Harry Monk:
I accepted that there was an increased risk in taking my boy away with me, but an acceptable risk in exchange for the experiences he would have.
Same here Harry, and exactly for the reason you gave.
I also agree with Pat though.
I took my (now ex)wife and son with me as often as I could.
Before he went to secondary school, my son had been to France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
Seeing as UKT has posted, this is what folks are looking for when it comes to proper proof of ‘claimed’ stuff…
This is a pic that my ex wife took of my son and I in Brussels when we ‘cancelled’ a day.
We took the lift to the top of the Atomium, and there’s other pics of this in the WAI forum. This would be in 1984 (or so.)
I claimed to have driven a 111 Scania in your other post, so this pic now takes care of a couple of points.
I now claim to have done ‘Euro-tramping’ and driven a 1635 Merc with EPS.
In this pic, also taken by my ex wife, my son and I are awaiting customs clearance at the ferry terminal in Fredrikshavn where we’d just got off the ferry back from Gothenburg, Sweden. The load we carried was timber loaded from a sawmill in Burseryd (Sweden) for delivery to Maastricht (Netherlands.) The outward journey was quite circuitous too (five drops in three countries,) so that was some trip for such a young lad!!
This would be 1989ish, so no option to use the Oresund bridge back then.
There was also an occasion when my son went with us to Sicily, and he had a plaster cast on a broken arm (football injury) at the time.
As for ‘Googled’ pics, I’ve still got the originals of these AND the negatives.
I grew up in a lorry my dad worked for whitwick granite company now closed Coalville Leicestershire) . he had a maudsley badged AEC mammoth major 3 max speed 35 mph. I was on the M1 the fourth day it was open in 1959 when it ran from crich junction 19 I think to north London . No heater indicator lights came later…lorry lasted until 1964 from 1951. Most of deliveries were of stone to places like constable hart Brent (hendon shopping centre sits on that site I m told), West drayton near heathrow . In Oxfordshire Sutton Courtney and Stanton Harcourt…and occasionally south cave near hull. I loved the London trips we used to park the lorry up and go to earls court for the car and commercial show .It was a different world then and couldn’t be recreated for todays kids. I could drive by age 12 and was always top of my class in geography
It’s a shame, I’d love to take my boy out with me, but as others have said, H&S bs these days.
I used to go out with my old man 25 years ago when he did the skips and tippers, I loved it, it’s what made me want to do this job, obviously back then alot different, no seatbelts, etc, but yeah, those was the days, learnt a hell of alot more than sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher drone on about Henry the 8th.
Pennineman:
I along with other drivers children would meet - it was a sort of social event for us swopping stories/experiences as well as learning about the ‘mechanics’ of the wagons and trailers.
And now the kids can just come on here and learn it all from the comfort of their own bedrooms, they can even be cheeky to the grown-ups and make stories up without any fear of retribution…
That’s progress for ya!
God help us all.
We felt grown up because we were allowed (depending on age and ability) to do the basics of checking the oil and water and washer bottles. We checked the lights, reflectors, wipers and washers - good fun if somebody was in range of the splash back from the washers
and when it came to testing the horn - well what do you expect then the cry came from the dads ENOUGH!!!
My dad instilled into me the checking of wheelnuts after having a close call himself, he taught me and the other children to look for evidence of rust coming from loose wheelnuts and tapping them. All this was the prelude to us getting our own cars in future years.
If you got to help couple up or drop a trailer, that was an absolute bonus in our eyes! Being told to get on the catwalk and couple or un-couple the suzies, wind the legs up or down, check the handbrake cable had slack in it (handbrake hardly ever used!) and finally the number plate with ‘strategically’ placed piece of rubber band all done in the prescribed order!
Sundays were fun and education at the same time, even just going to the vending machine in the factory for a Hot Chocolate was considered a treat - the day ‘Watchman’ had the keys to the vending machine so it was on FREE vend It is so sad that this is no longer allowed in most cases, simple experiences such as these are the building blocks of the future and maybe we are paying the price now - who knows?
I was about 13 when my dads firm but the blockers on kids going along as passengers. He pushed his luck and used to sneak me in when could after that… used to love listening to the banter and foul language and being told ‘don’t repeat anything you hear here’… it’s why I love driving to this day even though things are entirely different now.
He had a mate who was an OD pulling for Archbold out of Immingham at the time. He used to take me with him occasionally. These were good days as tachograph laws were ermmmn flexible…, Immingham - East Ham - Imminghan, Immingham - Wrexham - Immingham, Immingham - Bristol (night out optional) was a typical days graft for an OD in 1992
Pennineman:
I along with other drivers children would meet - it was a sort of social event for us swopping stories/experiences as well as learning about the ‘mechanics’ of the wagons and trailers.
And now the kids can just come on here and learn it all from the comfort of their own bedrooms, they can even be cheeky to the grown-ups and make stories up without any fear of retribution…
That’s progress for ya!
God help us all.
We felt grown up because we were allowed (depending on age and ability) to do the basics of checking the oil and water and washer bottles. We checked the lights, reflectors, wipers and washers - good fun if somebody was in range of the splash back from the washers
and when it came to testing the horn - well what do you expect then the cry came from the dads ENOUGH!!!
My dad instilled into me the checking of wheelnuts after having a close call himself, he taught me and the other children to look for evidence of rust coming from loose wheelnuts and tapping them. All this was the prelude to us getting our own cars in future years.
If you got to help couple up or drop a trailer, that was an absolute bonus in our eyes! Being told to get on the catwalk and couple or un-couple the suzies, wind the legs up or down, check the handbrake cable had slack in it (handbrake hardly ever used!) and finally the number plate with ‘strategically’ placed piece of rubber band all done in the prescribed order!
Sundays were fun and education at the same time, even just going to the vending machine in the factory for a Hot Chocolate was considered a treat - the day ‘Watchman’ had the keys to the vending machine so it was on FREE vend It is so sad that this is no longer allowed in most cases, simple experiences such as these are the building blocks of the future and maybe we are paying the price now - who knows?
I can relate to all that, especially the horn (and the telling off ) and getting to play with the suzies. Winding legs up was less fun for wee arms though
I have seen our company’s insurance policy and it states ‘passengers can be carried with the owners permission’
In my opinion this is exactly why the whole of the haulage industry has gone wrong no wonder drivers are not coming into the game today.
I always looked forward to the summer holidays and going with my dad in his lorry all over the country by the time i was 15 i knew my way around the length and breadth of the county.
If drivers could take their kids with them today it would breed a new generation of eager youth who in gaining geographical and practical knowledge at such a young age would more than likely be eager to become lorry drivers later in life.
If you look through the thread PAUL GEE’s PHOTO COLLECTION you will see a few kids out and about with their dads back in the day, hope this lad below got a sleeper cab when he grew up…
then the cry came from the dads ENOUGH!!!
