Afternoon all, newish driver, well 4 weeks into container work and enjoying it. Anyway, was at the gates at Vantec in Washington waiting to be allocated a bay number.
Was told by the gate lady that as I’m not booked in until 15:30 I could go and park in a parking space inside the place. She said there was no chance of being tipped before 15.30 so I casually said I’ll get some “shut eye”. She wasn’t best pleased and imformed me if I wanted to sleep I should go to a trailer park.
Apparently, for insurance purposes and safety drivers aren’t allowed to sleep as if there was a fire then why should she have to riske her life having to wake me up. Bearing in mind that the parking spaces are a good 50 metres from the main building is this a load of old guff I’m being told?
Thanks in advance.
Possibly guff born from jealousy, although to avoid the risk I would have invited her to join me and we could mutually keep each other awake.
I’ve found never volunteering any more information than absolutely necessary avoids giving these security bods an inch or two to get their teeth into. Which ironically would definitely keep me awake.
Haha! To be fair she did echo your point and said I shouldn’t have told her. Lesson learnt.
Peeps get jealous when you tell em you’re going to sleep and get paid for it.(oblivious to the fact you’ve just driven for 3 hours 50 minutes to get there and might be tired)
I keep quiet about sleeping on site, the less they know the better as far as I’m concerned.
There is some grain of truth about the fire regs she spouted but, I suspect that’s not real the reason.
Having a kip while waiting can backfire on you, as I once found out.
Many years ago asda Wakefield CDC decided to dig up their yard so everyone ended up queuing up to the gate to get on a bay, (you can guess what happened can’t you 
)
5am on a dark mid winter morning I’m a dozen trucks from the front, with my seat tipped back and feet up on the wheel. Then next thing I know there 2-3 irate drivers banging on the door
Next time keep quiet, that way you won’t have to listen to ■■■■■■■■ like that, from someone who is jealous, because she made a choice to do a job where she doesn’t get paid to count sheep
You should have said that the fire alarm should be loud enough to cover the entire site.
Night night love ■■
I always tell security/book-in staff/forkies etc that I’m putting the kettle on/ going to get my head down when they inform me that it may take a while before they can tip me. 90% of the time they will start tipping g me before I get back to the cab… 
Phsycological warfare. 
the nodding donkey:
I always tell security/book-in staff/forkies etc that I’m putting the kettle on/ going to get my head down when they inform me that it may take a while before they can tip me. 90% of the time they will start tipping g me before I get back to the cab…
Phsycological warfare.
Don’t have quite the same effect on a 3 hour or more handball tip container 
but I do know what you mean, they are hoping to wind you up, and hate it when you just don’t give a toss
To the OP, as others have said, keep it on a need to know basis, because if you do tell them to much you then will have to kill them, and that tends to get you banned from site 
We got a customer, who will allow you to park onsite overnight, but never tell the security, because they say you cant. The Receiving dock manager on the other hand says he’d rather have the container onsite than parked any where else between there and Felixstowe, and will tell the security that they’ve bought the container forward to tonight, from for instance a 6am booking the next morning, and to allow it onsite. So who’s the boss, at the moment its the receiving dock manager
I’d have just said “OK, I’ll stay awake then”, then gone to sleep anyway. No point arguing with these people, just say what they want to hear then crack on!
Must admit I am awaiting the day I am given some site rules that say ‘No Sleeping’, can’t be a million miles off entering the thoughts of the H&S brigade.
rob22888:
I’d have just said “OK, I’ll stay awake then”, then gone to sleep anyway. No point arguing with these people, just say what they want to hear then crack on!
Must admit I am awaiting the day I am given some site rules that say ‘No Sleeping’, can’t be a million miles off entering the thoughts of the H&S brigade.
It’ll probably say something along the lines of no sleeping while driving on this site 
andrew.s:
peirre:
Having a kip while waiting can backfire on you, as I once found out.
Many years ago asda Wakefield CDC decided to dig up their yard so everyone ended up queuing up to the gate to get on a bay, (you can guess what happened can’t you )
5am on a dark mid winter morning I’m a dozen trucks from the front, with my seat tipped back and feet up on the wheel. Then next thing I know there 2-3 irate drivers banging on the door
I nodded off in the queue for the woolwich ferry once.not a popular person at the time, I have to admit
I love the ferry (used it today ) , yeah I can see anybody nodding off in the queue not being popular.
I blagged an overnight stop a few months ago, in the North bound waiting area, after I ran out of hours waiting for over three hours in the southbound queue to get across. The Marshall in the morning was a bit miffed with me getting up at 07.00, and making a cup of tea…
The woolwich ferry is the only good thing about London.
the nodding donkey:
I love the ferry (used it today ) , yeah I can see anybody nodding off in the queue not being popular.
I blagged an overnight stop a few months ago, in the North bound waiting area, after I ran out of hours waiting for over three hours in the southbound queue to get across. The Marshall in the morning was a bit miffed with me getting up at 07.00, and making a cup of tea…
.
Thought they’d put a stop to that along time ago, used to park there overnight now and again many years ago
eddie snax:
the nodding donkey:
I love the ferry (used it today ) , yeah I can see anybody nodding off in the queue not being popular.
I blagged an overnight stop a few months ago, in the North bound waiting area, after I ran out of hours waiting for over three hours in the southbound queue to get across. The Marshall in the morning was a bit miffed with me getting up at 07.00, and making a cup of tea…
.
Thought they’d put a stop to that along time ago, used to park there overnight now and again many years ago
They have stopped overnight parking there, but they’d have a job moving you on if you were stuck queueing the other side for 3 hours and ran out of time. You can’t get out of the north side queue very easily
the nodding donkey:
The woolwich ferry is the only good thing about London.
I’m sure Dozy TNUK’s resident Woolworth ferry expert will be along soon to extol it’s virtues
OVLOV JAY:
eddie snax:
the nodding donkey:
I love the ferry (used it today ) , yeah I can see anybody nodding off in the queue not being popular.
I blagged an overnight stop a few months ago, in the North bound waiting area, after I ran out of hours waiting for over three hours in the southbound queue to get across. The Marshall in the morning was a bit miffed with me getting up at 07.00, and making a cup of tea…
.
Thought they’d put a stop to that along time ago, used to park there overnight now and again many years ago
They have stopped overnight parking there, but they’d have a job moving you on if you were stuck queueing the other side for 3 hours and ran out of time. You can’t get out of the north side queue very easily
That’s it. The queue started back on the bridge over the lock, it took three hours to get to the actual ferry entrance. I think the Blackwall tunnel was shut because of an accident. I was on the last crossing of the day. They let me park overnight on the other side, because I didn’t have enough time left to go anywhere.
Lets guess…it was a fat old biffa with saggy ■■■■ and doing it would most likely be like throwing a sausage up the M25…just another power mad jobsworth hi viz security ■■■■…
AndrewG:
Lets guess…it was a fat old biffa with saggy ■■■■ and doing it would most likely be like throwing a sausage up the M25…just another power mad jobsworth hi viz security ■■■■…
That’s pretty much ther image I had in my head, lol!