njl:
It did make me wonder last time I stopped at Rugby truckstop, there were a good number of culina / stobarts in laybys with curtains pulled on the A5 within 5 miles of ‘their’(?) truckstop.
Because if they park in their truckstop the drivers don’t get paid a night out. Food and facilities are provided.
They wouldn’t get paid if they were in a lay-by on a5 near rugby truck stop , as you don’t get night out money unless your 15 miles + from the depot , the reason they’ve chose to park in a lay-by & not the truck stop is they loose there empty tri which can be a right pain in the morning trying to get another one ( especially on a Friday when you want to get on) Sherburn/ Stoke drivers etc would be paid night out money at r/ truck stop , that’s why when all this crap started Appleton drivers would pull in and night out at Stoke ,
Food was free when covid was on , but the only place I’m told it continues is Appleton , rugby truck stop is a % offf , maybe 25 % but can’t remember
Nb when I worked at rugby it was once in a blue moon if you ended up back there , I’d just park Coventry / Leicester / a43 just before m1 & go into t/ stop in morning , they’d often encourage that ( planner ) as he doesn’t want his driver sat round for hours waiting for a empty tri to come in
The truck was parked legaly fully in the layby the four charcaters that were killed had driven from london to dover been drinking and smoking canabis drove back and drive into the layby at speed yet the lorry driver is arrested when he was asleep on his bunk.
What the hell was he supposed to do. There is one services on that stretch of the a2 coming up from dover with no truck parking you have to park on the slip road. The next one isnt untill medway which apparently is too far to make with the ferry rules
That layby in question - is a deep one. Surely the parked truck would to have at least been sticking out at back for the speeding incoming turning-off car to go up it’s arse at speed?
The point I make here is “Don’t be the last truck in the layby line” - it is bad enough having one’s mirrors knocked off by other trucks passing you so closely that the whole cab rocks whilst you’re trying to get some Z’s on the bunk…
“Shouldn’t be in trouble, but was” is what annoys you here, I take it - not the fact I simply posted a news link story?
Another example would be "Sober driver overtakes on a bend, hits driver over the limit on correct side of the road coming the other way, killed outright.
Is errant driver “let off” because careful over-limit driver is drunk?
The truck was parked legaly fully in the layby the four charcaters that were killed had driven from london to dover been drinking and smoking canabis drove back and drive into the layby at speed yet the lorry driver is arrested when he was asleep on his bunk.
What the hell was he supposed to do. There is one services on that stretch of the a2 coming up from dover with no truck parking you have to park on the slip road. The next one isnt untill medway which apparently is too far to make with the ferry rules
That layby in question - is a deep one. Surely the parked truck would to have at least been sticking out at back for the speeding incoming turning-off car to go up it’s arse at speed?
The point I make here is “Don’t be the last truck in the layby line” - it is bad enough having one’s mirrors knocked off by other trucks passing you so closely that the whole cab rocks whilst you’re trying to get some Z’s on the bunk…
“Shouldn’t be in trouble, but was” is what annoys you here, I take it - not the fact I simply posted a news link story?
Another example would be "Sober driver overtakes on a bend, hits driver over the limit on correct side of the road coming the other way, killed outright.
Is errant driver “let off” because careful over-limit driver is drunk?
Of course not!!!
the fact the lorrydriver was even arrested was what annoyed me.
Surely everyone has the right to toilets though? You’d be lucky to have a portaloo in a lay by. Obviously if drivers are willing to sleep in lay-bys because their bosses won’t pay for proper services, it won’t change.
When I was driving continental,one problem I never had was eating and overnighting.Numerous routiers restaurants and centre routiers in France,autohofs in Germany truckstops and general roadside facilities in NL,B ,I and Spain.I think some of the French ones may have disappeared with the drive to force HGVs onto motorways.Nevertheless the provisions in the UK is disgraceful.
Last trip to Spain I stopped at Claude’s Relais de Saintonge.Still there after 40 years that I know of.
