Unless anyone can tell me otherwise I’m pretty sure that Waberers must have the worst track record in Europe.
I often see their trucks hogging every lay-by possible.
Not so long back I got into a brief verbal battle with two of their drivers because I dared to stop for a 45 in Brough viewpoint on the A46 (Newark) and the three truckers already there were complaining at me because there was no room for their mate who was arriving in 10 mins.
I also regularly see them prowling around the M25 and stopping for a break in the emergency lay-bys or behind the bridge stanchions.
I know Stobarts have a big reputation for bridge strikes but surely these guys are worse?
The first pic is of 200+ trucks parked up in a farmers field for the xmas period. Waberers hired the field without telling the driver what it was for, then abandoned the trucks for the festive period and bus’d the drivers out.
It’s a shame really because their fathers and grandfathers who drove Hungarocamion wagons were proper gentlemen of the road - careful, competent and would help anybody. I don’t think its just the Wabberer lot, there seems to be a new trucking culture that is partly the result of steering-wheel-attendant syndrome resulting from trucks being so much easier to drive. It has to be said, though, that driver training standards appear to be as diverse across Europe as they have ever been - no level playing field there, then! Robert
We just had one of their trucks in our yard, the unit was all smashed up. Dude on his phone rear ended another lorry. Needless too say it doesn’t look pretty.
Indeed Robert, couldn’t agree more about the old school from the east.
And yes, these select D press the loud pedal (or select cruise) and just attend the steering wheel lorries have not helped the skill nor aptitude requirements of the job.
Why you old truckers think you are so superb?
Just because trucks are easier to drive nowadays?
Driving a truck was not rocket science then and it is not rocket science now.
All this is a result of a rat race and it’s affecting all sectors of business. It is not the waberers driver idea to spend Christmas on Keele services. He probably just want to put some food on the table for his family.
Can we blame him/her for this?
Markk80:
Just because trucks are easier to drive nowadays?
Still too difficult for some, see pics above
Could you elaborate?
Have seen pictures of many companies in similar circumstances, most of the biggest in UK can be find online in no time. So what’s the difference?
Why you old truckers think you are so superb?
Just because trucks are easier to drive nowadays?
Driving a truck was not rocket science then and it is not rocket science now.
All this is a result of a rat race and it’s affecting all sectors of business. It is not the waberers driver idea to spend Christmas on Keele services. He probably just want to put some food on the table for his family.
Can we blame him/her for this?
Hello mate! No, I don’t think it has anything to do with being superb. Lorries were so much less forgiving in the past - particularly the handling characterstics like gears, steering, acceleration, braking, suspension etc. You had to plan your ‘drive’ on the approach to all hazards so your brain remained occupied by the business of driving a lorry. You are right: it wasn’t rocket science and no one has suggested it was. You are right too, about the rat race but it was ever thus - we all spent Christmases in someone else’s truck-stop to make ends meet. Cheers! Robert
Markk80:
Have seen pictures of many companies in similar circumstances, most of the biggest in UK can be find online in no time. So what’s the difference?
Why you old truckers think you are so superb?
Just because trucks are easier to drive nowadays?
Driving a truck was not rocket science then and it is not rocket science now.
All this is a result of a rat race and it’s affecting all sectors of business. It is not the waberers driver idea to spend Christmas on Keele services. He probably just want to put some food on the table for his family.
Can we blame him/her for this?
Hello mate! No, I don’t think it has anything to do with being superb. Lorries were so much less forgiving in the past - particularly the handling characterstics like gears, steering, acceleration, suspension etc. You had to plan your ‘drive’ on the approach to all hazards so your brain remained occupied by the business of driving a lorry. You are right: it wasn’t rocket science and no one has suggested it was. You are right too, about the rat race but it was ever thus - we all spent Christmases in someone else’s truck-stop to make ends meet. Cheers! Robert
Thank you Robert.
Hope you didn’t find my post personal.
I was just trying to make a point that these days we are just a number on a seat. We are there to make profit. I can do a lot of things myself on my wagon but I am not allowed. I appreciate the fact it was not the same driving lorry 20 or 30 years ago.
Markk80:
Have seen pictures of many companies in similar circumstances, most of the biggest in UK can be find online in no time. So what’s the difference?
Exactly, so why has the OP picked on Waberers?
Some of their drivers don’t look very clever with their u turns, and the filling station issue, even worse being on the drivers side.
Why you old truckers think you are so superb?
Just because trucks are easier to drive nowadays?
Driving a truck was not rocket science then and it is not rocket science now.
All this is a result of a rat race and it’s affecting all sectors of business. It is not the waberers driver idea to spend Christmas on Keele services. He probably just want to put some food on the table for his family.
Can we blame him/her for this?
Hello mate! No, I don’t think it has anything to do with being superb. Lorries were so much less forgiving in the past - particularly the handling characterstics like gears, steering, acceleration, suspension etc. You had to plan your ‘drive’ on the approach to all hazards so your brain remained occupied by the business of driving a lorry. You are right: it wasn’t rocket science and no one has suggested it was. You are right too, about the rat race but it was ever thus - we all spent Christmases in someone else’s truck-stop to make ends meet. Cheers! Robert
Thank you Robert.
Hope you didn’t find my post personal.
I was just trying to make a point that these days we are just a number on a seat. We are there to make profit. I can do a lot of things myself on my wagon but I am not allowed. I appreciate the fact it was not the same driving lorry 20 or 30 years ago.
No probs, mate. It must be galling at times for younger drivers to appear to be deskilled by the comments of us old gits! As someone else on here once pointed out, we have different skill-sets as generations pass. For a start you need to be computer literate and your brain has to cope with a massive increase in traffic density.
