robinhood_1984:
eddie snax:
I dont do Continental, but if I did I would make danm sure that I had a reasonable or working knowledge off the rules that would affect me on a day to day basis. It seems that some off the foreign drivers coming here arent.
All or most of the rules are exactly the same, its just that they’re often so much harder to adhere to in the UK because while most other European countries take responsibility for road transport and provide free parking, the UK chooses to ignore the whole issue, hoping it’ll go away, which of course it wont.
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Yes I know the drivers hours rules are written to be operated the same, but I’m led to beleave that they may have different emphasis put on certain aspects of the rules by different prosecuting authorities. It is fairly well accepted that in this country the VOSA wont come down heavy on a minor infringement where a road safety issue would be involved, as long as it wasnt a regular occurance. I’m led to beleave other countries dont see it that way, but that is not my problem, or the problem of the authorities in this country who should move on a dangerouly parked vehicle, after all its only a few months since norfolk and suffolk police were having a purge on unlit parked vehicles.
As for the whole parking debate in general, I agree with what you have written 
robinhood_1984:
I agree about the safety aspect, although it still does not mean Cambridge services was a viable option if it costs so much, no more so than the Ritz hotel in London would be a viable option for me if the Holiday Inn was double booked.
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Ok but I suggest that if you found the holiday inn double booked you would move onto the next suitable alternative, in your price bracket, and so should these drivers, if services aernt an option and I will accept your argument on price for this point, then drivers should move onto the next option, and if that means infringing drivers hours rules, then so be it.
robinhood_1984:
I have absolutely no idea how safe or unsafe the truck in question was, I was not there, I have not seen photos and its been so long since I’ve driven on that road that I don’t remember the location in question. I do however remember Cambridge services and all other such places in the UK and know that they’re simply not an option for a huge portion of the British trucking industry and certainly most Europeans. Having an extortionately priced MSA near to the location of this accident is totally irrelevant, it may as well be in the Gobi desert because he’s not going to park in it, I’m not going to park in it if I have to pay myself and nor probably are many other people.
Sorry I didnt take a snap but I was driving, you will have to take my word, how he parked was a factor in an accident I’d be confident to suggest, not that there was allready an accident.
The relavence of Cambridge services is that, as has been said a number off times on this thread, drivers get hit harder on the continent for tacho infringments, if he was that worried about infringing the rules, that he was prepared to park in a dangerous position rather than go over hours to find somewhere safer, then he should have pulled up earlier which was an option, when sometimes on a motorway as opposed to dual carriageway it may not be, and it would have lost him only 10 minutes driving for the day.
orys:
Yes, but you never know how it happened. Maybe it was 10 minutes for you but when he was driving that road, it took him 30 minutes to get from that safe place to stop to the next one due to traffic…
Anyway, I am speaking about the subject in general, not refering to the particular example.
Yes that could well be true off a Friday night on that road, it would certainly have been true after what happened during the night.
I was only refering to this as it seemed pertinent to this thread, in general though these guys whom in the main are in foreign registered trucks need to still make an effort to park safely, and having the arse off your trailer basicaly hanging in the main carriagway or on the hardshoulder including slip roads, cant surely be seen as safe parking. Its a red herring to say that because more parking isnt provided we/they can just abandon truck where ever we feel like, or when ever our/their hours is up. It is our indivisual responsibilty to look after the kit we’re given to use, and use it in a safe manner so no harm comes to others ourselves or the vehicle, no matter what coutry is on your passport
Jelliot:
It’s all good and well saying that Johnny Foreigner did this that and the other.
May I remind you that in the 80’s and 90’s Johnny Foreigner was the plague of British trucks that roamed Western and Eastern Europe, trying to get away with as many things as we could. I don’t think that many of us were law abiding angles; some more than others.
Have the biggest fuel tank you could fit on your truck and fill up in Lux if you were anywhere near that area, or better still a belly full of red if you were going to the eastern bloc.
I don’t see many of us complaining about what we got away with.
The only reason there were so many Brits doing it was because no other country was willing to do it at the rates we were doing for, so we were the Eastern Europeans of the day.
A lot of the trucks and trailers we had were on a “just getting by basis,” because there was so little left in the job there was no time or money for maintenance.
I always had Spanish ans Italians moaning at me saying the British were killing the international haulage rates.
Think how many Brit trucks you saw over the water, how many European trucks did you see in Britain at that time?
Now the Eastern Europeans are doing it cheaper than us so they are going to get the work. Which means they’re going to cut corners the same way we had to to get the job done for the price they’re getting paid.
Same horse, different colour, just the mud’s going another direction…
Jeff…
I have no issues about these guys making a living doing what their doing, but they surely have to use a bit off common sense, and pre planning. It isnt only East Euro trucks, but its them in the main.
The argument that becuase we used to do something in the past, doesnt make it right now, as kids we used to sit on cushoins in the back of mums Viva van to go to the beach, but I wouldnt entertain my kids not being straped in in my car.
We used to run bent all the time in this country aswell as those that went abroad, but would you think of running bent now, not a chance I bet. lets deal with todays world, and leave yesterdays much easier and happier days behind