RogerOut:
Surely everyone has the right to toilets though? You’d be lucky to have a portaloo in a lay by. Obviously if drivers are willing to sleep in lay-bys because their bosses won’t pay for proper services, it won’t change.
The UK doesn’t cater for lorry drivers.
Have you never been camping , maybe the girls I knocked about when younger were rough , but if needed a ■■■■ etc they thought nothing of squatting down if they needed to go , same as a lay-by ,pee down wheel or baby wipes , field , under trailer ,
What do you do in the day time when there’s no toilet etc for miles , and you have to go , deli belly , your not going to hold it are you
It’s the nature of the job , just got to do what you’ve got to do , only thing you shouldn’t do is like the bloke a while ago , in full view on grass bank squeezing one out , no reason he couldn’t of got under trailer / at side etc
To be honest I think I’d rather go on my own , some of the noises you here from the few pints & a curry mob in the morning at the services puts me off for the day , awful
I refuse to park in lay bys on principle, unless it’s a dire emergency.
You park in lay bys because that situation has been caused by ‘‘them’’ by the closure of all the town truck parks, of which there were many.
So the way I look at it is if you do park in a lay by with zero facilities, with all the potential truck crime, , then ‘‘they’’ have won.
As for firms not paying for parking…start making bee lines for nearby ‘‘caravan camps’’ ,.and park next to them…the greedy ■■■■ s will soon change their ways.
robroy:
I refuse to park in lay bys on principle, unless it’s a dire emergency.
You park in lay bys because that situation has been caused by ‘‘them’’ by the closure of all the town truck parks, of which there were many.
So the way I look at it is if you do park in a lay by with zero facilities, with all the potential truck crime, , then ‘‘they’’ have won.
As for firms not paying for parking…start making bee lines for nearby ‘‘caravan camps’’ ,.and park next to them…the greedy [zb] s will soon change their ways.
Strangely enough it maybe a good tactic your new “neighbours” dont often defecate on their own doorstep especially if its a semi permanent settlement.
Think how expensive a UK truck stop is for a cheapskate EE outfit that pays you <900 euros a month to spend 170 hour fortnights in your truck coming over to blighty… For you a decent layby is saving you a good 10% plus of your wages - every time you get one as a “prize”…!
Most EE drivers get 2400+ per month.It is better than work in UK in full time job.In UK wages 2500-3500 but smeling house rent 1000+
The truck was parked legaly fully in the layby the four charcaters that were killed had driven from london to dover been drinking and smoking canabis drove back and drive into the layby at speed yet the lorry driver is arrested when he was asleep on his bunk.
What the hell was he supposed to do. There is one services on that stretch of the a2 coming up from dover with no truck parking you have to park on the slip road. The next one isnt untill medway which apparently is too far to make with the ferry rules
Going solely on the reporting, I don’t see that as a problem. Nearly 4 people dead and you’ve got a foreign national who could be a flight risk. Arresting him while investigations are carried out, then releasing him without charge sounds reasonable. Depends how long he was under arrest.
That layby in question - is a deep one. Surely the parked truck would to have at least been sticking out at back for the speeding incoming turning-off car to go up it’s arse at speed?
Why can’t you believe that a drunk, drugged, tired, undertaking, speeding driver entered the lay-by?
Nice quiet industrial estate / layby set back from the road is my prefered choice.
Trying to find snap parking which allows running fridges reduces your options significantly.
“hello, do you allow running reefers?”
“Yes, but you have to turn them off after 9pm”
Seriously…
My place will only pay for parking if you are carrying a valuable load (yea I know, but they are local and took me on with little exp. In the new year I will be looking elsewhere). With the amount of diesel theft from laybys over the past couple of months they might have to change their policy soon. 4 trucks in one night a few weeks back, I had around 800L stolen about a month ago on the A10. They even drilled a hole in the tank when the fuel cap was unlocked
Nice layby set back from the road, away from the major routes, with a big anti-■■■■■ hedge to protect the fuel tank! There really is some beutiful spots i’ve found to park around the country, at least in the summer when you can enjoy the scenery.
