The cafe near Donnington park services is open 24 hours, great for night drivers to get food or reasonably priced coffee from.
Why oh why do all the trappers EVERY Night decide to park there for a night out… There are plenty of laybys on that road and the A50 oh and a truck park at the services…
Why park there and block us night workers being able to get some food, this is affecting there business and many people don’t want the hassle of blocking people in for 45.
I did just that, double parked and was asked to move to let someone out in a van that was half way down the layby
I understand people won’t park in MSA’s but in this instance surely of the council is charging the cafe to be there, they should make it a 2 hour max layby like many are now becoming.
I don’t think they should be encouraged to make laybys 2hr limit TBH The number near residential housing that say no overnight parking seem to be growing. Never quite understand how having a layby full of trucks parked up for the whole night is worse than an empty layby with vehicles coming and going for short breaks all night.
Own Account Driver:
I don’t think they should be encouraged to make laybys 2hr limit TBH The number near residential housing that say no overnight parking seem to be growing. Never quite understand how having a layby full of trucks parked up for the whole night is worse than an empty layby with vehicles coming and going for short breaks all night.
This one and ones like it (with cafe’s) should… A layby full of truckers parked up for 9/11/24/45 hours is not good for the business… they rely on passing trade and if nobody can get parked then people wont visit.
Its always a problem with laybys near services, they park in the layby closest for free and walk to the services for washing facilities etc.
I hate MSA parking as much as any man, (noise smell other drivers food fit for pigs), when i had to do nights out my ideal was to find somewhere quiet to park near a (preferably country) pub that does real food not reheated microwave or fast foodish crap and get out of the bloody lorry and become a normal person for several hours.
I’ve no experience of the Donnington one, but I’ve parked in a couple of laybys for 45s’ and had T-Coli merchants whinge about me not buying. I’ll stop where it’s best for me, although this means away from the rat vans. Must say that the one near Bewdley outside the picnic area is pretty good-when they’re there. The owner has 2 cracking lasses working there and have cracking baps of their own…
Juddian:
I hate MSA parking as much as any man, (noise smell other drivers food fit for pigs), when i had to do nights out my ideal was to find somewhere quiet to park near a (preferably country) pub that does real food not reheated microwave or fast foodish crap and get out of the bloody lorry and become a normal person for several hours.
I never park in msa or lay bys. Part of the problem is that a lot drive right up to the last minute of their time, rather than take 5to10 minutes pulling off route to find a suitable park on an industrial est, retail park, quiet corner on edge of town…cafe or whatever, maybe because the poor souls can’t put an unknown destination in their sat navs , or because they will…“get told off” ffs. (ask the ■■■■■■■ who tells you off if he would be willing to sleep tonight in a crime target, rubbish strewn rat infested sh. hole, if he says no ,tell him well neither are you so ■■■■ off!)
If all lay by parking was banned something would HAVE to be done about the UK parking problem, and for those brain dead knobs who park in a lay bys so narrow that they need to pull in their mirrors , they deserve everything they get. (I never pass up an opportunity to have a pop at lay by parkers )
That is one layby i wouldnt park in, not only having trucks coming in and out all night but so close to the runway approach for east mids with all them mail planes all night…
Maybe the truck parking up for the night wants to park up, do his paperwork, get cleaned up, then take a can of beer with him into the cafe for some grub before tucking in for the night?
I don’t park in lay bys but maybe the driver wants a decent breakfast when he wakes up, I know I would rather start the day with a decent meal rather than go to bed full up.
Trukkertone:
That is one layby i wouldnt park in, not only having trucks coming in and out all night but so close to the runway approach for east mids with all them mail planes all night…
I thought there was a law in this country that didn’t allow planes to land or take off from airports during certain hours at night i.e between 12-5■■ I know this happens at Heathrow and Manchester or is that just because they are so close to big residential areas and also that they are 2 of the biggest airports in the UK? I could be wrong though.
Juddian:
when i had to do nights out my ideal was to find somewhere quiet to park near a (preferably country) pub that does real food not reheated microwave or fast foodish crap and get out of the bloody lorry and become a normal person for several hours.
Did you ever walk into a pub and everyone stops what they’re doing and turn and look at you…
Juddian:
when i had to do nights out my ideal was to find somewhere quiet to park near a (preferably country) pub that does real food not reheated microwave or fast foodish crap and get out of the bloody lorry and become a normal person for several hours.
Did you ever walk into a pub and everyone stops what they’re doing and turn and look at you…
Well no, but then i didn’t wear a baseball cap back to front, or sport a holed filthy T shirt, or greasy stained blue overalls or filthy boots never polished from day one when i walked in, i was clean and presentable and didn’t smell, had a good book under me arm and after eating something proper would read me book whilst sipping a quiet pint or two…might have a chat with someone interesting but not bothered if no bugger spoke.
