Were not really wanted!

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

Well Is Councillor Jones on the Ball or What ■■?

Reply Recieved today as follows:

Dear Mr Driver,

I am not sure which article you are talking about, could you tell me which paper and when?

As far as enforcement is concerned, it has, to the best of my knowledge always been the responsibility of the Police to enforce traffic regulations. I am not personally aware of this action group and can’t quite make the connection.

Your comment regarding enforcement v addressing the issue interests me most. Do you have any suggestions about how we can overcome the problems inherent in servicing a Town Centre which was never designed to take the volume of traffic we are now experiencing and that has very limited rear servicing facilities.

As a personal comment, I think my record on looking for common sense solutions to practical problems stands up for itself. I am passionately interested in the long term future of Stourbridge Town and I fully acknowledge that this depends on thriving retail activity and all the ancilliary services that go with it. I constantly meet and have dialogue with the business community and if you feel that you could make a positive contribution to our long term plans for the Town, I will happily include you in our meetings.

I know that any debate about the Town usually arouses passionate and often irrational responses, depending on their point of view, but only by talking through issues and finding ways to overcome problems will we make any real difference. I hope you will be able to participate in this

Best wishes,

Cllr. Les Jones
(01562) 720499

22

Clever word play, slippery and bordering on insulting as far as I can see.

23

lol Apparently we’re irrational now!

24

at least this woman replied very quickly and invitied davey on to the platform so as he can air his view’s and suggestions from a truckers point of view.
we are always shouting for someone to give us a chance no matter how small.
maybe one suggestion would be to ban cars from this village/town for a set period,and during this period all deliveries must be done.if the driver can’t get it off in the time scale then he try’s the next time he’s in that area.and b4 you all jump in and say it can’t be done,it can i used to do it in edinburgh.we had shops in the rose street part of edinburgh and a few shop’s didn’t have rear delivery points,so we had to be in b4 10.30am after that the ballards go up and you could end up walking back and forward to the truck umpteen times.it was pedestrianised after 10.30am.just one thought. :wink:

25

kitkat:
at least this woman replied very quickly and invitied davey on to the platform so as he can air his view’s and suggestions from a truckers point of view.
we are always shouting for someone to give us a chance no matter how small.
maybe one suggestion would be to ban cars from this village/town for a set period,and during this period all deliveries must be done.if the driver can’t get it off in the time scale then he try’s the next time he’s in that area.and b4 you all jump in and say it can’t be done,it can i used to do it in edinburgh.we had shops in the rose street part of edinburgh and a few shop’s didn’t have rear delivery points,so we had to be in b4 10.30am after that the ballards go up and you could end up walking back and forward to the truck umpteen times.it was pedestrianised after 10.30am.just one thought. :wink:

I agree! :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth:
apart from, I think its a man :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :laughing: :smiley:

26

:blush: :blush: doh,he had a ■■■ change to hide her identity :laughing: :laughing:

27

I had a drop in Whitby the same… if you dont get there by 10.30 you was carrying the load! :open_mouth:
I just took it back! :open_mouth: I carry it 1000s of Ks on the road! its not my job to move it across the path!

Good idea for a new thread :bulb: should be interesting

28

O.K. Boys and Girls, here goes.

Stourbridge, 5 miles from my house, has always had a problem with deliveries.
A 4 lane ring road goes around the town, with a one way street which is the main “High Street”.
I, for one, would not even dare to drive a truck down the High Street, as the top end is a right angle, and so is the bottom end.
Most of the shops have access via the ring road, with adequate access off the main drag.
The problem lies not with the vehicles that attempt to make deliveries here, but with the voters.

Stourbridge is near to Pedmore and Hagley, the Chelsea and Surrey of the West Midlands.

Take a look down Stourbridge High St. on any day, and count the Range Rovers, Mercs and Shoguns.

After all, I have seen Johhny Briggs ( Corry ) and Robert Plant ( Led Zep )shopping in Stourbridge.

" Not on my doorstep ! "

Niall.

29

fare one niall,so if there’s adequate places for deliveries why the hassle :question: is it just a simple case of small town/village people complaning for the bloody sake of complaining,people like that really ■■■■ me of.these people drive around in there fancy jags, rangerovers and think that the roads are theres.sod them let them suffer.this is why our country is in the state it’s in now,due to people that think they know whats best for there town.they get a few names on the sheet of paper and take it to there mp and because they have plenty of cash it gets done,without asking the people that’s lived there all there life.the ordinary guy in the street don’t count.money does talk.

