robroy:
I would have another go at that one mate if I were you, just read it back and come back to us when you realise what you have just said .
And donāt be using sarcasm and irony as an excuse to regain credibility.
Oh I see, Iām supposed to play by your rules, well what a surprise that is.
As I said mate, ā¦you are an irrelevance to me, so you are not āāsupposedāā to do anything as far as Iām concerned.
That is going to come as a shock to you no doubt with YOUR ego and sense of self importance, but hey! life is full of disappointmentsā¦even my low grade one
i must agree with ROB for speaking the truthā¦as the old saying goes: Truth hurts> Anyway he was slated for that, and the fact he dared to say he is looking after number 1ā¦isnt that what we are all supposed to e doing, and F*** everyone else. No one looked after me when i had nothing, when my cupboards were bare, and had to scrounge, beg for food to feed, where were the Holier than thou brigade then. I started in this industry, many
years ago, and i have fought for this industry, i have joined strikes, i have broken picket lines, but i did care. I have many miles under my belt, and although i dont see many uk international companies working as i used to, there are still some left, sadly they wont employ someone like me who has vast experience, been there and done it, maybe because of my age, but although 71 next week, i still enjoy the international work, so i had to resort to driving a BG registered truck to fulfill my wishesā¦i am frowned upon for this too, i dont get flashed in, no one comes to my truck when parked upā¦Exceptā¦east europeans, who quite often and willing to let me share their food and drink, not that i need it, i can afford to eat out, but i accept their offer as friendship. Many are surprised to see an englishman, driving a right hand drive bg registered vehicle, and speaking their language, and often ask the usual, what is the pay, are there any jobs, take my phone number etc.
I dont give a ā ā ā ā who i work for tbh, as i too look after no 1 and wont work for crap money, or conditions, in fact my average day is 12 hours, my drive is 8 hrs and sometimes more depending on where i want to beā¦i wont work 15 hr days with only a nine offā¦because i am still waging my one man crusade against excessive hoursā¦you lot can feel free if you want to be treated like a big Cā¦but my boss is negotiable, like i amā¦if he wants me on a ferry i will help in that respectā¦if and when i choose toā¦and for this i get Ā£2000 in the bank every 4 weeksā¦and i get to spend his running money on my baguettes and coffeeā¦not a fortune but if i was receiving that from a uk company it would equate to around Ā£700 per week + the other drivers get 1800 euros in the bankā¦a fortune for them. So ive had my say, and am gonna wind downā¦i need a coffee and a ciggy, but next time you see a foreign reg vehicle, it could be an english driver, the same goes for when you dont flash us in, whatever that message means.
eagerbeaver:
Itās nothing to do with running a business or not. For the record I had my own business for a number of years (not truck related), and only stopped doing it because of an unfortunate family break up.
I did not think I was better than anyone else then, just as I did not when I was homeless for a short period in my life. I was brought up in a really nice area bordering a golf course, and then lived in a mouldy flat above a shop in Northwich as a teenager before then graduating to a council flat in a very rough area of Warrington.
After that I worked every hour I could in some of the worst jobs possible so that I could get away from all the drug abuse and crime on this estate. I managed to save enough money up to get myself started in a small business, and from there got out of the estate and grew my business to such an extent that I quickly had money in my pocket and managed to buy a brand new 4 bed house in Warrington.
The thing is though Lawn Cack, I have never looked down my nose at ANYONE in life, but you do.
You come across as a sad and conceited individual, full of arrogance and self importance. Let you into a secret fellaā¦you crap out of a hole like I do. You drive a truck like I do. And you will either end up buried or burnt like I will be.
When you have little respect for others, no one will have ANY respect for you. Wake up and smell the coffee. (Chester services is highly recommended)
When I went bust many years ago (through little fault of my own btw, but thatās another story, and I donāt really care any longer anway for the record) I came across many types like him, self assured conceited pricks, a lot of who had pretended to be my friends, but when I was on my arse they did not want to know me, I was no longer on their social radar, all assorted snobs and egotists and full of their own importance.
On the other hand I discovered who my REAL friends are.
Incidentally a couple were victims of the recession later on and ended up like me, and I laughed my ā ā ā ā off watching them eat humble pie when they met me.
