I did a collection out of a company in Wembley on Thursday, the yard is tiny, if there is another artic in there then its impossible to get backed onto a bay. Waited outside for the lorry in there to leave when one of the blokes came out and ordered me in!! I explained I wouldnt be able to get backed on a bay and he mumbled sumthing in Punjabi and wandered off, I asked the other driver to watch me in and after 10 mins of trying it wasnt going to go onto a bay!! The bloke came out and asked me what the problem was, i explained and he laughed at me, I asked him if he wanted a go and he said he couldnt, i asked why not and he told me he didnt have a class one license!! I then told him to leave me alone and let me try again!!
I eventually got on the bay after the other driver moved out the yard, went up to hand my keys in and then the same bloke came up and said to me that I was and i quote “the worlds worst driver!!”, I nearly lost it and had to go and sit in the cab before I did something i regretted!!
I had a small yard experience up in Aylesbury, I pulled up outside the yard as it was pretty tight & walked in to the yard with my notes, I only had a couple of pallets coming off, the bloke said ‘ok drive, pull in the yard’ I said i’d back in as I didn’t think I’d be able to pull in, the bloke gave me a strange look & went back to his paper, so I thought ok mate, I’ll show you, anyway as it turned out I was lucky that I had a left ■■■■■■ as the way the kerbs were set up meant it was easier to back in on my good side, I would’ve had no chance in RHD going in blind, so to cut a long story short I lined it up just right & got in 1st go. When the bloke came out to tip me he did a double take & said 'how the ■■■■■■■ hell did you get that great big thing in here?" it turned out that owing to my youthful looks he assumed I was in a puddle jumper, which was why he thought I was being a bit strange saying that the yard was a bit tight!
Typically there were no other drivers around to see me do it, I doubt I’d ever be able to do it again, it was that tight, but you know how it is sometimes when everything comes together
i had it in a printers in wakefield wagon backed tight to the wall to load they pushed the stuff over i arrived wagon parked at wall loaded so i pulled up and reversed in the car park at the side a bloke walking past says wouldnt have thought you had got that in there and walked off went and booked in my head quite a lot bigger
you did the right thing keeping you’re cool. it’s easy in that situation to try a manoeuvre you’re not capable of and if it goes ■■■■ up you’re left on your own.
An Old Timer gave me some advice years ago. If you have problems getting in somewhere just tell the experts watching that you only passed your driving test yesterday.
If you do manage to get in eventually every one thinks you are bloody marvellous.
Even the so called experts watching think you are good.
Talking about handing keys in, I was asked or should I say, told to hand my keys in when I went for a shower at a MSA So I very politely told her to go forth and multiply!! bearing in mind I had already got the said key in my grubby mits, very grubby, as you all know drivers are filthy dirty scumbags…and all we do is smash up showers and crap in them, anyway I digress, the poor girl didn’t know what to do as I turned away quickly and had my shower.
After the shower I did very politely explain that with the cost of my veh a W&D with a hiab and a full load on it it was a very expensive commoditie and I would gladly give a £10 as a key deposit but not the keys to £250,000!!!
This was at Medway (what an embarrasment they are) the whole place needs pulling down and rebuilding.
Potter:
he told me he didnt have a class one license!!
hand my keys in
Is it just me? or is this a good enough reason “not” to hand keys in?
Very much so, As you are liable to arrest if you hand your keys to an unqualified driver.
To put it simply,
If knob head asks you for your keys and he dosn’t have a licence, then he goes for a spin and kills someone. you as a profesional driver are more to blame than him, You get 20 years and he gets 5 years.
So never hand your keys in. IT IS ILLEGAL unless HE/SHE has a CLASS 1.
Tobyjug:
An Old Timer gave me some advice years ago. If you have problems getting in somewhere just tell the experts watching that you only passed your driving test yesterday.
If you do manage to get in eventually every one thinks you are bloody marvellous.
Even the so called experts watching think you are good.
Why do we get asked to hand our keys in if we’ve put the truck on the bay and we take it off ?
I’m a part time agency driver and it’s only happened to me once, dropping bananas at Tesco in Livingston.
Puzzled me then, and when I asked at the office I was looked at as if I’d pointed out the emperors lack of clothes, didn’t give me any answer, just told me that was what you had to do, so as a newbie I did.
you are liable to arrest if you hand your keys to an unqualified driver
Cobblers: I doubt the clerks in RDC’s have any licence at all. In many places you just wont get tipped if you dont hand your keys in, chock your wheels, and sit in a draughty waiting room.
I does annoy me when people make stupid statement like this.
On the OP - I do multi drops in a six axle artic and, if some clever clogs wants me to go somewhere i don’t think is sensible I just explain that I am not going to. If they won’t unload me, I ask for their name so i can phone my depot. It’s amazing how often, when you ask these characters their names, they change their minds.
Santa’s golden rule for small yards:-
ALWAYS turn round before you tip if possible. If you don’t, you can be sure that there will be three trucks in the way when you are tipped.
Santa , great tip , I always try to get the truck set up so it’s easy to get out of the yard once tipped because as you say some numpty will always park somwhere stupid while your being unloaded.
And Potter , I’d have just told Mr Punjabi to F off , and left , with the goods HE wanted
