Doesn’t anyone stop to give a lift anymore, I remember the days when a guy standing on the side of the road with a tacho card in his hand was picked up without any bother.
I remember last year when my gearbox packed up, I managed to get it to the garage, and to save having to call out the wife I thought I would soon get a lift with a tacho card in my hand, how wrong can you be!!! an hour and a half later
I got a lift with a mate of mine.
I remember years ago before sleeper cabs when you could have a dodgy night out like park up miles away from home get a lift home and out again next day, no trouble at all. Mind you that was when you had the freedom to do it.
I suppose when the sleeper cab came on the scene then things changed, more so with the introduction of the tacho, but I can’t help but think that the comraderie has gone out of the job now.
I use the M11 and the M25 every working day, at least 50% of heavies that come by me don’t give me time to flash them in, it’s usually a case of backing off to save getting your wipers taken off.
Makes me wonder sometimes what it’s gonna be like in another 10 years.
I know quite a few forklift drivers who are ex drivers and all of them say they would not go on the road anymore.
Still never mind -got to go to bed now, up at 3.30am
Many copanies don’t allow unauthorised passengers and then other drivers just don’t want to stop. I used give people lifts not just truck drivers and trade platers, but cannot now as its in my contract that I cannot carry unauthorised passengers.
99% of the people you give lifts to are going to be ok, so once your’ve given 99 people a lift stop because the next one is the nutter.
I think you just have to judge each situation for yourself, I’ve given lifts to some interesting people, but every so often you pick up somebody that bugs you and you get rid of them as soon as able to. But I wouldn’t say anybody was wrong if they didn’t pick-up hitch hickers, even if they were hold a tacho disc.
No unauthorised passengers eh? starting to sound like trucking in America. I used to pick people up all the time back in the UK during the 80’s, although I would always pick and choose who rode with me, apart from a couple of times I never really had any problems, but this no unauthorised passenger thing, when did all that start? it never used to be like that, I never had a boss that told me not to gives lifts.
Over here I will still occaisonaly pick people up, depending on my gut feeling for them, some look so iffy I would’nt even want to ride on a bus with them. Even though I have my own truck the company I’m leased to won’t authorise us to have anyone in our trucks not even family members , but thats where I invoke my “Rules are made to be broken” attitude
"No unauthorised passengers eh? starting to sound like trucking in America. I used to pick people up all the time back in the UK during the 80’s, although I would always pick and choose who rode with me, apart from a couple of times I never really had any problems, but this no unauthorised passenger thing, when did all that start? it never used to be like that, I never had a boss that told me not to gives lifts. "
That’s what I was trying to get across Cliff, how the job has changed.
I picked a guy up once who had ejected out of a fighter plane, the instuments would not respond so the pilot had given the order to eject and this man (the navagator) told me how he would never want to do it again, he was on his way to visit the pilot who was in hospital, and he explained that they had to attend an enquirey and if it was found that they had ejected needlessly then they would be a court marshal. He said they managed to head the plane toward the North sea before ejecting and that was several million pound never seen again.
All interesting stuff when youv’e done about ieght hours driving, and are coming into land yourself.
You don’t seem to get many people hitching these days, mind you you still get the odd ones in the tautliner.
Muckles wrote:
99% of the people you give lifts to are going to be ok, so once your’ve given 99 people a lift stop because the next one is the nutter.
Fenman Wrote:
I picked a guy up once who had ejected out of a fighter plane, the instuments would not respond so the pilot had given the order to eject and this man (the navagator) told me how he would never want to do it again, he was on his way to visit the pilot who was in hospital, and he explained that they had to attend an enquirey and if it was found that they had ejected needlessly then they would be a court marshal. He said they managed to head the plane toward the North sea before ejecting and that was several million pound never seen again.
Wheelnut Wrote:
I think Fenman found the nutter!
Im like Jasper Carrott and always get the nutter in the pub or bus. Ive got a bomb in my shopping bag
I try and pick up trade platers. It’s only that I’ve been doing a lot of local work has stopped me recently. No point taking them if you’re only going a couple of miles.
I have in the past picked up a guy from just outside Colchester and driven him all the way to Norwich. Handy I was headed that way too… Nice bloke, helped me handball a load off on the way.
I pick them up when I can, and when it’s worth doing for both parties. The company is nice, and I’ve never had a spot of bother. I don’t do hitch hikers, but if you wave a tacho or a trade plate obviously enough, I’ll give it a shot.
And I’m a woman on my own in a cab… if I can do it, the rest of you can too.
And sod the “No unathorised passengers” rubbish, it’s just so they don’t pay out on third party insurance if they get hurt. Passengers ARE covered under the insurance.
I have been involved in this second career for ten years now. Not long after I started I picked up a guy who was flashing a tacho to get a lift, he smelled bad, he had annoying habits and I was overjoyed to get rid of him.
ANYBODY with half a brain can get hold of a tacho if they really want to, point is that a tacho doesn’t necessarily make you a driver. I have never picked up anyone since with a tacho being flashed.
