Just started on nights, first shifts for a while and getting a break is a nightmare.
Got on A14 last night with 3 hours down so loads of time to get it in. Every single space on the side of the road was full with trampers. Got to the A1 rounabout without a single opportunity. So into the services, bloody rammed. Had to double park and block in trucks with curtains shut. Had same problem on A38 night before and double parked at end of layby.
Its a problem that needs sorting, Something constructive for DVSA to do. More places to stop. Less jolly foreigners living on our roads. My Solution would be say every third layby on A roads have a one hour max stay and every services must have ten spaces with two hour max stay. Easy to enforce with todays technology and would help to keep drivers legal.
calsdad:
My Solution would be say every third layby on A roads have a one hour max stay and every services must have ten spaces with two hour max stay. Easy to enforce with todays technology and would help to keep drivers legal.
It would never happen as every driver would say “out of hours” and therefore NO-ONE would be legally able to force any driver to move due to the regs …
The trick is to plan your breaks and find places that dont get filled with overnighters. When I did the Warrington trunks I knew I couldn’t make it and charnock is a pain no matter when you go in. I stopped at an industrial estate at Preston. Double yellows so no wagons parked up and no hassle from the police as long as my fridge wasn’t running (normally empty).
On my way back I pulled in at johnstonebridge and bumped onto the pavement. 2 lanes going 1 way so plenty of room to get past me plus my fridge wasn’t disturbing the overnighters in the truck park
Blocking in trucks with their curtains closed isn’t a problem, they’re there for the night, your 45 doesn’t concern them, likewise double parking in lay-bys, the trick there is to park at the start of the layby so nobody can pull in behind you and then ask/expect you to move.
There needs to be a huge increase in parking for everybody, not just people in your line of work. Where exactly do you expect the hundreds of trucks who are now parking in your ‘would be’ dedicated parking areas to park instead?
The whole situation in the UK with regards parking is a disgrace for everybody.
I find it ironic that the UK is signed up to EU legislation for supposed road safety and as a result drivers are subject to the most restrictive, complicated and rigorously enforced rules compared to the rest of the world, yet in mainland Europe parking is almost adequate in some places and in the UK its totally impossible for all trucks to park safely with facilities and stay within the law because the spaces either simply don’t exist in the first place or the driver doesn’t have the legal hours to continuously carry on until something is found.
I’m currently on a 3 week visit back home in England and despite the fact that only a few years ago I was doing the same job here as everyone else, its now quite shocking and depressing to see what drivers here have to put up with, when you see trucks rammed up against a hedge in a layby with passing vehicles inches away, having to sit there for 9/11 hours with no toilets etc and if there are truck stops they’re so expensive that a big percentage of firms won’t pay for parking anymore any way.
My Canadian wife keeps pointing at trucks on roadside layby’s and asking why they’re there, have they broken down, why aren’t there truckstops, why does this country try and pretend trucks and truckers don’t exist?!
Park in the services. Find a row of wagons with the curtains shut and pull in behind them. No idea what part of the A38 you got problems with because from Derby to well past Fradley park most of the laybys are empty.
Best to try and have your breaks at your drops. Simply politely asking people at places whether there is anywhere you can park often comes up trumps in my experience, sometimes with a point in the direction of brew facilities.
There are also plenty if places you can get away with parking at night. I know of supermarket carparks you can sling the wagon into at the dead of night, last night I had my 45 on a big retail park car park, not doing anyone any harm. I see wagons parked in the McDonalds car park near Trafford Park having 45’s.
Conor, I was gong the other way Belfry to Derby. Couldn’t get on til Burton. All Full.
Stopping at drops isn’t an option when you have one drop over 5 hours away. All the options people have suggested are fine when you do the same work day after day. When most drops are new it takes time to suss things out. That’s when the public parking option at the side of the road is needed.
I’m sure when these pull ins were thought of, their purpose was not as space for truckers to live in…
My point is if the goverments agency is going to be strict on driving hours laws we need the facility to be able to stop on major routes with say 30 minutes planning given the unpredictable nature of traffic.
