the nodding donkey:
Why is it that breaking the law today is considered stupid and bad, but breaking the law then is looked upon with fond memories??
I reckon itâs because in the UK at least they started putting people in prison for messing round with magnets and the like. It was fun when all you had to lose was the bosses cash and were just forced to had a weekly rest, less so when you risk time inside
Not that Iâve ever done any bent shenanigans but their was an adrenaline rush knowing one was a little out of scope.
Most of us where bent in the 90âs. I wasnât round in the 80âs and before but presume things where similar. Tacho tips and tricks where usually handed down by word of mouth in a bend for a friend stylee.
Why did I do it (not that I ever did it) well not for the money I just liked to break the law.
I used to drive for a South Wales firm who on the cb were called âponderosaâ its all in the name. 
What an outfit never had so much fun and getting paid for it.
DAVE Y:
I used to drive for a South Wales firm who on the cb were called âponderosaâ its all in the name.
What an outfit never had so much fun and getting paid for it.
That doesnât exactly narrow it down⊠
use a name:
St Omer Peage.Got a touch of anxiety now just thinking about it .
Got lifted there one evening funnilly enough NOT on the wire or dodgy cards-NO PERMIT FILLED IN!
Swine still took 1000francs off me in various currencies.
were you all on amphetemines, were lots of drugs involved? or if not you other drivers?
I had a switch under the ash tray in my fl 10 to turn the tacho off.
On tipper work in London never used to do mad hours but was handy to use when going on to a tip or in a big queue to get loaded to get a 45 minutes break in
chrisdalott:
were you all on amphetemines, were lots of drugs involved? or if not you other drivers?
Donât know about others, but lots of strong Black Coffee was my drug fuel of choice
Ha HaâŠyou lot have got my old memory ticking over.
When doing Spain and Portugal I just used to put in a new card and take a chance, never really having any issues that I can remember, even in France.
I used to keep it legal in Germany and then upon entering DDR or Czech put in a new card and fit my little hooked paperclip and rubber band device that was placed just at the top of the tacho inside. (anyone else remember it ?) This could be adjusted so that the needle would only go as fast as 70kmh which was the max speed limit in the Commie Bloc and it worked well in Turkey too, Perfick !! you just had to whip it out quick as you opened the tacho to show the copper the card when you got pulled over. New card every morning, Driving time was never an issue, only speeding. Most of the time though in Turkey a packet of Marlboro, the âKirmize Dozvollaâ (Red Permit) would suffice along with a pleasant smile, a handshake and a saluteâŠand then off again, not even coming to a complete stop. 
I also remember putting in a new card leaving Germany on several occasions and leaving it in until I got back to the German border, having been to Doha and back, it was just a thick black line⊠then have a full 12hrs off on a fresh card before heading into Germany and a 9hr shift. The Polizei were satisfied with that in those days.
Could you imagine trying that nowadays !! Hefty fines, truck impounded etc etcâŠ
GS
I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about analogue tachos back in the 80sâŠ
My mate told me that if you removed fuse #14 (second to bottom fuse on the left) on an SK Merc, it would leave the tacho turning and recording as normal, but somehow the speed and mileage traces were disabled and stayed where they were.
He told me that you had to pull in, switch off the engine, then set the mode switch to âbedâ before doing the above.
My mate also told me that he had a spare tacho head stashed under the bed and that he would use it to make customised rest periods.
He warned me that if I ever chose to use this method, Iâd need to remove part of the casing so as the clock-adjuster could be moved with a chart in place and the face shut, and he explained that he had a method for making the mileage trace on the customised chart line up with what was on the last legitimate chart.
What a surprise I had when he told me those things. 
For the life of me and probably cos it was back in the 80s, I canât seem to remember whether I tried out either of those methods.
switchlogic:
the nodding donkey:
Why is it that breaking the law today is considered stupid and bad, but breaking the law then is looked upon with fond memories??I reckon itâs because in the UK at least they started putting people in prison for messing round with magnets and the like. It was fun when all you had to lose was the bosses cash and were just forced to had a weekly rest, less so when you risk time inside
Despite the fact youâll still get a few at it. I think the biggest change nowadays is people have become slightly lazier in general, and like to do as little work as possibly especially if salaried, maybe slightly different with the smaller firms or owner drivers etc where there is a kind of load and work incentive most of the time. As for hourly paid youâll more likely see guys trying to stretching jobs out to maximise earnings these days instead of trying to squeeze more jobs into a day.
If they see there mate at for example ASDA on say 30k a year in a relatively comfortable role doing a 45 hour week, their hardly likely to see an incentive to drive 11 or 12 hours a day and generally be working harder for possibly even a lower wage than there mate etc.
I donât think running bent will ever be completely eliminated though, there are always going to be greedy drivers + operators willing to take the chance.
albion:
Just to add, I went to the RHA compliance convention the other week and one of the speakers was the new head of the DVSA. He was saying that at the roadside last year, theyâd pull foreign trucks and find an extra circuit board in the digi about once a month, now itâs running at about two a day.In the Q&A, he got a LOT of questions about how they (donât) police the foreign trucks. Part of the problem is the wholly inadequate fines - until they are stepped up and vehicles impounded, then the deterrent is simply not there.
