a time.

When his second leg was amputated he couldn’t unload any, but he still drove his lorry.

We also had a deaf chap who used to deliver bulk dairy nuts. He would set up the pipes, engage the pto and then squeeze between the front lorry tyre and the mudguard with a piece of wood which was cut to the right size to hold the throttle open at just the right revs.

 

[Muddyroads]

If you haven’t seen this guys videos, he‘s incredible.

 

[Hilly]

When I was a kid the neighbouring farmer had a wooden leg , he kept farming to ripe old age did everything every farmer did but he sufferd terribly in silence.

 

[quattro]

I know of a lorry driver that lost both legs above the knee, it never stopped him.

And some people use every little excuse there is to get out working

 

[borderterribles]

I had a farming neighbour with a peg leg, too. He'd lost his leg in a threshing drum accident! Goodness knows what he would have achieved, had he been fully able bodied, because he did very well as it was. Bernard Heath, a true Staffordshire legend.

 

[A Trebor]

Know of a one armed contract spray man near to @Warp Land Farmer

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Go on u tube harmless Andy I think, if your ever feeling hard done by go watch his videos,unbelievable
to slow

Harmless Farmer. That guy is incredible.

 

[v8willy]

Was an spark round here with one arm, be retired now.
A neighbouring farmer had a man working for him with a wooden leg, from above the knee, wasn't keen on tractor driving but could do it.
MF 35 he threw his leg over the steering wheel & pushed his knee with his hand to work the clutch, new leg every year or so, most others got about 3 years out of a leg he said.

 

[yellow belly]

Where these the will there is a way
need to adapt every operation to the disability

when you see disabled sports people it inspires one

 

[Tomr10]

I was going to say about the guy with no arms

 

[Hilly]

My father was disabled to a degree due to a tosser who couldn’t drive pee'd , he sufferd but I think it gave him determination .

 

[curly]

I paralysed my left arm & hand 41 yrs ago,motorcycle accident, & have been working on the farm for 38yrs now.We used to have cows,beef & arable on 350 acres but sold the cows 30 odd yrs ago. I can do virtually everything apart from milking & a few other things.
After hurting my right leg once I found that apart getting to the tractor & climbing in I could do a days ploughing with 1 arm & 1 leg!
Now it's just me on my own & apart from getting a contractor in for combining & hedgecutting, I do most things single handedly,literally! I should add that I can't do everything because I do go & ask for help sometimes

 

[Mc115reed]

Know a sheep farmer with 1 arm... he’s got a very good dog and some hellish attachments for his stump he’s Definatly no slower than me at sheep work