Coming back from my eldest daughters about an hour ago, when I happen across Paul the Pole who’s parked at the side of the road near our local Holiday Inn, with a piece of paper in his hand. As I pass him, he duly sets off in his Topliner, and catches me up at the next lights. I set off and he is going rather slowly in moving, so I pull over.
About 100 yards later, I realise something isn’t right, so I flag him down, and as bad as my Polish is, his English is likewise, so I ask to see his CMR. Turns out he was looking for place just around the corner from the Holiday Inn, and was looking for a spot to screw it round, (Which because of the road camber would have been nigh impossible.) so I gesture for him to follow me, and after taking him through town, and almost back to where he started, we arrive at the ind est and right outside his destination.
He thanked me for my trouble, and gave a bottle of ferry vino ala rose, and I’m on my way home knowing that he’s going to get some good time off as he’s not driving around all night, and hopefully be fully refreshed tomorrow and less likely to be a danger on the road, at least for a while.
I explained to my youngest daughter who was in the car with me, that being lost in another country is bad enough, but being a driver and lost is worse, especially as we are up against the clock.
I feel quite good now I’ve done my bit for East/West relations.
I used to help foreign drivers looking for BAT baccy factory in southampton. They were stuck in the narrow residential roads in the shirley area never got a bottle of plonk though!!!
I’ve done that a few times - they have been stood in front of their cabs holding their delivery notes out - i found it much easier to say " follow me" and take them there than try to explain the way
nice 1 ken,i did the same the other day but for a french lad driving for norberts,he was parked up looking a bit lost,so i stopped,looked at his notes,knew roughly where he needed to be,so got him to follow me,as i was in the wagon it wasn’t to bad,got him to his destination,gave him a thumbs up & off i went.
I have had the same help abroad so I know he will appreciate it and post on kamyonet.com.
I had a postman in Belgium ■■■■■■ me down a one way street to get into a tight drop, another one in Portugal took me to his farm by following his 3 wheel scooter.
As soon as someone asks for your CMR, you know they are going to help you.
i had to load out of a place called Woolongong in New South Wales some time last year, and stupidly relied on google maps on my iphone to get me to where i was going, all well and good until my signal [zb] itself and left me high and dry so i took the next exit, ended up heading for the centre of town with a bdouble (not an acceptable nor legal practise), took a left down some random side street, pulled up, and pulled out the phone again.
2 mins later a guy in a ute (pickup truck) walked over to me, “youre lost are you?”, yeah howd you know, “well theres none of these road around here bdouble rated so i figure youre up [zb] creek, where you going?”
told him where i was going, he says ok right…just follow me…
25 minutes of following this bloke through traffic, over intersections, under intersections, some freeway travel, and a few backroads and he brought me directly to where i needed to be, i couldnt find the words to thank the bloke enough, he really saved my skin that day, and in all the haste i never even took down nor remembered the name of the company he worked for, but because of what he did, i will stop and help someone who looks stuck anytime i can
A car driver helped me in France once. I’d traversed this village several times looking for this factory.Gave up,stood outside the lorry -this chap stops and asks if I have a problem.Showed him the adress Follow me says he. Down a couple of streets I’d previously dismissed as ‘try that,stay there for ever!’ Straight to the factory gates.Would not accept anything more than Thank you.Other side of the coin,my now ex employer was in a similar situation in Spain.These young lads said No problem we’ll take you. They took him allright.Into a village square where the only way out with an artic was the way you came in Flicked him the bird and disappeared. Anyway,a couple of cracked balconies and distressed pot plants later…much later… with the aid of some very stressed policemen,he was free and on his way.
brados:
I think as drivers or ex-driver we do understand the problem, good on you though - I would have and have done the same.
Years ago, I had gone to London with a load of apples on the floor of a 33 foot trailer and the address was not in the A-Z of London.
It was late at night and the Old Kent Road was covered in snail shaped tyre marks and I was some time over my hours.
In desperation, I hailed an Austin 1100 containing four police officers and asked them where it was.
After a brief discussion between the four of them, it was “follow us” and after yet another snail shaped mark, I did.
They turned down a tiny side road I had already ruled out, under some railway arches, turned off again down an even smaller track and there was the yard, right at the end.
I have never forgotten the feeling of gratitude and relief, I had only been driving about a year.
Since then I have never hesitated to help anyone who is lost, if I could.
back in the late 1960s i lived in north london and one night on my way home from my local driving job i spotted a danish drawbar outfit looking lost. i stopped to help the driver and the address was a tiny little place in a mews which i knew so i guided him there and we got talking as best we could.
in the end i invited him home for dinner to my flat which my girlfriend at the time was going to cook.
dinner
i should point out that this was the first time she had cooked for me so was rather surprised to find my new found friend was also wanting dinner.
anyway we had a nice evening and i took him back to his truck a happy driver.
eventually i managed to get running into europe and was helped on many occasion by locals so i always think what comes around goes around.
as a footnote i went on to marry my girlfried of that night and we have now been married coming up 42 years but she still reminds me of that night.
A couple of times I’ve had the chance to do something like this. If it’s somewhere within reasonable travelling time it’s much easier with my language skills to just show them the way.
Wheel Nut:
I have had the same help abroad so I know he will appreciate it and post on kamyonet.com.
I had a postman in Belgium ■■■■■■ me down a one way street to get into a tight drop, another one in Portugal took me to his farm by following his 3 wheel scooter.
As soon as someone asks for your CMR, you know they are going to help you.
i have helped a few ,mostly got them to follow me as its easier
all off them had offered a gift wine,■■■■ etc
which is a dam site more than DHL did when i spent two hours in the early hours of the morning towing an artic out with a tractor that was stuck in the entrance to a garage in the snow
did not even get a phone call to say thanks ,good job i did it to help the driver in reality ,and would still do it again
Wheel Nut:
I have had the same help abroad so I know he will appreciate it and post on kamyonet.com.
I had a postman in Belgium ■■■■■■ me down a one way street to get into a tight drop, another one in Portugal took me to his farm by following his 3 wheel scooter.
As soon as someone asks for your CMR, you know they are going to help you.
Flicked him the bird and disappeared. 
Anyway,a couple of cracked balconies and distressed pot plants later…much later… with the aid of some very stressed policemen,he was free and on his way.