Big problem as you say as coupled with the large twin tanks filled with cheaper fuel and them flouting cabotage rules and using these sophisticated devices, its all adding up to a lower rate for the end consumer in a free market and less work for our own hauliers.
chrisdalott:
were you all on amphetemines, were lots of drugs involved? or if not you other drivers?
Some were on the white stuff and other types of medicine.
I wasnât,I might add. 
whiplash:
use a name:
St Omer Peage.Got a touch of anxiety now just thinking about it .
Got lifted there one evening funnilly enough NOT on the wire or dodgy cards-NO PERMIT FILLED IN!
Swine still took 1000francs off me in various currencies.
Same ÂŁ1000 FF for not filling the permit in, usually did to be fair but with a pencil.
Drop your trl in the parking area give the Douane all your paperwork.
Bob-tail into St Omer and pay it late 1980âs.
Always a collection of English cars at the Douanes, drugs usually ferried up from Spain stuffed into the doors fuel tank etcâŠ
To me St Omer was the last hurdle before getting the ferry and a good breakfast.
Miss those days.
iirc wasnât it 20FF for the Douanes at Calais when you got off the boat, re the amount of diesel you had in the tank ?
use a name:
iirc wasnât it 20FF for the Douanes at Calais when you got off the boat, re the amount of diesel you had in the tank ?
Yes, my F12 had a bezel around the fuel gauge so I just sat a 20 FF coin on it, the Douanier would climb up the step to check the gauge, I would look the other way, and lo and behold when he said âMerci Monsieur, bonne route!â, the 20 Franc coin had vanished.
Seems a strange turnaround that nowadays drivers brim their tanks before coming to the UK, as opposed to leaving itâŠ
Harry Monk:
use a name:
iirc wasnât it 20FF for the Douanes at Calais when you got off the boat, re the amount of diesel you had in the tank ?Yes, my F12 had a bezel around the fuel gauge so I just sat a 20 FF coin on it, the Douanier would climb up the step to check the gauge, I would look the other way, and lo and behold when he said âMerci Monsieur, bonne route!â, the 20 Franc coin had vanished.
Seems a strange turnaround that nowadays drivers brim their tanks before coming to the UK, as opposed to leaving itâŠ
the nodding donkey:
Harry Monk:
use a name:
iirc wasnât it 20FF for the Douanes at Calais when you got off the boat, re the amount of diesel you had in the tank ?Yes, my F12 had a bezel around the fuel gauge so I just sat a 20 FF coin on it, the Douanier would climb up the step to check the gauge, I would look the other way, and lo and behold when he said âMerci Monsieur, bonne route!â, the 20 Franc coin had vanished.
Seems a strange turnaround that nowadays drivers brim their tanks before coming to the UK, as opposed to leaving itâŠ
wasnât just us that were bent then.
toby1234abc:
I knew a few who ran on fuses or wires as paid trip money for one hitters .
Odd thing was, all of a sudden, I never saw them again, due to nervous breakdown and burnt out .
It was normal to one hit it from the French ports to Lisbon,Gibraltar or Malaga .
The rule of paying back reduced rest after three weeks never made sense ,running bent was safer, if did it by the book, you were parked up by a field in the middle of nowhere with no facilities .
Run bent, weekend parked up with your mates in a secure place .
I wrote on the analogue tacho that I carried on to find a hot meal and shower, in France, food is important to their culture, never got a fine but as long as you did not take the mickey .
One lad used to get to Lisbon in a day and a half, legally it would take four days due to bad roads back then and steep mountains .
He only stopped for a loo break and 20 minute sleeps known as microwave naps.
I one hit it from Calais to Malaga in the car and its one hell of a slog. Also done it in a truck circa 1991 and needed 2 days off! As you say it was way safer to run bent as you could get to a safe stop rather than in the middle of nowhere, this was always important to my co. at the time pulling a tilt loaded with titaniumâŠ
You have got to look at the time and place, it was a different era - at the time drink and driving wasnât looked down on- today no-one would think of it (I hope)
Then it was the norm, at the least tipping and loading off the chart- winding the clock was perhaps the next level- earthing out the tacho was common- I am from that time and will put my hands up (pretty sure the statute of limitations comes into force, otherwise my real name is Jason Blogsmith) But yes we did all run outside the law- I started my career at a firm that ran ME, complete with dodgy permits, each driver had a John Bull printing set, and there was one valid UK tax disc to be shared throughout the fleet when the unit came through Dover.
There may be a few from that era that ran whiter than white- but no-one that I knew
albion:
Just to add, I went to the RHA compliance convention the other week and one of the speakers was the new head of the DVSA. He was saying that at the roadside last year, theyâd pull foreign trucks and find an extra circuit board in the digi about once a month, now itâs running at about two a day.In the Q&A, he got a LOT of questions about how they (donât) police the foreign trucks. Part of the problem is the wholly inadequate fines - until they are stepped up and vehicles impounded, then the deterrent is simply not there.
I saw the dvsa had a customer from Eastern Europe on trowell services last month ,the very second the lorry stopped the dvsa man was in the drivers side ,the driver had to sit on the bed and the dvsa man had pulled the head out the roof very quickly and was looking at the back and wiring .