30

The thing is Kit Kat, Stourbridge is the nearest town.

Where all the voters live ( In their half a million pound plus houses ) there is nowhere to shop.

The next thing you will hear is that there is nowhere to park ! (their cars !! )

Niall.

31

maybe guys like davey should stop sending his drivers in there and other companies could follow. then see how long it takes them to complain that there ain’t nothing in the shops :laughing:

32

I meant to post this last night but forgot :blush: :blush: :blush: It was however, sent to Councillor Jones when I recieved his reply, lets hope he decides to join us and at least show he is indeed prepared to listen to the views and suggestions from the drivers.

Dear Councillor Jones

Many thanks for your promt reply,

in reply to your message below, tha article I reffered to is as follows in Dark Blue:

As you can see, the watchdog group do have a valid point, however, they seem to think that Heavy goods vehicles visit these high streets and town centres merely for the driver to do their own shopping? Obviously they do not grasp the fact that HGV’s are an important part of everyday life, to ensure that the goods they purchase are available in the shops.

There is no simple answer to the problems caused in town centres, if either I or yourself could find one, we would be worth a lot of money :wink:

However, I think that if the councils were prepared to ban cars from the streets such as Stourbridge high street, this would go a long way to ease the situation, perhaps considering loading bays specifically for HGV’s with proper policing, even giving something like a 30 minute waiting period which would be more than ample for most companies.

Londons Red Line Route works very successfully, making it an absolute offence to stop on red lines, however, strategically placed HGV loading bays eases the problem, but, disabled badge holders have to be advised that they are not exempt from these restrictions, the biggest problem I have encountered throughout my career has been disable badge holders just parking where and when they want, simply because they have the exemption. And, more annoyingly, some can be seen running across the road to the shops, now if they can run, well, need I say any more.

I know there are some Genuine cases which does make things difficult, however, as previously stated, if the shops cannot recieve their goods, then they cannot sell, and end up going out of business or moving.

Melton Mowbray Council have a Pedestrian zone set up, with exception to delivery vehicles between 10am and 4pm, again, this system works well during the day time, what most councils do not take into account, is the fact, truck drivers are very professional people, dedicated to their jobs, it may sound unsafe sending a 40 ton articulated truck down a busy pedestrian zone, but, the driver is very wary and would never exceed 5mph when there are pedestrians around.

Once again, I would personally invite you to talk to the Truck Drivers yourself through the Website at trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2 you would need to register as a member, to post, however, you would find many sensible suggestions from the people who encounter the problems the most, not only in Stourbridge but in many other local authority areas, this would at least put you on the same wavelength as the people being criticised by the watchdog group.

Best regards

David Driver

33

Its a great idea if everyone could list and shame all the towns which create problems for delivery drivers…but as we all know…there is always someone out there who will do it anyway…regardless…bit like the rates for haulage really…but then we have to contend with the boss…who in his infinite wisdom probably has never been in a truck anyway…and does not understand the problems…and simply tell the driver that if he wont deliver…your sacked…
i had a wonderful experience a few years ago and a very akward and obstinate but understanding boss…i had brought a load in to the uk from spain…and it was for Windsor council…however…the day i was to deliver was the day that Windsor had introduced a lorry ban…so my boss said take the load and phone me when you are on the outskirts…he rang windsor council and told them we had a delivery of paving slabs and would they come to collect them…there were 22 tons and they would need a lot of labour as they had to be off-loaded in a layby…and they also needed lots of small vehicles…the council said that as the load was for them…it was ok to deliver…my boss pointed out that he and the driver (me) would be prosecuted for contravening a road traffic act…after all it was themselves to blame…my boss phoned the police to ask if it was possible to contravene the road sign and the weight limit…they said no…the council said they had no vehicles available or labour…so my boss brought the load back to the yard for storage…and sent them a bill for this…plus a wasted day…the load was transferred to pallets and left in the yard for them to collect.which they did about 3 months later…we got paid anyway…and it cost them a lot of money and they had to review their policy of deliveries to the town, but i dont know if they ever did for we never accepted any load going near windsor…a great boss nonetheless who supported us in every way…
have a nice day

34

A great response Davey I have bounced down a couple of 7.5 ton limits myself tonight and I assure you all in the name of access and I would like to think with the responsibility of any professional driver. :sunglasses:

35

sorry, posted twice.