I got caught up in some sort of Police incident on the Thelwall Viaduct Tuesday evening / night and ended up having to slum it on a layby on the A50.
Pretty sure it was this one -https://goo.gl/maps/gFvGWXBReg3U3yTr6
It was a different experience being rocked to sleep by every passing car ,van and truck but the real suprise was on waking the next morning that my fuel seemed to have gone walk about . I know when I parked up I had a quarter of a tank of ad blue and around half a tank of derv on waking and firing up to get the kettle on I only had a quarter of a tank of ad blue and the derv was down to just above the red . I recon someone got away with about 200 l or thereabouts .
Rang the boss to give him the bad news and he seemed to understand and told me to get on with it .
Is the A50 that bad ? Is it a regular thing along this road ? Should I have known better ?
Was glad to see the local cops are trageting HGV’s with a truck so they can look in the windows to see what we are all at while driving , I don’t suposse they will be parking in laybys at night to see if they can catch a few of the scum that seem to around theiving and destroying trailers .
I feel your pain mate, but why did you not find an ind est in Stoke area for example to park.
No way would I park in a lay by adjacent to a main trunk road anyway, …as you say you can’t get to sleep, unless you’re some brainwashed moron who uses these places as a first option that is…(I know you ain’t,. I just like winding these guys up 
)
Last time that happened to me…rta hold up/over my time etc, I came off whatever trunk road I was on and parked in the first suitable lay by where I knew I would be able to sleep.
As for the Old Bill 
…don’t get me started, they have their priorities (mostly that involves gathering revenue) they ain’t interested in truck crime prevention…no money in it.
robroy:
I feel your pain mate, but why did you not find an ind est in Stoke area for example to park.
No way would I park in a lay by adjacent to a main trunk road anyway, …as you say you can’t get to sleep, unless you’re some brainwashed moron who uses these places as a first option that is…(I know you ain’t,. I just like winding these guys upLast time that happened to me…rta hold up/over my time etc, I came off whatever trunk road I was on and parked in the first suitable lay by where I knew I would be able to sleep.
As for the Old Bill
Bit of a brain ■■■■ on my case Rob I’d had a long day was trying to max the card out to make the next day a bit easier on myself , got caught in the incident which took 20 - 25 minutes of driving time . i was pushing the 10 hour card ( ended up 6 minutes over a 10 hour drive ) I was looking for a layby that would have gotten me right in off the road with a runnign lane to seperate me from the traffic but I eventually had to grab what I could get. By good luck I was going to top up at Lymm but decided to push on and leave it to the next day or I’d have been sitting there with full taks (700 l )
Are industrial estates not as bad as lay bys or is it just take your chance .
I know a lot on here do park up in front industrial estates and seem quite comfortable with them.
Our boss has a policy of truck stop / services / customer premises only unless an emergency. I know these places are a risk aswell though .
Happy Trucker1:
Are industrial estates not as bad as lay bys or is it just take your chance .
I know a lot on here do park up in front industrial estates and seem quite comfortable with them.
Our boss has a policy of truck stop / services / customer premises only unless an emergency. I know these places are a risk aswell though .
I had shipped a trailer back home from Heysham and lifted one from there for Cambridge , we have Snap accounts and I could have used Lymm but I personally won’t go near it unless for fuel, ADS was full ( I rang ) the load was such that I was sure nobody was going to run away with it so I thought I was safe enough . I was in Coneygarth Sunday night , Coopers Cabin on the A14 monday night , A50 Tuesday and back in ConeyGarth on Wednesday, Thursday in a customers premises and home last night to our yard .
Clean, tidy, well run truckstops I have no problem with but I do like a bit of peace and quiet as well . the boss doesn’t mind us using the Snap account but I really don’t like ripping the ar-- out of it. If I can get a shower etc etc in the evening somewhere I’ll happily take a good latby well in off the road or a indust estate. Just bad luck for me on Tuesday night .
Happy Trucker1:
Are industrial estates not as bad as lay bys or is it just take your chance .
All depends mate, I park on ind estates quite a bit but I look to park right next to a buildings cctv camera. Perhaps the camera doesn’t even work but the potential fuel fairies don’t know that. It’s all about risk mitigation.
the maoster:
Happy Trucker1:
Are industrial estates not as bad as lay bys or is it just take your chance .All depends mate, I park on ind estates quite a bit but I look to park right next to a buildings cctv camera. Perhaps the camera doesn’t even work but the potential fuel fairies don’t know that. It’s all about risk mitigation.
Same here, or somewhere well lit up, and/or directly under the street lamp…the ■■■■ s do not like light when they are thieving.
beefy4605:
the boss doesn’t mind us using the Snap account but I really don’t like ripping the ar-- out of it. .