What is this? Slate the Euro drivers thread? And pick on Waberers? A large company with hundreds of drivers who do very many more km’s a week than any UK drivers will by the numbers have more issues than a small outfit. Pictures like these can be found anywhere on the net and theyre certainly not limited to Waberers. And what is actually wrong with parking up for xmas? Most of their drivers are hugely experienced decent guys who are just happy they actually have a job to be able to put a crust on the table…
A few years ago every one said the same about Willi betz as they was the biggest European firm on the road here now it’s warberer.
From what I can gather it’s not a great firm to work for and most drivers are Romanian even though they are Hungarian. We gave all seen the pictures of there motors in all sorts of situations but it stands to reason if you have thousands of trucks you are going to get a few idiots and social media spreads it far and wide same as stobart bashing.
The parking on the hard shoulder is rife among all the eastern Euro firms and the police should grow a pair and move them.
It’s all well and good slating eastern euro firms but remember that driver has managed to get across Europe and invto the uk even if watching many drive on to the train can be painful. Judge img by some of the carry on by some British drivers I wonder could they find Dover let alone Warsaw or Bucharest
It’s the same all over, the biggest firms have more accidents than smaller firms, it’s the law of averages.
In the US if you see a pile up on an interstate, there will be a FedEx truck in the middle of it, yet if you key their DOT number into the national crash database you can see that as a fleet, they have a very low number of accidents per million miles travelled.
On a slightly more disturbing note, I just arrived back in Britain today after a 5yr absence and there wasn’t many UK registered lorries on the M25 between Heathrow and the A2, I popped into the new services at Cobham and OMG, after almost 9yrs of North American crap food, I could move into that place and stay there forever, all it needs is a pub and it would be nirvana. Things have changed since I last went in a UK service station.
To keep the post on track, I nearly got wiped out on the way in by an EE lorry that came out of a filter lane and straight across the front of me without a glance in his mirrors and again on the way out, an EE just changed lanes into the wrong lane, then went back into his original lane before stopping and backing up to avoid hitting the big high kerb with his trailer wheels.
I kept at least a lane between them and us when I got back out on the M25 as they seem a little unpredictable.
AndrewG:
What is this? Slate the Euro drivers thread? And pick on Waberers? A large company with hundreds of drivers who do very many more km’s a week than any UK drivers will by the numbers have more issues than a small outfit. Pictures like these can be found anywhere on the net and theyre certainly not limited to Waberers. And what is actually wrong with parking up for xmas? Most of their drivers are hugely experienced decent guys who are just happy they actually have a job to be able to put a crust on the table…
So what your saying is you know how many miles all UK drivers do each week? Please let me know how you know this! and while were at it most UK drivers are also hugely experienced decent guys who are just happy they actually have a job that allows them to put food on the table…
AndrewG:
What is this? Slate the Euro drivers thread? And pick on Waberers? A large company with hundreds of drivers who do very many more km’s a week than any UK drivers will by the numbers have more issues than a small outfit. Pictures like these can be found anywhere on the net and theyre certainly not limited to Waberers. And what is actually wrong with parking up for xmas? Most of their drivers are hugely experienced decent guys who are just happy they actually have a job to be able to put a crust on the table…
So what your saying is you know how many miles all UK drivers do each week? Please let me know how you know this! and while were at it most UK drivers are also hugely experienced decent guys who are just happy they actually have a job that allows them to put food on the table…
Well i cant obviously put a figure on it now can i The size of the island compared to the vast distance across Europe would dictate that Euro drivers will do more km’s than a UK driver and will very obviously have vastly more experience going from country to country crossing borders with various different rules and regs to comply with than a UK driver who goes no further than Travis Perkins Dover. And for the record i never suggested that Uk drivers werent decent guys trying to put a crust on the table…
newmercman:
It’s the same all over, the biggest firms have more accidents than smaller firms, it’s the law of averages.
In the US if you see a pile up on an interstate, there will be a FedEx truck in the middle of it, yet if you key their DOT number into the national crash database you can see that as a fleet, they have a very low number of accidents per million miles travelled.
On a slightly more disturbing note, I just arrived back in Britain today after a 5yr absence and there wasn’t many UK registered lorries on the M25 between Heathrow and the A2, I popped into the new services at Cobham and OMG, after almost 9yrs of North American crap food, I could move into that place and stay there forever, all it needs is a pub and it would be nirvana. Things have changed since I last went in a UK service station.
To keep the post on track, I nearly got wiped out on the way in by an EE lorry that came out of a filter lane and straight across the front of me without a glance in his mirrors and again on the way out, an EE just changed lanes into the wrong lane, then went back into his original lane before stopping and backing up to avoid hitting the big high kerb with his trailer wheels.
I kept at least a lane between them and us when I got back out on the M25 as they seem a little unpredictable.
You obviously haven’t sampled the luxury of beaconsfield services. Every speciality that cobham has to offer plus a pub. Might not get parked though as will be full of EE.
I don’t blame the drivers, there having a go, and I take my hat to anyone who does so including wabarers, it’s our government who are to blame again. Getting sick of keep saying that
There are a few of those massive firms. When I used to do the rigids, there was always a few of those dark green Euro jobbies in Cobham and Beaconsfield. Also seen a lot of those Polish “Link” trucks. They seem to like the T series.
The size of the island compared to the vast distance across Europe would dictate that Euro drivers will do more km’s than a UK driver and will very obviously have vastly more experience going from country to country crossing borders with various different rules and regs to comply with than a UK driver who goes no further than Travis Perkins Dover. And for the record i never suggested that Uk drivers werent decent guys trying to put a crust on the table…