Say what you want about the log book era, 
but they was like a magic wand! when you wanted a lift, it almost worked as good as a beautiful young lady adjusting her stocking. 
there must be something wrong with the postcode for scott bader in wollaston northants , because twice now Iāve pointed drivers in the right direction after theyāve driven up to the railway station in wellingborough ( dead end road) and scott baders about 4 miles away, and theyāre only the ones iāve encountered walking the dog.
A mate of mine āIrish Billyā on Dobbs Transport years ago was sent to Brentford, Middlesex with a load of plastic, he misread it and went to a village called Bretford near Coventry!! A bit of a difference from Eastbourneā¦
One of my own was being given āVia Medici, Porte Magenta, Milanā instead of āPonte Magentaā. I followed the instruction being wary as it was smack in the middle of Milan down some narrow streets. Even the police when I asked directions looked surprised. After not finding the company on the CMR, I re-checked with the Austrian planner, sheād got it wrong. It was luckily only about 30 kās out of Milan. Bloody glad I went to find it very early a.m or Iād never have got back out of the city.
Regards,
Mark.
One of the best cockups by the traffic office, was I was on return from Iran, I was have trouble with my wheel nuts on the unit, everytime I checked they was braking off, I had managed to get past Cologne, and ask to get load nearby. They came back with a load at Dusseldorf to take machinery to Birmingham for a exhibition. I went to Dusseldorf stop at a tankstelle ( Petrol Station) and searched by the area code, it was Freiburg near Switzerland, the name of the firm Frans Dusseldorf, I told the office it was nearly 500 miles the opposite way, they said I must go they had promised the firm. I said I am going nowhere until my wheel studs was sorted out , they booked me into a garage in Cologne. What a nightmare 
I drove for a well known tyneside glass firm and was asked to take a lad out the factory who had a license off the TA army with me to JCB at Rocester near Uttoxeter and then to Iver. He was then driving a 4 wheeler back to Gateshead empty. I wrote down directions to the M1 but he turned the wrong way onto the M25. when he got to Dartford he realised he was wrong so he turned around and set off back around the M25. When he got back to the Tunnel again he asked the staff where the M1 was and he finally made it home. He was offered the job to drive this wagon and accepted it loaded for R0cester and left gateshead early monday morning only to phone in tuesday from Rochester Kent to say he was lost. This is no joke he still works there as a driver 23 years later sorry Ken but it was a great story and I had to tell it again. Cheers Jeff
b.waddy:
Hi, Folks, We ran alot down SOUTH WALES to the NCB coal pits one of our lads delivering on a Friday morning a laddy came into the pit with a load of pit props from Weston super mare ,our lad asks him how long the journey took him he looked a bit sheepish and said he left home Sunday afternoon had a quick look at his notes A BERDEEN SO off he goes TUESDAY afternoon phones in canot find this pit , office asks where he is tells the silence then came a lot of abuse you are supposed to be in Aberdare an easey error to make but costly ,a bit of usless info ,Cheers Barry
Hi Barry! almost as bad as one of Hatswells on for TNT out of flint, when I was on Shones! a lad left in there new W reg f12 with the Bristol trailerā¦or so he thoughtā¦we did Lutonā¦, trouble was he had our trailer, so had to chase him down the M5 In little f7, caught him up in Bristol and then swapped trailers???off to Lutonā¦them were the days we worked nightsā¦
My most red-faced moment came when I first started hauling bulk tippers. The collection notes were left out for me in the driversā rest room where I collected them early on the Monday morning. Obviously the traffic office had the idea that āEverybody knows where it isā, so the notes simply told me, āLoad at NCB, GCGā.
I had to wait for half an hour before a more experienced driver arrived who translated the instructions as, āLoad at NCB, Gwain-Cae-Gurwen coal pit, South Walesā. 
Hi All
This is the sort of thread that makes Trucknet good entertainment.
Itās just like being in the pub near the digs having a pint and a natter with other drivers, before sleeper cabs ,lonely lay-byes and that spy in the cab , the tachograph. The days when drivers had time for each other, what a pity some things had to change.
Cheers Bassman
Way back in the in the time President Kennedy got killed I worked for FMC chicken factory, we had a driver who hated London to drive through, he had to go to Ukfield to collect chickens, I was on holiday, so he couldnāt ask me to change with him, the other drivers did not want too. He went and got back, but it took him far too long. I was delivering down near Aldgate, I stopped off at Tubby Isaacās stall and had some shell fish and got a cup of tea, when a taxi driver pulled up and had a cuppa and he looked at my wagon and said , oh I though you was that bloke who paid me to show him the road to Ukfield, he was nearly in tears. I laughed and said I know him, he goes in a cold sweat also if he has to go to Birmingham as well, he didnāt last long at the job.
