I’m a fairly new class 1 driver and my agency has booked me in next week to do some overnight shifts. I’ve never done this before and so would like some tips from you more seasoned drivers please.
I have no idea where I am going yet until on the day and I think my only concern is where to park to get my sleep. I have a hgv TomTom which points out places to park so I don’t think I’ll have much problem with that. So if anyone has any good tips for me please feel free to throw them at me.
Keep the mirrors spotlessly clean and clean them at every opportunity.You get a lot less information from them in the dark and any smearing or grime will wreck what is there .
90 kmh max is bleedin slow on deserted nightime motorways.It makes it a long night.
Ask other drivers who work with you and regularly do nights out for their tips on where to park. If any of them start their sentence with “well I really like the services at……” walk away immediately!
Do NOT turn it into an endurance test or you’ll sicken yourself forever. When you have a roughish idea of the area you’ll be finishing in then simply ask here or FB if you’ve got it. There’s a wealth of cracking places to park, so don’t fall into the lay-by/ services trap.
the maoster:
Ask other drivers who work with you and regularly do nights out for their tips on where to park. If any of them start their sentence with “well I really like the services at……” walk away immediately!
Do NOT turn it into an endurance test or you’ll sicken yourself forever. When you have a roughish idea of the area you’ll be finishing in then simply ask here or FB if you’ve got it. There’s a wealth of cracking places to park, so don’t fall into the lay-by/ services trap.
Ok thanks. What do you mean by “an endurance test” please add I don’t get you? Also why not use services to stay at are they generally bad or??
Do you know if the company will insist you use truck stops/motorway services? If not I have always found this Facebook group very useful: facebook.com/groups/1535690126645603/
When you have an idea of what area you’ll need to park up, search the area/city etc on that group and you’ll probably get a good idea of where to park up.
Don’t let the company push you to the last minute when you need to get parked up, you don’t want to end up in a panic trying to find somewhere and finding that where you planned to go is full and you need to scramble to find another spot, give yourself time to find a backup spot.
I’ve never had to park in a lay-by following this advice, the services have their use if you need to get food/toilet/a shower then move on to where you’re actually going to park if you don’t have them insisting you park in there.
Services are bad because despite their ridiculously overpriced parking fees, (more of a problem for the company, never let yourself be out of pocket by parking there with a company that won’t pay parking) they offer no real security and you’ll find it noisy and dirty compared to the nicer spots you can find yourself. Truck stops can be much better but some can be just as bad, depends which ones.
You’ll be able to get a better idea once you start and know the situation with what the company expects/wants you to do.
What I used do before figured out places. Just type into Google hgv parking then place you want stop.
Or open Google maps type in industrial estates near where ever.
Then check Google street views where ever you decide to park make sure there’s no double yellow lines etc. Etc.
And make sure you give yourself enough time in case no space where you want to go and have to find an alternative spot.
And also get a note book and if you find a nice ■■■■■■■■■■■■ write down the address for future reference
ask the co if its a regular run, where the usual drivers usually stop out or if the planner has any suggestions if worrying about parking
if no luck there, then ask the final delivery point of day if your allowed to stop on site, or what parking is like in the area if industrial estate etc.
other than that facebook groups can be very helpful too
saintryan:
Ok thanks. What do you mean by “an endurance test” please add I don’t get you? Also why not use services to stay at are they generally bad or??
By endurance test I mean don’t run or allow the company to force you to run until the very last minute and then repeat it the next day once your 9 or 11 hours rest is completed. I’ve actually had a work colleague ring me and ask about where to park in a certain area so I told him where to park and that it was literally a two minute walk to a great pub that served reasonably priced wholesome food. When I rang him the next day to ask how he got on his reply was “well when I got there I still had 15 minutes left on a 15 so I pushed on to a lay-by “, you can’t educate pork I’m afraid.
I despise services tbh, they’re noisy, overpriced, a thieves hotspot and I guarantee that your vehicle will at some point be damaged by manoeuvring lorries. I’ve been doing nights out for over 30 years and in all that time have only overnighted in services three times, and they were all forced upon me.
…he’s one of our oldest members, he taught me everything I know. 