My mate got clamped last night whilst asleep. He has been parking on Eastern Avenue where the little industrial units are for decades and parked up there as usual last night with a Phil Hanley’s artic. Woke up this morning to find they’d both been clamped to the tune of a £250 release fee.
My mate got talking to the clampers and the story goes that they’re a national company (PNC?) and have been contracted by the land owners of the industrial estate as a whole to stop truckers parking up anywhere at West Thurrock because of the mess they make (urine bottles & excretia in the gutters) and also severe damage to the kerbs and gutters from bouncing the nearside wheel up on the kerb.
The companies on the industrial estate are happy for truckers to park up on their open premises as it helps security but the mess they’re leaving is disgusting. There is - apparently - photographic evidence of truckers from all European nationalities (INCLUDING BRITISH) urinating, “dumping” and discarding bags of rubbish in the gutters and hedgerows and this is why the clampers have been contracted in.
whilst it is an ever saddening situation we are getting turfed away from all these once decent places to park, you have got to say (CAN YOU BLAME THEM) land owners and companies, at the end of the day some one or thing always spoil it for the rest… i,m sure i would turf drivers off my premises if every day i came in to work to find bottles of ■■■■ and last nights take away all over my car park or premises… i certainly dont hold with these clampers though. they want clamping over the napper. but it must be a last resort for these companies. again its time the government started to look at the problems we face each night,trying to find a quiet place to chill…
The trouble is, Terry, that even the ‘quiet places to chill’ will get the same treatment by the unthoughtless ones eventually … we’ll be left with nowhere to park.
Disposal of rubbish.
My answer is very simple, I save my carrier bags from shopping, and stuff them into the cardboard inner from a kitchen roll and keep a couple in my holdall, hey presto, instant rubbish bags.
When I find a suitable place to dump it, like in the yard, out come a new one to replace the full one.
Dratsabasti:
Disposal of rubbish.
My answer is very simple, I save my carrier bags from shopping, and stuff them into the cardboard inner from a kitchen roll and keep a couple in my holdall, hey presto, instant rubbish bags.
When I find a suitable place to dump it, like in the yard, out come a new one to replace the full one.
it aint rocket science is it… dead simple. and a whole lot more clean and tidy… if only everyone thought the same… we wouldnt be discussing these problems
Yepp, I do the same, take me shopping in carrier bags, hang em somewhere handy, and change the bag every day. I also ■■■■ in a bottle, BUT, i never throw it out unless theres a bin! The people what do aint stupid, theyre bleedin idle!
Mal:
Yepp, I do the same, take me shopping in carrier bags, hang em somewhere handy, and change the bag every day. I also [ZB] in a bottle, BUT, i never throw it out unless theres a bin! The people what do aint stupid, theyre bleedin idle!
I can’t use a bottle, yet I still manage, up to 4 nights a week. And before you all steam in, I choose to park in free laybys and Ind Estates (cut my teeth subby-ing and old habits die hard ) , only using MSAs and truckstops if I have to. I shower during the day in my breaks, and always have a wash in the truck before bed, using water/babywipes which I carry with me for the purpose, as well as for cooking.
I genuinely believe I’m safer that way, but that’s another thread…
It isn’t hard to get out of the truck and into the nearest available covered place. Even if that is the drain under the trailer.
If you are in an MSA or T/stop, then you have NO excuse for not using the toilet provided. Not doing so is lazy. End of story.
And even if you do use a bottle, what is difficult about emptying the contents down the first toilet you come to the following day before throwing the bottle out? That has to be the only truly clean way of dealing with it (if such a revolting practice can ever be described as clean)…after all, as has already been said, someone has to empty that bin.
[zb] disgusting habit. It’s no wonder we trampers get a bad name.
I understand what you are saying Lucy, but as a guy it is slighly diferent!
1st of all to be seen with your undercrackers down in the street we are called Flashers! for someone of the femail species doing it …its an attraction!
I have seen loads of Truckers just lob it out in the most open of spaces and that to me is more disgusting than peeing behind closed curtains in a bottle!
after all if the said bottle is disposed of in a safe manor (ie Bin) sealed then whats the problem?
Ok, I can see you’re point with the first bit…but it only takes a second to pull some trousers on, and the exposure bit is merely matter of careful positioning…
As for sealed bottles in bins, that’s fine until someone has to empty the bin! It only takes something heavy on top, or the lid not being quite secure, or whatever, and that’s urine everywhere…which is a health hazard!
I used to work doubled-manned with an ex-binman, and trust me, he found it revolting too…if you’re not prepared to carry the full bottle in your cab to the next garage, why would anybody else be prepared to deal with it?
We all get caught out, that’s fair enough, but we should at least try and deal with it as fully as we can…
Mal:
I also [ZB] in a bottle, BUT, i never throw it out unless theres a bin!
Mal dont forget someone has to empty that bin!!!.
.
