Where can you get information about the dates of public holidays, speed limits, and so on in the different countries in Europe ?
A week ago last Tuesday, a company who I sub for wanted me to go to Gibraltar to collect a trailer. The Ops Manager said I couldn’t drive on Sunday (which I knew) but I could on Bank Holiday Monday as it was only a UK holiday.
Anyway, I get to Gibraltar (Friday) and pick up the trailer. One of their drivers is already down there and he told me not to drive on the Monday as France has a public holiday. If he hadn’t said anything, I would’ve been driving on the Monday.
Spent two days of total boredom, watching the tourists and getting “come-ons” from the local “chutney ferrets”, at Labenne MSA near Bayonne.
Well first you need to get a new Ops manager who knows useful things like holidays in Europe.
Second you could check the details in the post at the top of this forum which list the holidays in Europ for 2004, but I see you have found that now. 
You can also find a list of public holidays in the EU here. Remember though that not all countries have restrictions for trucks on public holidays, for example Belgium and Holland, among others, don’t.
Any other stuff like speed limits can be found in a copy of Croners if your Ops Manager has one, or ask on here were someone will no doubt know.
This Ops Manager was a Project Manager in the aircraft industry for 30 years. He knows diddly-squat about the transport industry.
For example, me and two other blokes are sitting in Piraeus Docks ready to take 3 x 40ft containers back to the UK. We’re waiting for him to give us cash to get us through the peages in Italy and Greece because they don’t accept DKV. He turns up with €150 for the three of us and then takes €30 from us to pay for his taxi back to his hotel - leaving us with only €120 to get across Italy and Greece (thats €120 between us - not each) !
Two of us broke down in Ancona. We’re trying to contact Iveco but the telephone numbers on the window stickers and in the service manuals are out-of-date. We ring the office to ask them to find out the telephone number so we can arrange the necessary repairs. He calls us and gives us a rollocking because he says the office staff have more important things to do.
He provides all the trucks with the necessary documents to go abroad - they’re all photocopies, not the originals. We ask him to call the RHA to confirm that the documents need to be originals, he says “what does the RHA know that I don’t ?” !
This is the kind of bloke we’re dealing with; he probably wouldn’t know what Croners was if he fell over it !!!
if i was you i would get the hell outta that company toot sweet…the manager knows nothing about running european operations…he probably thinks you can run down the old roads and avoid the motorways…sounds like a company from the 60s..where most foreign companies could recognise an english driver/company by the lack of cash he was given..we would be given enough cash to get us out and then have to have a draw to get us home again..this was adopted by most companies running into europe..especially italy..greece..it was very embarassing at times so one would have to sometimes subsidise the company in order to get ourselves and the truck home.120 euros wouldnt get 1 truck home let alone 3…but where theres a will theres away…if you have a d.k.v. then you could always go to a garage and get cash for diesel that you dont take… 
bit like the plus in france really. but with a d.k.v. you will always get home…good luck
have a nice day
I think someone needs to anonymously nudge brummie’s TM in the direction of reading this thread!!! He might begin to see just how short of the mark his knowledge actually is.
I don’t yet have a CPC, have never done Europe on a full time basis, yet even i know more than him.
This site used to have excellent info about speed limits, tunnel tolls, holidays,etc. etc. but it seems to have sadly disappeared, anyone know where its gone? freight-online.com/
just seems to lead to a search engine now 
I would have pointed out that while the truck wouldn’t go, he was paying you to sit & do nothing. Ask if his attitude is still the same, if it was, said: “OK, so do I (have better things to do) your truck is at (wherever) the keys are in the shop. Bye bye”.
Brummie what did you take to athens,and what tlr were you pulling to get the box on etc. 
froggy:
Brummie what did you take to athens,and what tlr were you pulling to get the box on etc ?
Took nothing, went solo. The trailer was originally an American “Wabash” tandem trailer, a third axle was added in this country (about a metre in front of the tandem axles) to conform with European axle weights. The 9’ 6" container box contained a Caterpillar V16 generator that produces 2000 bhp, and consumes 310 litres of diesel per hour. The container is welded to the trailer as it is a custom job, built by Caterpillar.
There were 3 Caterpillar generators that we had to pick up. Apparently, the Greek government was upgrading the power station on the island of Samos. Whilst the generators were running, they shut down the power station in order to upgrade it. Two of the generators powered the whole island for 4 months, the third was back-up.
The Ops Mgr offered me a job there last week but I refused. I “sub” for them when they need me - it suits me ! I was meant to go to Gibraltar sometime this week but they’ve cancelled it - back on fridges !