Business

A courier can run into many problems over the course of a day - after all, no-one said that the delivery business would be easy! There are a few issues that do seem to keep cropping up time after time, though - and a few strategies that have been used by experienced drivers to help get them through the rough patches. Even if you aren't a professional delivery driver, and you're just hoping to make your journey a little smoother, there are a few tips and tricks to pick up that might just save you some gnashing of teeth on your next trip.
Planning Ahead
Wherever you're driving to, it's important to know the route! As any courier will be able to tell you, though, there are all kinds of different routes to be selected: the most efficient route, a wider loop, a route that takes in a necessary stop on the way, a meandering route that misses out trouble spots... there's an endless list of routes to almost any destination. The skill lies in selecting the right one that meets your needs, whether you're delivering a parcel, or making sure you have the quickest route for your school run.
Knowing the Ground
The only real way to effectively select your route is to know the what's available - and that requires knowing the ground. Imagine the famous 'knowledge' of a London cabbie, knowing all the streets and all the back lanes of London. A courier will have a similar base of knowledge about areas they commonly work in, and perhaps several such areas all over the country. Knowing the trouble spots (such as cramped junctions, or blind spots where accidents are more likely to occur) will help you construct different routes that will avoid them, or let you take a well-judged risk if there's no other alternative.
Being Adaptable
There is no point in determining multiple routes and knowing the ground if you continue to choose one to the exclusion of others. The benefit of knowing these multiple routes is that they can be switched between when the need arises, in order to allow a courier a measure of flexibility in getting from here to there. This type of flexibility in driving isn't achieved from having no plan, as many assume, but rather from having several options to choose from at any given point along a journey. Real driving flexibility is achieved by planning ahead, knowing the ground, and being able to choose the most efficient route with the details that those processes give a driver.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier services in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

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