Fair comment Jammy, to save blushes that was the quick version of what I do, but since youve forced me hand I’ll say what I actually do. I tip the ■■■■ down a drain or over some nearby grass off the public path, then scald the bottle with a bit of boiling water, then wash out with water from a big bottle I keep in the side locker. Then I keep it in the side locker till its needed again, then on a friday I toss the empty bottle in a bin! See what I mean, you dont need to be a dirty bugger to get the job done!
Theres the rub Luce, I bet if you could you would, but since you cant, its easy to have the holier then thou attitude. I do and I dont care what you or anybody else thinks about it, I aint getting out of the cab at 3 am getting dressed and finding a bog to suit what others think!
I have never used a bottle. Do what the French(men) do, face the countryside and pee. As long as it’s on vegetation it’s fine, the urea is a fertiliser. But not on tarmac, that leaves a stink which lasts and lasts, well, everyone could tell they were on a motorway truckpark even if blindfolded, couldn’t they?
As for the more serious function that is a definite health hazard but if someone can’t organise themselves to wait between toilets they have a definite problem and should carry a chemical bucket with a tight lid.
As for clampers, carry your own and fit them to exposed wheels. Pretty expensive solution though but perhaps cheaper in the long run.
Mal:
I also [ZB] in a bottle, BUT, i never throw it out unless theres a bin!
Mal dont forget someone has to empty that bin!!!.
.
Fair comment Jammy, to save blushes that was the quick version of what I do, but since youve forced me hand I’ll say what I actually do. I tip the [ZB] down a drain or over some nearby grass off the public path, then scald the bottle with a bit of boiling water, then wash out with water from a big bottle I keep in the side locker. Then I keep it in the side locker till its needed again, then on a friday I toss the empty bottle in a bin! See what I mean, you dont need to be a dirty [zb] to get the job done!
truth be said thats what we all do mal i cant see a problem with it if it`s done as you describe here (which is the way i do it too)…lol
Mal:
Theres the rub Luce, I bet if you could you would, but since you cant, its easy to have the holier then thou attitude. I do and I dont care what you or anybody else thinks about it, I aint getting out of the cab at 3 am getting dressed and finding a bog to suit what others think!
Actually, no.
How can I say that so categorically? Because when I was pregnant and up the road I was (as is normal for a pregnant woman) having to get up 3 or 4 times a night to go…so in the end I got an ice-cream carton with a secure lid (which is the female version of the same thing) to pee in.
I only used it once before coming to the concluson that the whole exercise was so revolting that I’d rather go outside.
Getting dressed a pain? Easy. I carried a light one-piece dress to pull over myself. Takes 2 seconds. These days I have a fleece which covers all offensive bits, and tracky bottoms. Takes 3 seconds.
It’s not a matter of being “holier-than-thou”, it’s a matter of each of us having our own standards and opinions as to what is and is not acceptable!
I agree with David about the outside bit, btw…if you can’t find any vegetation, find a drain.
Credit where credit’s due though, Mal…at least the way you clean your bottle etc. after use is spot-on. That’s half the battle, and if you’re happy to pee in your bedroom/livingroom that’s up to you. It’s the leaving full bottles in the bin/elsewhere which is really rank, IMHO!
Mal:
Theres the rub Luce, I bet if you could you would, but since you cant, its easy to have the holier then thou attitude. I do and I dont care what you or anybody else thinks about it, I aint getting out of the cab at 3 am getting dressed and finding a bog to suit what others think!
Actually, no.
How can I say that so categorically? Because when I was pregnant and up the road I was (as is normal for a pregnant woman) having to get up 3 or 4 times a night to go…so in the end I got an ice-cream carton with a secure lid (which is the female version of the same thing) to pee in.
I only used it once before coming to the concluson that the whole exercise was so revolting that I’d rather go outside.
Getting dressed a pain? Easy. I carried a light one-piece dress to pull over myself. Takes 2 seconds. These days I have a fleece which covers all offensive bits, and tracky bottoms. Takes 3 seconds.
It’s not a matter of being “holier-than-thou”, it’s a matter of each of us having our own standards and opinions as to what is and is not acceptable!
I agree with David about the outside bit, btw…if you can’t find any vegetation, find a drain.
Credit where credit’s due though, Mal…at least the way you clean your bottle etc. after use is spot-on. That’s half the battle, and if you’re happy to pee in your bedroom/livingroom that’s up to you. It’s the leaving full bottles in the bin/elsewhere which is really rank, IMHO!
Fwiw, it’s actually highly illegal to either urinate or ‘dump’ down a drain. These are rain water gutters which often drain back into the water system (reservoirs etc) so in a round about way you’re drinking your own urine (nice thought for you). This is why we have sewers you see…
) , only using MSAs and truckstops if I have to. I shower during the day in my breaks, and always have a wash in the truck before bed, using water/babywipes which I carry with me for the purpose, as well as for cooking. 