I do however pick up trade platers occasionally, once gave one a lift from the Edinburgh ring to the A635 Barnsley turn on the A1.
Wheel Nut:
Muckles wrote:
99% of the people you give lifts to are going to be ok, so once your’ve given 99 people a lift stop because the next one is the nutter.
Fenman Wrote:
I picked a guy up once who had ejected out of a fighter plane, the instuments would not respond so the pilot had given the order to eject and this man (the navagator) told me how he would never want to do it again, he was on his way to visit the pilot who was in hospital, and he explained that they had to attend an enquirey and if it was found that they had ejected needlessly then they would be a court marshal. He said they managed to head the plane toward the North sea before ejecting and that was several million pound never seen again.
Wheelnut Wrote:
I think Fenman found the nutter!
Im like Jasper Carrott and always get the nutter in the pub or bus. Ive got a bomb in my shopping bag
Bugger, never thought of that Wheelnut ! mind you the R.A.F uniform looked authenthic. But I do like it.
try and pick up trade platers. It’s only that I’ve been doing a lot of local work has stopped me recently. No point taking them if you’re only going a couple of miles.
Ah but that couple of miles might save someone a lot of shoe leather
In my experience of plating over the last month, an average of 20 minutes is what it seems to take to get a lift. Of course, I’ve had an hour wait but on the flip side yesterday a truck saw me walking round a roundabout to get onto the Beverley road off the Humber Bridge and stopped ‘just in case’ I needed a lift in the same direction as he was going!
Quite a few people have said that they have only stopped because I had Trade Plates and had my day-glo vest on; in fact one lift today said that he would never ever give any hitch-hiker a lift unless they were a plater.
The hardest places to get a lift quite often are busy motorway junctions, I think because trucks are trying to get momentum up and dont want to stop (as well as the no-passanger issue) and cars are scared to stop for fear of collision.
I think that the ratio of vehicles stopping to pick me up is something like 60% class 2, 5% class 1, 30% ‘white van man’ or 7.5 tonners, 5% private cars. On 1 occasion a Taxi stopped and gave me a lift from the A1 into Peterboro’, most odd to be in a cab with the meter not running!
I have only hitched once.
Travelling back to the Midlands after a long day of multi - drop in London, the F10 finally gave up around J9 of the M1.
Recovery finally came in the form of Dawsons (the nearest Volvo dealers at the time) and the unit and trailer were towed to their depot .
After being told that the engine could not be repaired,the fitter kindly dropped me at Newport Pagnell Services. (I’m sure it was this services,and the dealer was Dawsons but this was around 1992 - comment if I’m wrong ).
After holding a tacho, a sign with my destination on and another sign up saying “Tractor unit in dealers ,Birmingham please” I almost gave up after so many rigs sailed past me.
The ONLY vehicle to stop was a Vauxhall Cavalier with two decorators on their way back from London.
After asking my destination which was J2 M5,the driver said he would drop me off at Spaggheti as he lived in Erdington.
After hearing of my plight and a two hour wait for a lift by ANYONE, he not only went to J2 of the M5 but dropped me at the end of my road.
Not accepting my last £5,he shook my hand and said one sentence I wo’nt forget ; “Nice to meet you mate, but I thought you truckers all stuck together?”
“So did I mate, but I’m still learning” I replied.
I will try and give Trade platers a lift if I can, I remember two things,
They deliver the vehicles we drive.
It could one day be me stood at the side of the road with a TP in my hand.
I gave a lift once to two rather attractive ladies from Exeter to Birmingham, I picked them up from the services.
Turns out, the reason they were dressed in grey tracksuits with arrows on, they were doing a sponsored jailbreak from Dartmoor for a services charity, I hope they made loads of dosh. Good company as well.
I picked up this really strange bloke once. He got into the cab, put his bag on the dashboard and stares at it intently.
After about 10 minutes of silence, I tried talking to him. Nothing ! Half-an-hour later, I’m still talking to him but I’ve not had a response. He’s still staring at the bag. I ask him “what’s in the bag ?”, he says “none of your business” ! So I asked him again, the reply “none of your business”. I told him that if he didn’t tell me what was in the bag, he could find another lift.
Anyway, I leave the motorway, proceed up the slip road and stop at the junction at the top. As soon as I’m stopped, the bloke does a runner leaving the bag behind.
I gave a lift to a strange woman one day, she was on the Services near Stanstead and asked me if I was going to Kings Lynn. It was winter and she had been standing in the wind and rain for quite sometime. So when she got into the cab I offered her the rest of my coffee and sarnies.
She said she had started hitching from the midlands, so how come she ended up at Stanstead I don’t know, she also had no idea of the geography of Norfolk. She was very quiet on the way and I got the feeling she had a lot on her mind and was running away from somebody or something.
Gave a lift in my car to another strange person, he seemed to be a bit of a rover, just moving from place to place, I think he had either done to many drugs or had mental problems as he seemed to have the memory span of a goldfish and we had the same conversation every ten minutes. However despite his strange looks and behaviour, he didn’t worry me.
, but thats where I invoke my “Rules are made to be broken” attitude 
