Hi guys,just a thought,but after doing a fair bit of driving in France,and Spain this summer,I wondered, if we are in the EU,why do we not have week-end driving bans for LGV’s until 10pm,Sunday night.
Before everyone jumps down my throat,I am not suggesting that WE DO SO,but just want to know why it is done in Europe.Is it the general work,lifestyle balance ethic which is favoured on the continent?
Another question on foreign wagons.Why on earth are there so many of them over here? I was heading towards Dartford,clockwise carriageway the other day,and glancing across and behind and in front of me,was nothing but foreign registered wagons.When you go abroad,you are lucky to see one registered British wagon,once in a while,and that will probably be a removal wagon.I think we should either levy a heavy toll on foreign wagons using our roads to fly around,and lets face it,how many left hookers seem to stick to 90kmh these days?Or we should enforce a ban at week-ends.I’m probably going to get stick for saying this,but we need to even up the competition and start standing up for our haulage companies or Mr Betz will take over!
I’d be interested to hear all your thoughts,and please don’t call me predjudiced or racist because I am not.Thanks,Glenn.
simple answer glenn is our haulier bosses are more interested in making money than giving there drivers time off due to a driving ban.this includes owner drivers ( not all may i add) but a vast majority that i speak to say if the wheels are not turning then they ain’t making money.that is the mentality of some people they’d work 24/7 just to earn a quick buck or two.
as for left hookers and foreign trucks alot of guy’s and firms will register their trucks in another country to save money,so maybe them trucks that surrounded you might have been uk guy’s in a foreign registered truck.as for not seeing uk drivers in the continent that’s because there is a driving ban at weekends and they are all parked up seriously glenn there are hundreds over there every day of the week mate quite a few from our depot for a start going to a vast amount of different locations in different countries.
thats easy. because they can work weekends here, they are paid peanuts and they can afford to undercut everyone.
a weekend lorry ban would not work here. we are a small island with a vast population. take the lorrys off the roads at weekends and the roads would be a nightmare during the week.
i personally would love to have a weekend lorry ban but it will never happen.
but a vast majority that i speak to say if the wheels are not turning then they ain’t making money.that is the mentality of some people they’d work 24/7 just to earn a quick buck or two.
Just because they are working at the weekend does not mean they are working 24/7. I nearly always roll out on Sunday afternoon so I can be back home for Friday mid morning. Sunday is by far the best day for driving.
but a vast majority that i speak to say if the wheels are not turning then they ain’t making money.that is the mentality of some people they’d work 24/7 just to earn a quick buck or two.
Just because they are working at the weekend does not mean they are working 24/7. I nearly always roll out on Sunday afternoon so I can be back home for Friday mid morning. Sunday is by far the best day for driving.
but there are one’s that do work 24/7 mate you know it happens as well as i do.but they will get caught out eventually.through their own stupidity
but a vast majority that i speak to say if the wheels are not turning then they ain’t making money.that is the mentality of some people they’d work 24/7 just to earn a quick buck or two.
Just because they are working at the weekend does not mean they are working 24/7. I nearly always roll out on Sunday afternoon so I can be back home for Friday mid morning. Sunday is by far the best day for driving.
I would hate for a weekend driving ban to come into force. I work Sunday to Thursday just so I don’t have to work Fridays. Much prefer driving on the Sunday. Virtually nothing on the roads.
Because it would cost me money.
Tony was going to introduce it but after I had exsplained how I like working sundays because I get paid so much he changed his mind
well it was either that or as Kitkat said the bosses want us to.
I don’t know why it is but believe me if you are on real long distance work with timed deliveries you wouldn’t like it.
One of the reasons I grabbed at the French retire at 60 rule was because I was fed up with setting off for Paris or wherever at 10 o’clock Sunday night.
Nightmare! You finish work Friday night or Saturday morning go to bed Saturday night, get up Sunday morning, have a normal day off then, just when you are stretching the arms and glancing bedwards, off you go into the cold dark night. I could just about make it to the first services north of Vierzon then it was straight into bed for an hour.
I always tell my English friends holidaying down here, keep off the roads Sunday night till well after daylight Monday if you don’t want 44 tonnes fast asleep up your tailpipe.
Now, every Sunday night at 10, I snuggle down a bit deeper in the chair and glance at the clock with a smug grin - and a heartfelt thought for all my mates roaring off through the forest.
It wouldn’t happen in this country because the Supermarkets have to much power and would lobby against it. They are set up for a 24/7 distribution system and if there was a Sunday ban then they would be exempt along with a whole load of other goods.
i had a spell of working from thursday through till monday, time and a half saturday, double time sunday. my wife doesnt work and the kids werent at school then. its far far easier to shop and go out mid week than at weekends, its all about freedom of choice i suppose. i wasnt forced to work those days, in fact it was me who suggested it, and given the chance i`d work those days again. i agree with the principle of parking european drivers up whose countries park our drivers up though!. rgds jon
Yes Jon, wouldn’t it be great to park up the French and Germans etc on a Sunday as well as charge em mega tolls before they are allowed over here. Even things up quite nicely.
And try driving from Oostende to Brussels on a Sunday evening with all the sprouts coming back from the coast. A truck ban would come in handy there too
In Germany many of the Supermarkets are not open at the weekend, and only open for a full day on Saturday once a month to coincide with pay day.
In France although the restaurants and cafes may be closed, families and friends make a day of visiting and sharing meals.
We just have a different culture and family life.
I hate the 10pm start for truck drivers on a sunday, some of it may come from the old border controls. when the customs man would open the shutter at 9.30 pm and let the whacky races start.
It wouldnt work in the UK because there just isnt enough parking or facilities for weekended drivers
Ban weekend driving and you wake up on Saturday morning and there would be foreign wagons parked up everywhere. Or at least - only in the most dangerous places they could find, like slip roads and roundabouts, on the pavement on bends… all sitting at the back of the wagon on folding stools with 3 kids and a camping stove.
Wheel Nut:
And try driving from Oostende to Brussels on a Sunday evening with all the sprouts coming back from the coast. A truck ban would come in handy there too
kitkat:
but there are one’s that do work 24/7 mate you know it happens as well as i do.but they will get caught out eventually.through their own stupidity
It could also be any number of supermarket fleets, or their suppliers running short life products into the RDC’s (spits) . Just because the trucks are running 24/7 doesn’t mean they are all running bent though some may be.
Another reason why Glenn may have noticed a lot of nonUK registyerd trucks around Dartford could be simply because most will use the M25 if they have just come of the ferry / tunnel and are having to go North or West of London.
Glenn:
Hi guys,just a thought,but after doing a fair bit of driving in France,and Spain this summer,I wondered, if we are in the EU,why do we not have week-end driving bans for LGV’s until 10pm,Sunday night.
Yes Jon, wouldn’t it be great to park up the French and Germans etc on a Sunday as well as charge em mega tolls before they are allowed over here. Even things up quite nicely. 