Highways are Watching Us

[martinviking]

Had a bit of fun tonight with a ‘Highways Inspector’

We are a Palletline Depot & pick up loads of collections that all end up back at our yard from around 16.00 every day, as the Forkies are useless & keep disappearing a long Queue builds up on the road, ■■■■■■■ off the Natives. Our wonderful Management Team instructed us to queue down the road (can be for up to 2 hours !!! & they wonder why we can’t keep drivers) anyway, a Native has complained to the Council & they’ve sent out an Inspector to look into the problem. I pulled up tonight & was first in the queue, parked about 80 ft from a Mini Roundabout, Mr Inspector wonders along & takes a ‘Discreet’ picture of my wagon, he tried to hide the fact, but the Flash was on, lol, so I looked at him & gestured with my arms ‘WTF’ he sidled over to me & flashed his shiny Highways Badge & explained who he was, so I asked him what was wrong (I knew what was coming) he told me that I was parked illegally , too near the roundabout & had my management told me to park there, I told him that I wasn’t parked illegally as I was a good lorry & a half before the roundabout & yes, my management had instructed us to park there, he then said that VOSA were being informed & we were not conforming to our O Licence Conditions.
Anyway I rang the office who weren’t very interested & left it in their Capable Hands, we’ve been telling them for months that it’s dangerous to park a line of wagons along the road, but they haven’t listened, well, maybe they might listen when they get their O Licence Suspended or Revoked, maybe they might do something about the Horrendous Waits we get at the moment.

I took a couple of pictures in front of the inspector, just to show him that I had a camera too- The first picture shows the inspectors car, clearly parked too close to the roundabout, ha ha, Viking 1- Inspector 0

the last 2 pictures are my wagon parked well back from the roundabout, where management have instructed us to park.

We’ll see how this all pans out over the next few weeks, with any luck, our management might just get their act together & reduce the queues & the time wasted in the queues, but then again Pigs might Fly, Elephants might Ballet Dance & RDCs might start treating us like Human Beings (arr well, 2 out of 3 might happen, but I’ve got my doubts about last one)

[speedyguy]

So is the depot in the wrong place or the wrong size if they expect you to wait outside in what looks like a stupid place to park trucks inconveniencing the locals.
I doubt a “highways inspector” would be out unless the council are getting loads of mither.
Hopefully the TC will kick the depots ■■■, they deserve it, as do many of the distribution depots who expect you to wait elsewhere to drop at everyone else’s expense and inconvenience rather than their own.

[martinviking]

speedyguy:
So is the depot in the wrong place or the wrong size if they expect you to wait outside in what looks like a stupid place to park trucks inconveniencing the locals.
I doubt a “highways inspector” would be out unless the council are getting loads of mither.
Hopefully the TC will kick the depots ■■■, they deserve it, as do many of the distribution depots who expect you to wait elsewhere to drop at everyone else’s expense and inconvenience rather than their own.

Depots been there for a good few years, it’s got busier & so has the industrial estate, but management haven’t responded to it, they just keep burying their heads in the sand, we used to queue on a side road, but that got filled up with poxy construction workers cars & vans (building a new recycling plant) so instead of implementing a traffic plan for the yard/queuing system, they just moved the queue to a busier but wider road.
Forkies don’t help, often disappearing for 20 minutes at a time when there’s 10-15 lorries to unload. I’ve been known to get back to the yard, see the queue backed right down the road & bugger off to KFC for my dinner, then return an hour later when it’s a bit quieter.
There’s a big Depot Refurbishment going on at the moment (that’s come to a standstill [emoji57]) I just hope it gets better when it’s finished.

We’ve put it to them time & time again, but they’re just not listening, the only answer it seems is to leave, but it’s on my doorstep & its 90% Monday to Friday, which suits me, so I’ll try to hang on until the Refurbishments completed then see how it goes.

[h4l]

Its the same down at cannock with great bear. They take up about half a mile of road before their depot making it impossible for other lorries to get passed without one coming in the opposite unsighted direction meaning someone has to back up.

[liberty_guy]

H4L:
Its the same down at cannock with great bear. They take up about half a mile of road before their depot making it impossible for other lorries to get passed without one coming in the opposite unsighted direction meaning someone has to back up.

One of the pallet companies off Delta Way in Cannock, also does this complete block the road trick.

I guess you have to look at it from the perspective of other businesses on these estates, when they struggling to get their own stuff in and out because of parked lorries everywhere. I personally don’t think it’s wrong for someone to phone the council and complain, if this is a daily occurrence for two hours, especially if it creating bedlam in the evening rush hour.

