i stopped at what used to be called the silvey truckstop - junction 17 m4 near chippenham on wednesday last week, still a very nice place to stay - must be about 10 years since i last stopped a night there.
showered in the morning and then brushed my teeth.
the young driver (late 20’s early 30’s) using the sink next to me had splashed water all around the outside of the bowl and when he had finished he grabbed some paper towels and cleaned up all the water and wiped around the bowl too.
i had to thank the guy for doing that - it restored my faith in the people that do the same job as i do - i replied that as he had made the mess it was only right that he should clean it up.
if you read this my friend - thank you again - i walked away a happier person that day - to be working in this industry with such fine people coming into it makes me feel that one day truck drivers may actually be able to attain a higher public respect than a gypsy traveller has.
want to buy some lucky heather anyone?
Johnny,
I can only agree and I feel the same when meeting this particular ‘rare fine Gentlemen lorry driver’ who is roaming our roads. Yes, these people certainly make a difference to our life’s and also leave a distinct impression with the rest of society.
Unfortunately, and as in any job, there are good and bad ones and the onus is on us to change this people as good as we can. I often do cross channel journeys and I always wondered why we ‘The King of the Roads’ get isolated from the rest of society as we have our own restaurants and rest areas. Well, listening and looking at some of my fellow drivers gives me ample explanation and we certainly need to work hard to change our reputation drastically.
Also, just park your truck at a service station and open your door on a warm day and than describe the stench that is hitting your nose, mate. This is plain pathetic and I do understand service station managers to keep parking HGV’s as far away from the public as possible.
Finally, to make matters worse, I have also figured that it is not the common UK based driver who is behaving in such upsetting ways but rather those coming from ‘Little Britain’ and the new European eastern countries. On the other hand though, there is our counterpart the Continental HGV Driver who simply appears well behaved, well groomed, well respected and well mannered. Look at the service stations on the continent and tell me what you see? Other than that, I am just as happy as you are to see people who make a positive difference — and there are many of them around and within us.