Locked out.........

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Another lesson learnt the hard way…
Was at Aberdeen airport today, and at one of my drops, left the engine running with keys in the ignition (naughty boy, it’s against company rules!).
Closed the cab door, went to the back of the trailer and opened the doors for the forkie to take off 2 pallets.
Went back to the cab, central locking had somehow tripped and locked both doors (windows were shut too)!! Nightmare time! Spare keys are at depot (in London) and company are not very happy bunnies.
Luckily for me, Craib haulage have a depot right across the road, so off I go to beg for help. A mechanic comes along soon after, but struggles for about 30 mins to get bonnet open (of course it is about the only lorry in the world with a bonnet release…in the cab!). Once the bonnet is open, he takes a cover off and shorts a wire which opens passenger side window. What a relief, and thanks very much to Brian of A.R.R. Craib, Aberdeen.
On my run back to Glasgow, I unlocked my door, and sure enough about 10 mins later the central locking activated itself and locked it again. About every 15 minutes, the hazards were flashing twice for no good reason.
So if you drive a MAN TGA, beware of what can happen with the electrics!
From now on the keys will be firmly in my pocket when I leave the cab…

Al.

2

From now on the keys will be firmly in my pocket when I leave the cab…

I made sure I do that after leaving the engine running at the gate at Cadbury (Minworth) and getting a roasting of the security guards - apparently the week before someone had jumped into one on the gate and departed at a vast rate of knots taking the gate with him … …

3

Similar situation…
Decided to put all my personal stuff in the cab of my van via the passenger door. Unlocked the door, threw my stuff in, pushed the handle on the inside to lock the door as it closed. Shut the door. Oooops I can see the keys on the passenger seat.
Went down to the office, boss claims we dont have a spare key. Had to call the mechanic from the garage out, who promptly popped a small window out in the door in about 30 seconds and gained access. I since have had a normal key cut for the van which I keep on my personal keyring which stays in my jean pockets just in case i manage todo something stupid again. It wont start the van (transducer keys) but at least it saves me from embarrasing slip ups.
I guess that only works though if you have a dedicated vehicle/driver.
Incidentally the boss did have a spare key because he posted it to me a week later after i managed to snap my key in the door lock 300 miles from the office.