Another driver at the kitchen cabinet manufacturer where I worked liked to drive home at night and hide his lorry instead of spending the night out. This worked fine till the time he sneaked home then went to the pub and in walked the TM, the driver said he thumbed it home and the TM was ok with that. The trouble came early in the morning when the driver was going back to where he was supposed to be, heād only gone a couple of miles and going round a bend on a single carriage road a car going the other way lost control and hit him broadside and ruptured the diesel tank 
He got a good boll*king but not the sack and the TM kept a close watch for any āextraā mileage after that 
Man, if you did anything like that today youād be fired before the engine cooled down 
Charles
Many years ago it was the annual Christmas get together at the Winter Gardens Cleethorpes for Humber Warehousing Ltd and very good times were being had by all but the highlight of the night was Driver of the year. Sir Geoffrey on the mike explained that the drivers were the oneās that made the company great and a driver of exemplary character was this years winner Peter Charlesworth who was presented with a trophy and a cheque.
Fast forward 14 hours to Sunday afternoon and Pete is on his way to London for a Monday morning delivery,
8 hours double time and a night out except that he only went to Cleethorpes car park and had a dodgy.
Up and away at 2am but it had been snowing and on the A46 at Faldingworth he jacknifed and knocked half the bridge down, they could not very well sack him but he didnāt win it the next year.
Freind who works for a well known rdc a few years back told me this one and was confirmed to me by their tm who i knew
Job is 2 trucks everynight go to tamworth trl change with two from further north back to rdcs
This one particular night agency driver leaves in truck one at 1800 told what to do etc
Arrives at tamworth starts his break waits for his change over trailer
Driver 2 leaves at 1845 same thing on arrival spots other truck waiting
"Are you here for change over so they swap trls and driver 1 heads back driver 2 finishes break heads back
2 northern drivers arrive later as delayed in accudent on m1 noone there
You guessed it to southern drivers swapped with each other and took same trailers back
Because of there hours two northern drivers instructed todo same
Couldnt believe it when told
After that they were given reg numbers to change with
When I was at John Deeās some years ago we used agency drivers for doing changeovers with. Back then we always kept our own bulbs and lenses for the trls, I did a changeover one night at Tamworth, I asked the driver " do you want to swap lights and lenses?" What for? All the way from Darlington to Tamworth with no lights at all on the trl, He then said He wondered why there was bulbs and lenses in the passenger side footwell and people kept flashing lights at himā¦ 
A few weeks later 3 of us loaded Cardboard from Biggleswade on a Friday for Fullartons at Govan. Me and Neil are by Motherwell monday morning and we see another 1 of ours going south like a bat out of hell, it was the same driver that had gone to Tamworth with no lights on trl. Deeās had set him on full time by now. Arrived at Govan and was asked āhave you 2 got the right stuff onā Only what they loaded at Biggleswade we said. Fullartons man said "Iāve just had 1 of yours in here, opened the curtains to find 24 palletts of Vauxās beer on board for Tesco WESTBURY 
" That was the end of him, he shouldāve picked up trl 189, not trl 198ā¦
One time a driver came back from Florida, but had jet lag, he took the wrong trailer, it as a tanker of Carlsberg to Glasgow, it should have gone to Isleworth. They was going to tell him to bring it back. I said Iām only a shop stupid, but you have a tank of the same lager to go to Glasgow, why not divert it to Isle worth, and sort the paperwork later. Will cost nothing extra!
A long departed friend of mine worked for a steel stockholder in Sheffield and was loaded for Edinburgh on a Thursday dinnertime,heād had two nights away already that week
and the bloke who should have taken it knocked. He wanted to be home that night and also the friday night but was told to run with it. Anyway he took it home and booked off at Newcastle. Next morning book on at 0600 Newcastle and leave house in Sheffield at 0300,unfortunately he was silent checked at Boroughbridge .Tipped his Edinburgh,ran home to Sheffield and booked off at Wetherby - just for spite as he had time to get back legal he reckoned.Poor bugger was silent checked at Knottingley .
I forget how much it cost him but I do remember Boroughbridge check cost him more than Knottingley.
Just a thought- do they still do āsilent checksā? Havenāt heard anything about them for years.
Retired Old ā ā ā ā :
Just a thought- do they still do āsilent checksā? Havenāt heard anything about them for years.
I was going to ask the same question ROF.
Mind you,I suppose they all run legal nowadaysā¦
I suppose you canāt do 14 hours then put another digicard in?