Unfortunately can’t say me good looks had barely or nicely dressed neglected women swooning either mind you…sod it.
Yes i’ve really seen hairy arsed drivers walk into a nice pub looking and smelling like they’ve just cleaned the chassis with the clothes they were stood in, then talk Diesel all night with similar undesirables.
NewLad:
I don’t park in lay bys but maybe the driver wants a decent breakfast when he wakes up, I know I would rather start the day with a decent meal rather than go to bed full up.
So why not call in… in the morning■■?
SteveBarnsleytrucker:
Trukkertone:
That is one layby i wouldnt park in, not only having trucks coming in and out all night but so close to the runway approach for east mids with all them mail planes all night…
I thought there was a law in this country that didn’t allow planes to land or take off from airports during certain hours at night i.e between 12-5■■ I know this happens at Heathrow and Manchester or is that just because they are so close to big residential areas and also that they are 2 of the biggest airports in the UK? I could be wrong though.
EMA is definitely 24 hours… saw 4 landings in my 45 min break, 1 Maersk, 1 DHL and couldnt tell the other 2 as I was inside the cafe
30stone on 2ft legs causes problems for most drivers thats why they try and park as close as they can, its like a saying I always remember, if the doors were any wider most people would park in the shop/cafe/etc.
EMA actually does more cargo then pax. It is the main cargo hub for the uk, and whilst most airports have cargo going in and out, EMA is the main one. The same way that Stansted is the airport for any hijacks coming into the UK
NewLad:
I don’t park in lay bys but maybe the driver wants a decent breakfast when he wakes up, I know I would rather start the day with a decent meal rather than go to bed full up.
So why not call in… in the morning■■?
If I was to start work at 2am and then drive a few miles then stop for something to eat for 20 mins I think I would soon find myself at the job centre when my boss looks at the tracker.
The actual problem here is the chronic lack of parking in the UK. MSA’s and their extortionate parking prohibit their use by an ever increasing number of firms, proper truck stops are either too small to cope with demand or have actually closed down and now have a Tesco, KFC or whatever else built on them. As for other layby’s in the area, I’d imagine that they’d all be just as full. Most drivers are only bothered about parking up before big brother makes a criminal out of them, whether that’s in your layby, the one before it or the one after it. I know for a fact that if I were in need of parking and the only space I found was in this Donnington Park layby then I’d be parking in it, my tacho is my problem, not yours and as the last company I worked for before moving to Canada didn’t pay for parking, I often had little choice but to tramp it in a dirty layby. The problems you face as a night trunker getting parked somewhere on route for a 45 is no different to the problems that every one else faces at 8, 9, 10 or 11pm trying to park up after a days work. Everything is full and you have to take whatever chance you find for fear of going over your time. These drivers are not the problem, they’re not out to inconvenience you, they’re a victim of the system just like every one else.
A better question here would be as follows. Why is the government not being held accountable to provide free and adequate parking for the very trucks that they legislate in to having to stop for regular breaks and daily rest periods?
Britain merely wants to have it both ways. They want to join the EU bandwagon with all these rules and regulations but show absolutely no interest in allowing for the legal and SAFE implementation of these rules by actually providing the necessary parking so that trucks aren’t parked recklessly by the side of the road inches away from passing traffic, with no toilet facilities, which to me is a even more important issue to any one who wants any sort of dignity. Peeing in a bush is one thing but when it comes to taking a dump, that’s something that no one should be forced to put up with.
Over here in North America things are completely different, and I know direct comparison is entirely irrelevant but it just shows that things dont automatically have to be crap for the truck driver as a matter of course. 99% of truckstops here are free, 50 gallons of diesel will get you a free shower, often to a 4 star hotel standard and these truck stops are often plentiful. Some truckstops in big cities do charge but you get 24 hours free parking for 50 gallons of fuel again or if you don’t fuel but spend money in the shop or restaurant, then that money spent is deducted from the cost of parking. Obviously this would never work in the UK for a variety of reasons but I do think that UK taxpayers money should be invested in hundreds of proper rest areas, like the ones in France with ample parking and toilets so that all trucks can safely park, which benefits every one. Parking in layby’s and industrial estates should only ever be a last resort but real life circumstances that are utterly out of the control of the average driver conspire to make the last resort, a daily reality.
, or because they will…“get told off” 
, they deserve everything they get. (I never pass up an opportunity to have a pop at lay by parkers 
)
I could be wrong though.