Been on A50 tonight 3 Emergency pull ins with double yellow lines - trucks with curtains closed. Wonder if they will wake up to a parking fine… they would in a town centre. What would happen if a genuine breakdown/blowout got stuck on carriage way and caused an accident…
Just think the situation is out of control. Surely the RHA or some other agency could survey the amount of genuine overnight spaces and estimate the demand. No doubt a massive short fall…
calsdad:
I’m sure when these pull ins were thought of, their purpose was not as space for truckers to live in…
My point is if the goverments agency is going to be strict on driving hours laws we need the facility to be able to stop on major routes with say 30 minutes planning given the unpredictable nature of traffic.
Been on A50 tonight 3 Emergency pull ins with double yellow lines - trucks with curtains closed. Wonder if they will wake up to a parking fine… they would in a town centre. What would happen if a genuine breakdown/blowout got stuck on carriage way and caused an accident…
Just think the situation is out of control. Surely the RHA or some other agency could survey the amount of genuine overnight spaces and estimate the demand. No doubt a massive short fall…
Try the A20/A2 coming out of Dover. If you genuinely needed to pull in along there in the evening & night you’d be buggered… wagons literally with their arse ends hanging out of the laybys. Locals down there have long complained about this, it’s universally agreed upon as being a farce by the councils, but nothing has ever been done and is unlikely to anytime soon. Probably because the same locals that don’t want the laybys clogged up wouldn’t want a lorry park within any sort of range of their home.
robinhood_1984:
There needs to be a huge increase in parking for everybody, not just people in your line of work. Where exactly do you expect the hundreds of trucks who are now parking in your ‘would be’ dedicated parking areas to park instead?
The whole situation in the UK with regards parking is a disgrace for everybody.
I find it ironic that the UK is signed up to EU legislation for supposed road safety and as a result drivers are subject to the most restrictive, complicated and rigorously enforced rules compared to the rest of the world, yet in mainland Europe parking is almost adequate in some places and in the UK its totally impossible for all trucks to park safely with facilities and stay within the law because the spaces either simply don’t exist in the first place or the driver doesn’t have the legal hours to continuously carry on until something is found.
I’m currently on a 3 week visit back home in England and despite the fact that only a few years ago I was doing the same job here as everyone else, its now quite shocking and depressing to see what drivers here have to put up with, when you see trucks rammed up against a hedge in a layby with passing vehicles inches away, having to sit there for 9/11 hours with no toilets etc and if there are truck stops they’re so expensive that a big percentage of firms won’t pay for parking anymore any way.
My Canadian wife keeps pointing at trucks on roadside layby’s and asking why they’re there, have they broken down, why aren’t there truckstops, why does this country try and pretend trucks and truckers don’t exist?!
Try stopping for a break at the services on the A42/A444 junction on a night. Enough to test anyone’s patience. Thick ■■■■ wagon drivers think it’s acceptable to have their night out next to the pumps so if there’s a wagon filling up you’ve no way of getting out.
When i first did nights, I must admit to finding the same issue. Especially the A14 from Fxto.
I did realise fairly quickly that, the trucks with closed curtains are fair game. Block them in all you want…
I did see one irate fella at about 4am that wanted to start early that was a bit ■■■■■■ off as he’d been blocked in… (no it wasn’t me !!)
I’ve stopped in the main car park at Toddington (south) a fair few times with no problems. You can get away with more at night though. Often parking where during the day you probably wouldn’t.
A lot of lay bys on the A38 have no separation from the main carriageway so should not be there overnight anyway. When parked in these you’re supposed to have side lights on!
■■■■ me! As if there’s not enough titache for trampers from Joe Q Public - now we’ve got night monkeys telling us that we shouldn’t be parked up overnight If I’m asleep, park behind me, beside me or even in front of me for your 45 minutes (just please don’t leave your engine running). It ain’t rocket science, is it?
Thick ■■■■ wagon drivers think it’s acceptable to have their night out next to the pumps so if there’s a wagon filling up you’ve no way of getting out. 