[h4l]

LIBERTY_GUY:

H4L:
Its the same down at cannock with great bear. They take up about half a mile of road before their depot making it impossible for other lorries to get passed without one coming in the opposite unsighted direction meaning someone has to back up.

One of the pallet companies off Delta Way in Cannock, also does this complete block the road trick.

I guess you have to look at it from the perspective of other businesses on these estates, when they struggling to get their own stuff in and out because of parked lorries everywhere. I personally don’t think it’s wrong for someone to phone the council and complain, if this is a daily occurrence for two hours, especially if it creating bedlam in the evening rush hour.

Involvement from council, roads and vosa are the inoy way these companies will change though. They need to be seen to putting in extra yard space of have a proper holding area off the main roads. I used to trunk down to APC, 90% of the tike it was clear at nught but when it wasnt it was like a truck park.

[cav551]

The company management need to take this seriously, the TC if involved could decide to curtail the operator’s licence for this depot from eg 30 vehicles, to sufficient to eliminate on street temporary parking perhaps…5■■

[glen_a9]

You might not be committing a parking offence, but the company could be in breach of the terms of its operator licence for having vehicles parked outwith the operating centre.

Personally you shouldn’t get involved in whoever is looking into it, other than informing your managers, as it is the company’s problem rather than the driver’s. It will be your TM being invited for tea and biscuits.
Unless the police want to do you for causing an obstruction, in which case move on.

[trucken]

Looking at your bottom picture, vehicles passing have to enter the crossed hatch area, which according to the Highway Code you’re not supposed to do!

[mattwoodtransport]

trucken:
Looking at your bottom picture, vehicles passing have to enter the crossed hatch area, which according to the Highway Code you’re not supposed to do!

Get a grip.

[trux]

So when plod turns up and gives you a ticket for dangerous parking , will the `Office Management ’ take responsibility I doubt it.
Would you hang your ■■■■ in the diesel tank neck and cover it in feathers if the " Management " told you
Your licence mate , on your head beit .

[speedyguy]

trux:
Would you hang your ■■■■ in the diesel tank neck and cover it in feathers

Sounds ■■■■■ what was it like
I bet you did it willingly with no one asking

[trux]

speedyguy:

trux:
Would you hang your ■■■■ in the diesel tank neck and cover it in feathers

Sounds ■■■■■ what was it like
I bet you did it willingly with no one asking

That would be telling and maybe

[f-reds]

trucken:
Looking at your bottom picture, vehicles passing have to enter the crossed hatch area, which according to the Highway Code you’re not supposed to do!

That’s not what it says at all.

It says

Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.

If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you MUST NOTenter it except in an emergency.

It’s bordered by broken white line. No harm. No foul. As long as they can see it’s safe it’s just fine.

[merc0447]

Look at the righead in Bellshill as an example. 2 companies in particular - their lorries are everywhere on that estate, they turn the estate into a bloody assault course. God knows how they get a olicense for X amount of trucks and trailers.

I don’t see a issue with the ops parking if he was there alone, but because there are trucks also behind there is a problem as it’s creating quite a long bottle neck.

[martinviking]

Good discussion, thanks guys, latest info from the office is- the Council have been to the company today, but we still queued up on the road tonight [emoji57]. So they’ve got to do something about the queuing on the road, I’ve suggested a numbering system as we pull into the yard, get your unloading manifest & palletline stickers + a number 1,2,3 etc, park up in the yard, undo curtains & straps, stick your stickers on the pallets then wait to be called up to get unloaded, they just need to Marshal it properly or there will be Fisty Cuffs every night with some of the Monkeys that work at our place [emoji205] lol.

[rob22888]

I hope they get stung for it.

If wagons have to regularly form large queues on the public highway, either your premises aren’t adequate, your procedures inefficient or your staff too lazy. Shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.

[martinviking]

rob22888:
I hope they get stung for it.

If wagons have to regularly form large queues on the public highway, either your premises aren’t adequate, your procedures inefficient or your staff too lazy. Shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.

2 out of 3 Rob.

1-Premises is adequate (if used properly).
2-Procedures are poor & not monitored by ‘Ostrich, Bury Heads in the Sand Management’.
3-Lazy Staff, they’ll often be 10 wagons queuing up on the road but only 1 forklift working, sometimes it goes quiet for 15 minutes [emoji15], all the rest (at least 3) will be know where to be seen or smoking. I keep saying to management that 16.00-19.00 there should be No Breaks, No ■■■ Breaks, No Disappearing, if it goes slack, fair enough, but if there’s a line of wagons to get unloaded GET ON WITH IT !

Anyway, apparently next week it’s being sorted [emoji57]

Watch this Space !