UK AI Exposure · Process, plant and machine operatives
Heavy and large goods vehicle drivers
HGV and LGV drivers collect, transport and deliver goods in rigid vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, articulated lorries and lorries pulling trailers.
- Employees (UK)
- 204k
- Median annual pay
- £39,141
- Exposure score ?
- 1.8/10 Minimal 3.5/10 Low strict reading · with tools is 3.5/10 with-tools reading · strict is 1.8/10
- Wage exposure
- £1.44bn £2.79bn
Higher exposure than 79% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
A handful of tasks in this role are touchable by AI, mostly around paperwork, scheduling and basic writing. The shape of the role stays the same - some parts just get faster.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try an LLM on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT can already do for admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the dividend.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
These are the highest-importance tasks a language model can already handle directly today. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these, so they stop eating your team's time.
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Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
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Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
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Read bills of lading to determine assignment details.
These are the highest-importance tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these — usually the difference between an LLM that can technically do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
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Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
-
Read bills of lading to determine assignment details.
Every role has three or four wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
Tasks via O*NET "Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers" (53-3032.00).
What AI can already do
5 of 29 tasks · unaided
Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
Read bills of lading to determine assignment details.
Report vehicle defects, accidents, traffic violations, or damage to the vehicles.
Operate equipment, such as truck cab computers, CB radios, phones, or global positioning systems (GPS) equipment to exchange necessary information with bases, supervisors, or other drivers.
Where humans still hold the line
24 of 29 tasks
Secure cargo for transport, using ropes, blocks, chain, binders, or covers.
Follow appropriate safety procedures for transporting dangerous goods.
Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles.
Obtain receipts or signatures for delivered goods and collect payment for services when required.
Perform basic vehicle maintenance tasks, such as adding oil, fuel, or radiator fluid, performing minor repairs, or washing trucks.
Couple or uncouple trailers by changing trailer jack positions, connecting or disconnecting air or electrical lines, or manipulating fifth-wheel locks.
Maneuver trucks into loading or unloading positions, following signals from loading crew and checking that vehicle and loading equipment are properly positioned.
Collect delivery instructions from appropriate sources, verifying instructions and routes.
Drive trucks with capacities greater than 13 tons, including tractor-trailer combinations, to transport and deliver products, livestock, or other materials.
Read and interpret maps to determine vehicle routes.
Check conditions of trailers after contents have been unloaded to ensure that there has been no damage.
Drive trucks to weigh stations before and after loading and along routes in compliance with state regulations.
Inventory and inspect goods to be moved to determine quantities and conditions.
Load or unload trucks or help others with loading or unloading, using special loading-related equipment or other equipment as necessary.
Plan or adjust routes based on changing conditions, using computer equipment, global positioning systems (GPS) equipment, or other navigation devices, to minimize fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Follow special cargo-related procedures, such as checking refrigeration systems for frozen foods or providing food or water for livestock.
Install or remove special equipment, such as tire chains, grader blades, plow blades, or sanders.
Perform emergency roadside repairs, such as changing tires or installing light bulbs, tire chains, or spark plugs.
Wrap and secure goods using pads, packing paper, containers, or straps.
Operate idle reduction systems or auxiliary power systems to generate power from alternative sources, such as fuel cells, to reduce idling time, to heat or cool truck cabins, or to provide power for other equipment.
Remove debris from loaded trailers.
Give directions to laborers who are packing goods and moving them onto trailers.
Tasks via O*NET "Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers" (53-3032.00).
What AI can already do
10 of 29 tasks · with tools
Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
Read bills of lading to determine assignment details.
Report vehicle defects, accidents, traffic violations, or damage to the vehicles.
Collect delivery instructions from appropriate sources, verifying instructions and routes.
Read and interpret maps to determine vehicle routes.
Check conditions of trailers after contents have been unloaded to ensure that there has been no damage.
Operate equipment, such as truck cab computers, CB radios, phones, or global positioning systems (GPS) equipment to exchange necessary information with bases, supervisors, or other drivers.
Inventory and inspect goods to be moved to determine quantities and conditions.
Plan or adjust routes based on changing conditions, using computer equipment, global positioning systems (GPS) equipment, or other navigation devices, to minimize fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Where humans still hold the line
19 of 29 tasks
Secure cargo for transport, using ropes, blocks, chain, binders, or covers.
Follow appropriate safety procedures for transporting dangerous goods.
Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles.
Obtain receipts or signatures for delivered goods and collect payment for services when required.
Perform basic vehicle maintenance tasks, such as adding oil, fuel, or radiator fluid, performing minor repairs, or washing trucks.
Couple or uncouple trailers by changing trailer jack positions, connecting or disconnecting air or electrical lines, or manipulating fifth-wheel locks.
Maneuver trucks into loading or unloading positions, following signals from loading crew and checking that vehicle and loading equipment are properly positioned.
Drive trucks with capacities greater than 13 tons, including tractor-trailer combinations, to transport and deliver products, livestock, or other materials.
Drive trucks to weigh stations before and after loading and along routes in compliance with state regulations.
Load or unload trucks or help others with loading or unloading, using special loading-related equipment or other equipment as necessary.
Follow special cargo-related procedures, such as checking refrigeration systems for frozen foods or providing food or water for livestock.
Install or remove special equipment, such as tire chains, grader blades, plow blades, or sanders.
Perform emergency roadside repairs, such as changing tires or installing light bulbs, tire chains, or spark plugs.
Wrap and secure goods using pads, packing paper, containers, or straps.
Operate idle reduction systems or auxiliary power systems to generate power from alternative sources, such as fuel cells, to reduce idling time, to heat or cool truck cabins, or to provide power for other equipment.
Remove debris from loaded trailers.
Give directions to laborers who are packing goods and moving them onto trailers.
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Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
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