I’ll always help out a fellow driver, nationality is irrelevant 
I’ve had help many times whilst on the continent, Barcelona excepted, but then following a taxi was the usual procedure there 
newmercman:
I’ll always help out a fellow driver, nationality is irrelevantI’ve had help many times whilst on the continent, Barcelona excepted, but then following a taxi was the usual procedure there
I can remember being in Barcelona with my dad in 1993 when I’d have been about 9 in an old C reg Iveco Turbo and upon asking directions from two old men one of them hopped in to the cab, I made way by jumping on to the bottom bunk and he guided us through all sorts of back streets to the factory. Happy Memories.
Quinny:
Must be getting soft in my old age…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.
Ken.
Sir you did the right thing and how nice to see other drivers to agree i have done the same twice on the old a13 the first a spanish truck just short of the farm he was to drop off but it was a dirt track and then a doulbe manned BG truck loading on a friday night again not far from the pick up. i had fish and chips but i stilled made sure i got it right for them
Hiya…good of you Ken helping another driver…not taking the urine did’nt it used to be like that
all the time… stop a toddington and ask a driver if he knew bla bla road In London arr
i’am ok for time i’ll take you in lad… cheers mate have brew…I must admit i tried to help
one driver…he got off the M6 at jct 17, He needed to be in Wrexham and showed me the map
pointing out Crewe /nantwich and down that winding road…i tried to explane it was better to go
the A556 into Chester round the A55 and along the A483 as it was wide roads but would he listen
NO WAY so off he trotted down the way he thought was best for him.
John
I’m afraid I’ve sometimes wished I hadn’t bothered, usually Irish trucks driven by eastern europeans. The ones I’ve encountered deserve to be lost, on account of their ignorance and general stupidity.
And if that seems like a sweeping generalisation, well… it was 2 out of 2 times.
Good on you Ken! same myself always help out with lorries drivers when they stuck or lost in somewhere - easy to spot them usually they put full hazard lights on and park in silly place and driver hold the cmr papers!
Once in some time ago, On Sunday I was drive to Heathrow and saw a Turkish lorry parking on laybay so I just take photo th truck it’s part of my hobby whatever you think its sad or … 
Turk elderly driver - he looks old enough to be my grandfather! 
He sat and cook the tea on his usual type of Turkish tool kitchen box so We start talked each to others like where did you come from etc… He told me He was on 24h break and no truck movement for him. He can’t find a place where he will collect loads for Monday Morning so I bring my Greater London Map from my car and draw on the paper but Turk driver are not sure cos it’s quite complicated to get there cos about 4 miles away from his truck also lots of traffic lights, roundabout and street so I offer him and take him to warehouse place where he will collect by my car.
During we arrived place where he will collect it, turn out He show me his CMR paper - He will collect loads from this place and delivery to Syria! 
what a trip! He live in Ankara - Capital of Turkey. We drive return back to his truck and He made me some Cay (Turkish tea) and bid him a farewell
What a story!
Betz:
Good on you Ken! same myself always help out with lorries drivers when they stuck or lost in somewhere - easy to spot them usually they put full hazard lights on and park in silly placeOnce in some time ago, On Sunday I was drive to Heathrow and saw a Turkish lorry parking on laybay so I just take photo th truck it’s part of my hobby whatever you think its sad or …
During we arrived place where he will collect it, turn out He show me his CMR paper - He will collect loads from this place and delivery to Syria!
What a story!
I imagine that most over-land freight going to the middle east these days goes on Turkish trucks? I’ve seen photos of various Middle east borders and a good portion of the trucks queueing are Turkish. I suppose people like Astran get the one off loads of greater value or something thats a bit more specialist and the rest goes on the Turks or at least gets transshipped in Turkey.
Cosmic:
I’m afraid I’ve sometimes wished I hadn’t bothered, usually Irish trucks driven by eastern europeans. The ones I’ve encountered deserve to be lost, on account of their ignorance and general stupidity.
And if that seems like a sweeping generalisation, well… it was 2 out of 2 times.
Well at least you tried but nobody deserves to be lost we all can do with help sometimes, not a dig but do you speak every european language have you ever driven outside rhe UK
my first trip over the water (back in 2005) was a 7.5t run down to orly, south of paris, it was a regular job that they did, and i’d only been there 6 weeks, i had no sat nav or map, all i’d managed to do was draw a rough map that i’d copied from my laptop the night before, i made my way all the way there to within about half a mile and could’nt for the life of me get where i needed to be, at this point i was beginning to have a mild panic attack! so i stopped to calm myself down. lo and behold a ups van pulled up infront of me, bingo i thought, i showed him the cmr and in broken french asked for directions, he motioned to follow him, and took me straight to the door, it was an unmarked building tucked behind a hotel that i would have never found, i couldnt thank the guy enough. as soon as i got back to blighty i went straight in to halfrauds and got a uk and euro satnav £400’s worth!!!
recently i was filling up on our industrial estate, foreign truck in the shop with his cmr and the people in there just couldnt be bothered to help him find his destination, he trundled off and went down the road at a snails pace, i pulled out of garage and caught up with him, and after pulling round infront of him after he had got out holding paperwork (manuel from fawlty towers style) i beckoned him over to advise where he had to go, all i could manage was to draw a map on some paper for him.
Happens quite often in our village(Waunarlwydd).The industrial estate’s easiest access is through 11’6" railway bridges,as advised on prat-nav,and the main factories have now changed names from the names on the road signs so many locals can’t place them.It’s a long way round.Easy enough to explain to British drivers,more difficult to the Latvians driving for Dutch firms!If I have time–I normally do-i get them to follow me and take them there.I’ve been in similar positions and have felt unloved,uncared for and lost in strange lands.Spain was always the worst pre 1992 before they spent money on road signs and repair for the Barcelona Olympics.
a couple of years ago about 11pm sunday night just run from calais to my 1st drop just outside lille parked in supermarket carpark scratching my nuts wondering where this delivery place was and needing to park up, along come the Gendarmerie in a renualt van’
follow me they say only 500 metres away follow him down this lane around a 90 degree turning needing a couple of shunts garden walls to my right open field to left ,and on turning the left a no thro road sign, any follow him to end of lane to locked gates.
yep you guessed it there was no room for then to get their van back past me last i saw was 3 Gendarmerie walking across field with the torches and one driving the van as i closed my curtians and went to bed.
just enough room to do a 7 point turn in their yard in the morning after they moved pallets etc all to deliver 1 pallet!!!