Jibber:
Nice quiet industrial estate / layby set back from the road is my prefered choice.
Trying to find snap parking which allows running fridges reduces your options significantly.
“hello, do you allow running reefers?”
“Yes, but you have to turn them off after 9pm”
Seriously…
My place will only pay for parking if you are carrying a valuable load (yea I know, but they are local and took me on with little exp. In the new year I will be looking elsewhere). With the amount of diesel theft from laybys over the past couple of months they might have to change their policy soon. 4 trucks in one night a few weeks back, I had around 800L stolen about a month ago on the A10. They even drilled a hole in the tank when the fuel cap was unlocked
Nice layby set back from the road, away from the major routes, with a big anti-■■■■■ hedge to protect the fuel tank! There really is some beutiful spots i’ve found to park around the country, at least in the summer when you can enjoy the scenery.
msgyorkie:
A laybye or industrial estate has no wash or toilet facilities. This is a basic human need that should be provided by your employer through the provision of parking the lorry at truckstop or services.
If you the driver has a boss that offers to pay for parking but you instead chooses a laybye then that is up to you, but if a boss forces you to park in one then he is a tight fisted [zb].
This.
I’ll use a lay-by if I have to but only if I’m either empty or carrying something that’s not nickable. My boss prefers the cost of a night’s parking to the hassle and cost of forever having to repair curtain cuts. And I have no respect for the dirty lazy dossers who dump bottles of “trucker’s tizer” in the hedge along with all their other rubbish. You have to wonder what state their houses are in if that’s how they treat the countryside.
Jibber:
Nice quiet industrial estate / layby set back from the road is my prefered choice.
Trying to find snap parking which allows running fridges reduces your options significantly.
“hello, do you allow running reefers?”
“Yes, but you have to turn them off after 9pm”
Seriously…
My place will only pay for parking if you are carrying a valuable load (yea I know, but they are local and took me on with little exp. In the new year I will be looking elsewhere). With the amount of diesel theft from laybys over the past couple of months they might have to change their policy soon. 4 trucks in one night a few weeks back, I had around 800L stolen about a month ago on the A10. They even drilled a hole in the tank when the fuel cap was unlocked
Nice layby set back from the road, away from the major routes, with a big anti-■■■■■ hedge to protect the fuel tank! There really is some beutiful spots i’ve found to park around the country, at least in the summer when you can enjoy the scenery.
800 litres £££ that’s a lot of parking
I heard from a good source 3 of Jenkys got their diesel nicked last month, all 3 in same lay by…
Gidders:
When I was driving continental,one problem I never had was eating and overnighting.Numerous routiers restaurants and centre routiers in France,autohofs in Germany truckstops and general roadside facilities in NL,B ,I and Spain.I think some of the French ones may have disappeared with the drive to force HGVs onto motorways.Nevertheless the provisions in the UK is disgraceful.
Last trip to Spain I stopped at Claude’s Relais de Saintonge.Still there after 40 years that I know of.
Is that still the case, watching trucking videos on you tube parking notably in Germany is a problem, especially at weekends when there is a truck ban the following day
The truck was parked legaly fully in the layby the four charcaters that were killed had driven from london to dover been drinking and smoking canabis drove back and drive into the layby at speed yet the lorry driver is arrested when he was asleep on his bunk.
What the hell was he supposed to do. There is one services on that stretch of the a2 coming up from dover with no truck parking you have to park on the slip road. The next one isnt untill medway which apparently is too far to make with the ferry rules
Going solely on the reporting, I don’t see that as a problem. Nearly 4 people dead and you’ve got a foreign national who could be a flight risk. Arresting him while investigations are carried out, then releasing him without charge sounds reasonable. Depends how long he was under arrest.
Must have been obvious the truck was parked legally?