Why do you care? You’re not paying the bill and they’re the ones who want you to night out. If a company wants me to sleep out in my lorry then they can bloody well pay for decent parking and I don’t give a stuff what it costs them or whether or not they like us using it. They’re sat at home and sleeping in their bed so why should I have to park up somewhere without even access to a toilet just to save them a few quid? If you run a transport company and don’t like paying parking then don’t plan runs with nights out but don’t expect drivers to have to put up with spending a night with no facilities just so you can put a few quid more in your pocket.
It’s attitudes like that which have led to the UK having some of the worst conditions for lorry drivers in Europe. 40/50 years ago when a driver nighting out they would expect to be put up in a bed and breakfast. Decades of drivers accepting ever worsening terms have resulted in us getting to the point where parking up where there isn’t even a toilet is seen to be acceptable with the drivers even feeling guilty like yourself if they dare to park somewhere where there are facilities because it costs money.
Parked on a50 no end of times & never had any issues , plenty of times round Stoke as if I went into depot I’d have to drop the empty then mess about getting another in the morning
Do you drive a diesel by any chance ?
Police force in the area was recently recruiting expressly “hate crime investigators”. That shows their priorities.
There is a parking place behind Lidl in Willow Row Stoke on the A50. Its not big but well secure. Tried it this week. Will be parking there more often
beefy4605:
I got caught up in some sort of Police incident on the Thelwall Viaduct Tuesday evening / night and ended up having to slum it on a layby on the A50.
Pretty sure it was this one -Google Maps
It was a different experience being rocked to sleep by every passing car ,van and truck but the real suprise was on waking the next morning that my fuel seemed to have gone walk about . I know when I parked up I had a quarter of a tank of ad blue and around half a tank of derv on waking and firing up to get the kettle on I only had a quarter of a tank of ad blue and the derv was down to just above the red . I recon someone got away with about 200 l or thereabouts .
Rang the boss to give him the bad news and he seemed to understand and told me to get on with it .
Is the A50 that bad ? Is it a regular thing along this road ? Should I have known better ?
Was glad to see the local cops are trageting HGV’s with a truck so they can look in the windows to see what we are all at while driving , I don’t suposse they will be parking in laybys at night to see if they can catch a few of the scum that seem to around theiving and destroying trailers .
Should of gone down the old A50 and stopped in first lay-by on right after Fole .
Conor:
beefy4605:
the boss doesn’t mind us using the Snap account but I really don’t like ripping the ar-- out of it. .Why do you care? You’re not paying the bill and they’re the ones who want you to night out. If a company wants me to sleep out in my lorry then they can bloody well pay for decent parking and I don’t give a stuff what it costs them or whether or not they like us using it. They’re sat at home and sleeping in their bed so why should I have to park up somewhere without even access to a toilet just to save them a few quid? If you run a transport company and don’t like paying parking then don’t plan runs with nights out but don’t expect drivers to have to put up with spending a night with no facilities just so you can put a few quid more in your pocket.
It’s attitudes like that which have led to the UK having some of the worst conditions for lorry drivers in Europe. 40/50 years ago when a driver nighting out they would expect to be put up in a bed and breakfast. Decades of drivers accepting ever worsening terms have resulted in us getting to the point where parking up where there isn’t even a toilet is seen to be acceptable with the drivers even feeling guilty like yourself if they dare to park somewhere where there are facilities because it costs money.
I find myself agreeing with all of that.
We use Snap, but our lot ain’t keen on you parking on rip off MSAs,.which is fine by me as I wouldn’t use them anyway.tbh.
However if you got true value for money at those places, and they were enjoyable to park up there, make no mistake…I would !
It doesn’t bother me what it costs to park up, it’s the firm’s job to factor in those potential costs in their rates, not my concern.
A lot of the time I prefer to park up in ‘‘my own places’’ anyway, which are obviiusly free, but that is not the reason.
I use truckstops only when carrying high value loads or if I ain’t planning on going out and/or meeting mates.
As for B&Bs in the era you mention 
.I can only go back to.79, but many left a lot to be desired at that time, to the point where I preferred kipping across the seats.
No way I would do that today, but in those days it was just the done thing.
As for B&Bs in the era you mention .I can only go back to.79, but many left a lot to be desired at that time, to the point where I preferred kipping across the seats. Kings Lynn we parked in the “truck stop” and there was a guy in a Morris Traveler. Bag in the back, down to the house and 2/3 in a room. agahh the good old days 
SWEDISH BLUE:
As for B&Bs in the era you mention
I think I only stayed in 2 decent b&b s, one in Knutsford one in Walsall.where I broke down for 2 days with a Fiat on both occasions, so not your usual ‘trucker’s digs’.
