In some far flung corner of my mind. I can remember that there was a maximum distance you could drive.
What was it, I seem to think it was 491 miles or something daft. Was that on Tacho or logsheets.
I know you could write what you liked on the logsheets 
Malc,it was in the late 70ās.If you didnāt have a tacho fitted then you were restricted to 450km/280m per day.I canāt remember whether you had to be using a tacho or just have one fitted.What I do remember was being thrown out of Shell Stanlow on the petroleum site for having a tacho fitted in a Leyland Marathon in 1977.Shell drivers were one of the last to accept tachos.I had to run back to Sheffield empty and a speedo head was subbed by Lucas the next day. 
I totally ignored the mileage restriction and just fiddled it on my log book like a lot of other drivers .Never heard of anybody getting pulled for exceeding the mileage.
Hope Iām right about the above - Iām sure somebody will correct me if not! 
Chris Webb:
Malc,it was in the late 70ās.If you didnāt have a tacho fitted then you were restricted to 450km/280m per day.I canāt remember whether you had to be using a tacho or just have one fitted.What I do remember was being thrown out of Shell Stanlow on the petroleum site for having a tacho fitted in a Leyland Marathon in 1977.Shell drivers were one of the last to accept tachos.I had to run back to Sheffield empty and a speedo head was subbed by Lucas the next day.
I totally ignored the mileage restriction and just fiddled it on my log book like a lot of other drivers
Hope Iām right about the above - Iām sure somebody will correct me if not!
I think it related to whether you actually used the tacho, rather than whether it was fitted.
I worked at Pandoro at the time, and I recall it meant the difference between making it back to Fleetwood from South Molton in the day, or only back to Preston. Of course, many of the drivers lived in Preston having transferred from Preston Dock (Northern Ireland Trailers) not long beforeā¦
That reminds of another feature of the period: union-agreed running times! Again, going back to South Molton, drivers would phone in at 8.30 in the morning and tell you that they could get only as far as Preston - youād no idea what the traffic was going to be like, or anything! These agreed running times point to point were even published in the driversā handbook.
I was amazed to find similar practices still going on at BOC in Thatcham as late as 2000 when I did some driving there, and I still often see motors parked up on the way in to Newbury because theyāre not due back yet.
Thanks for putting me right 240,couldnāt remember how it worked.I was once challenged by my shop steward ,who was only on local work BTW,about exceeding 280 miles one ( 
) day and my answer was for him to take my runs and Iād do his and accept his ādodgiesā at Doncaster,Derby and various other well -known locations within fiddling distance of Sheffield. 
Just let me get on with it after that.
I preferred the old log sheets where you could "amend " your day as you went on,discarding the old sheet.
Them WERE the days. 
That was it, thanks. I knew I had the numbers wrong cos even now you would struggle to do 450 miles 
As for the drivers who knew when they were due back. nearly all of John Forman tanker drivers had it down to a fine art. On a monday morning they were plotting their fiddle for the next night, Normally Woodside Cafe at Goole
Damned good cafe that Woodside and when M62 was opened the gaffer used to run drivers to the M62/A614 junction so they could get a lift.
John Foremans would be in the thick of 'em Iām sure.
Used to like the Woodsideās fried spam. 
and a nice-looking girl at tāback of counter.
Fried spam always won.She said she wanted finance not romance but Iām sure she married a lorry driver. Wonder who he worked for.