Going south down the M6 last night at between J’s13-12, approx 8:15pm, we were crawling at snails pace in congestion following an accident. I happened to pull alongside a ‘Brit-European’ tanker which was carrying ‘flammable liquid.’ The driver had his window down, elbow half out, and was puffing away on a cigarette seemingly without a care in the world. I just found this a bit surprising, is it not illegal to smoke whilst driving what I assume is a petrol tanker? Also, I’d assume that firms carrying such goods would implement a strict no smoking policy?
It’s not that bad, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to drive past other people smoking.
I’m sure cars have overtook / been overtook by a petrol tanker, and their ■■■ would be closer to the fuel than the drivers would 
waynedl:
It’s not that bad, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to drive past other people smoking.
I’m sure cars have overtook / been overtook by a petrol tanker, and their ■■■ would be closer to the fuel than the drivers would
True, I know what you mean, but with the nature of the goods being carried I just assumed that firms would impose a strict no-smoking policy or employ only non-smokers, especially considering a lot of the places they go to will have strict no smoking policies (eg petrol stations, refineries).
do you drive for a living or take notes about what other drivers do and feel the need to report on them ?
desypete:
do you drive for a living or take notes about what other drivers do and feel the need to report on them ?
It was an observation numnuts!
You don’t half come out with ■■■■■
sorry i thought this was yet another thread were some dummy is trying to grass up on what another driver is doing in there cabs
its getting hard to tell the difference these days with drivers as there always noticing what other drivers are up to and feeling the need to either tell there boss or report it on here
Sprinter Si:
Going south down the M6 last night at between J’s13-12, approx 8:15pm, we were crawling at snails pace in congestion following an accident. I happened to pull alongside a ‘Brit-European’ tanker which was carrying ‘flammable liquid.’ The driver had his window down, elbow half out, and was puffing away on a cigarette seemingly without a care in the world. I just found this a bit surprising, is it not illegal to smoke whilst driving what I assume is a petrol tanker? Also, I’d assume that firms carrying such goods would implement a strict no smoking policy?not being cheeky. but why don’t you mind your own business ?. m6 south, j’s13-12, 8.15 pm. brit European, why don’t you put up his reg and get the driver, who possibly has a family. sacked ?.
he probably has been doin it for years with no prob. you assume, petrol, you assume no smoking policy, you know nothing. get in your sprinter and do YOUR job ,
Sprinter Si:
but with the nature of the goods being carried I just assumed that firms would impose a strict no-smoking policy or employ only non-smokers
Wouldn’t that be seen as discrimination? I’ve never seen or heard of operators taking the no smoking thing seriously.
I drove petrol tankers but I have never smoked. What did worry me years ago before the modern machines came out that grind off the road service was squeezing past the lorry with the metal canopy at the rear with all the flames coming out that was used to soften the surface to make it easier to remove.
There was a big inquiry at work when a cigarette lighter was found in a tanker during a service. It must have fallen out of a drivers pocket when he bent over to remove the loading arm.
Many people also came up to me when I was unloading to ask direction when they were smoking. The answer was straight up if you do not put that ■■■ out.
I’m not seeing the need to go into such detail of his time and location if it was just an ‘observation’.
Your not allowed to have any source of ignition in the truck or on your person . if he was searched back at the loading depot and found to have any ignition sources he would be banned off site and lose his job .
If this had happened in Bonnie Scotland he would be guilty of a criminal offence as smoking is banned in the work place.
alamcculloch:
If this had happened in Bonnie Scotland he would be guilty of a criminal offence as smoking is banned in the work place.
i can just see the jails full of hgv smokers in the future, or anyone who dares to have a sly smoke while at work. just what this country needs. i wonder if they will get a discount if they have a cpc card ?
The clowns who say it is ok to smoke when you drive will be smokers themselves,you tend to find smokers don’t give a t…s about any rules in the work place .Remember they must have their next fix at all cost…
If having a cigarette in the cab was posing a risk to the tanker exploding,I dont think they’d allow them on the road at all.
Technically he shouldnt have been smoking in a “workplace” but thats not really anyones business except his and his gaffers (if theyre bothered)
Back in the 1950’s, in the days of Shell-Mex, it was a sackable offence to be caught smoking in the cab or even have matches etc. Also any driver ‘shopping’ another for smoking got a bonus so it kept them on their toe’s, my late father had a friend who was a shop steward for them.
Pete.
Again it’s all about perception really. Joe public seeing a tanker driver smoking is sure to ignite (pun intended) the moral outrage so perhaps said tanker man could’ve been a bit more discreet for sure. The ironic thing being he’s carrying flammables in a specifically designed and rigorously tested container while yer average man puffs away with 10 or 12 gallons under his back seat!
gripper1:
The clowns who say it is ok to smoke when you drive will be smokers themselves,you tend to find smokers don’t give a t…s about any rules in the work place .Remember they must have their next fix at all cost…
+1
desypete:
alamcculloch:
If this had happened in Bonnie Scotland he would be guilty of a criminal offence as smoking is banned in the work place.i can just see the jails full of hgv smokers in the future, or anyone who dares to have a sly smoke while at work. just what this country needs. i wonder if they will get a discount if they have a cpc card ?
The police can’t enforce it though only council. When the ban came in was sitting in a pub with a mate who is a policeman and a few of his colleagues i forgot about the ban and lit up a cig, i joked they would do me told me they had no powers to fine me. Only thing they could do in the case of a pub would be report it to the licensing board when the pubs license came up for re-newal that the pub had let people smoke in it.
Some people on here seriously need to wind their necks in and chill out a bit, where have i suggested anyone should be reported or lose their job? I don’t even know if any offence has been committed, hence my original post, i was just wondering whether there were laws in force governing whether someone in charge of almost 20,000 litres of flammable liquid could smoke or not. If i was that offended by it i’d have taken the vehicle reg and phoned the company myself. As it happens i think smokers are ridiculously persecuted in this country. I don’t smoke myself but if someone wants to do so then they should be free to do so as long as I don’t have to breathe in their smoke.