Oh yeh and an expensive upmarket one in Oxford one night, but only because I had my girlfriend with me…now my Mrs, so I must have impressed her.
robroy:
Conor:
beefy4605:
the boss doesn’t mind us using the Snap account but I really don’t like ripping the ar-- out of it. .Why do you care? You’re not paying the bill and they’re the ones who want you to night out. If a company wants me to sleep out in my lorry then they can bloody well pay for decent parking and I don’t give a stuff what it costs them or whether or not they like us using it. They’re sat at home and sleeping in their bed so why should I have to park up somewhere without even access to a toilet just to save them a few quid? If you run a transport company and don’t like paying parking then don’t plan runs with nights out but don’t expect drivers to have to put up with spending a night with no facilities just so you can put a few quid more in your pocket.
It’s attitudes like that which have led to the UK having some of the worst conditions for lorry drivers in Europe. 40/50 years ago when a driver nighting out they would expect to be put up in a bed and breakfast. Decades of drivers accepting ever worsening terms have resulted in us getting to the point where parking up where there isn’t even a toilet is seen to be acceptable with the drivers even feeling guilty like yourself if they dare to park somewhere where there are facilities because it costs money.
I find myself agreeing with all of that.
We use Snap, but our lot ain’t keen on you parking on rip off MSAs,.which is fine by me as I wouldn’t use them anyway.tbh.
However if you got true value for money at those places, and they were enjoyable to park up there, make no mistake…I would !
It doesn’t bother me what it costs to park up, it’s the firm’s job to factor in those potential costs in their rates, not my concern.
A lot of the time I prefer to park up in ‘‘my own places’’ anyway, which are obviiusly free, but that is not the reason.
I use truckstops only when carrying high value loads or if I ain’t planning on going out and/or meeting mates.As for B&Bs in the era you mention
No way I would do that today, but in those days it was just the done thing.
I care because I don’t rip the ar-- out of it .
If I have a high value load on I’ll be in a decent truck stop like the 2 I mentioned above Coneygarth or Coopers Cabin just off the A14. If I have a load of precast concrete slabs on weighing 5 tons a piece then I’m pretty sure nobodys going to run away with one of them I’ll park in a layby . My minimum standard for a layby is one that has a running lane threw it and 3/4/5/6 parking spaces in it giving a good seperation from the running traffic on the main road . Like Rob I have lots of little places I can go to that I’m 99% sure I’ll be safe in, I even keep in touch with people and companies that I delivered to 20 years ago that have nothing to do with the work I’m doing now that with a phonecall I can park in their yards if I’m in the area .
I simply ran out of time and got caught out in a place I really didn’t want to be .
Punchy Dan:
Should of gone down the old A50 and stopped in first lay-by on right after Fole .
Is that the A552 near the Munch box snack bar ?
If so noted and thanks
WheelsofCardiff:
There is a parking place behind Lidl in Willow Row Stoke on the A50. Its not big but well secure. Tried it this week. Will be parking there more often
ADS ? I rang they were full
Why do I care ?
Good question , I’ve been at this game 25 years this year and I’ve worked for some cowboys that would scare you if I stared to tell stories. I recon I’ve found the place I want to be for however long I decide to continue driving and its a good gig . What we do involves nights out its part of the job and up to last year you paid the parking and got it back at the end of the next week . But like so many things drivers abused the system just like many have done for years - you know what I mean ? the food companies that would give you food if you asked nicely but then got drivers walking off with enough to feed the local village to the point where it had to be stopped . Very few places now have anything for drivers - the only thing I can think of is when we load water from a factory in Scotland theres a couple of pallets of water sitting at the side of the loading bays and you told to help yourself to as much as you want . I’ll lift a couple of 6 packs of 1.5 l bottles and thank them for it but I’ve seen drivers lift 6 or more packs of water - how long before that company gets fed up with drivers ripping the ar-- out of it and stops it ?
I used to do nothing but fridges and kept a big green tray in the back with my food in it ( we only did chilled food so no worries about getting it frozen ) In many of the places we went you never had to ask when you pulled off the bay there was somebody asking if you wanted anything , some of the regular drops knew what I liked . Used to deliver to a factory but when I got there all the bays had drop trailers on them , I had to drop mine pull a trailer off and then lift mine and put it on the bay to get tipped . There was always a few cottage pies , macaroni cheese and lasagnas in the back when I was leaving .If you looked after the job , people looked after you , now it seems its everyone out for what they can get , take as much as you can , fill your boots .
dozy:
Parked on a50 no end of times & never had any issues , plenty of times round Stoke as if I went into depot I’d have to drop the empty then mess about getting another in the morning
Do you drive a diesel by any chance ?
Yes Dozy I drive a diesel - most Volvo trucks are diesel these days , apart from a few gas ones of course.