I have never looked down socially on anyone, even when sat in my brand new house in a very select area with my Jag on the drive and setting off on one of my two foreign hols per year, ā¦and I am certainly in no position to do it now
but I kept my marriage which was much more important, and it has made me a better man today, and more aware of how to deal with crap and d/heads.
So Trucknets answer to Richard Branson, who has clearly backfired by coming the big ā I amā and his attempted insults will never phase me in any way.
So letās get back to the original thread subject eh , and get off my favourite subjectā¦MEā¦joking btw.
seems pretty simple really, weāre a small island country with a rapidly expanding populace who need imports to keep the country going, from food to raw materials for our own (dwindling) manufacturing industry.
Weāre never going to export as much goods as we use, so do some people think UK firms will happily send their trucks daily over there empty just to pick up what we need at todays rates?
Might as well complain that all the big container ships coming into the ports around the country arenāt British ones either.
Btw, see plenty of english trucks in the queues at the eurotunnel everyday each way.
they wont b there when the 45 ruling come in or wto ruling were every haulier with av 2 go the customs and back 2 place of originā¦and sooner the better in my eyes ā¦have a good day from a sunny Tenerife
newmercman:
So whatās the difference between Cobham Services being full of EE trucks and Carisio, Coslada, Lokeren, Macon, Rheinbollen and Venlo being full of British trucks as they used to be?
Not to mention the UK registered units that used to run out of Zeebrugge, the Total was full of bobtail UK units every night.
Now here you are complaining about the EEs doing exactly what we did for years and years.
Even complaining about them ā ā ā ā ā ā ā in laybys and throwing their rubbish out. Weāll Iāve ā ā ā ā ā ā on the floor of every country Iāve ever been to and so has every lorry driver in every country in the world. The term going for a spreadaxle was coined by British drivers taking a dump under the trailer and I can remember laybys being full of rubbish as far back as I can remember, long before I ever saw a lorry from Eastern Europe in the UK.
We used to have a thriving international transport industry for one reason, we were cheaper than the rest, now weāve been out maneuvered by the EEs.
Crying that it isnāt fair isnāt going to do anyone any good, itās the way it is and it aināt going to change unfortunately, time to move on and look forwards, looking back is a waste of time.
Very true ā¦a man who talks sense and states facts instead of drivercrap.
As well as the foreign regd trucks thing on here, itās like all the belly aching on here about foreign drivers on Brit trucks.
Yeh I agree, itās crap, and arguably maybe they COULD be keeping wages down, (although all the stuff about them being on a lower rate than a Brit on the same co. is on the whole ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā )
BUTā¦ wtf can you do about it ā ā ?
If there had been on line forums in the 80s/90s I bet Dutch drivers would have been kicking off about āāThose bloody Brits taking our jobs, and keeping our wages downāā
Nobody has the nous, backbone or ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā as they once used to have, to stand together to even attempt to do something positive, or try to improve or stop it.
Nobody is interested in joining a ā¦ooh so nasty Union anymore because instead of looking at it as a possibility it is much easier to jump on the bandwagon and chantā¦they āādonāt believe in themāāā .
They would rather just bore everybody [zb] less and moan about it to everyone on here and their mates in the pub instead.
As I said what can you do ā ā ?
Well the answer to that is if you can not at least TRY and stand together is.
ā ā ā ā it all up and shut the [zb] up for Christās sake, as I and many others are ā ā ā ā ā ā off with hearing it all about foreign drivers this and foreign regd trucks that.
ā¦And breathe outā¦ahhhh.
not like you rob to sit on the fence on this one did you know you can grt gin and tonick in cans now fucin progress or what
newmercman:
So whatās the difference between Cobham Services being full of EE trucks and Carisio, Coslada, Lokeren, Macon, Rheinbollen and Venlo being full of British trucks as they used to be?
Not to mention the UK registered units that used to run out of Zeebrugge, the Total was full of bobtail UK units every night.
Now here you are complaining about the EEs doing exactly what we did for years and years.
Even complaining about them ā ā ā ā ā ā ā in laybys and throwing their rubbish out. Weāll Iāve ā ā ā ā ā ā on the floor of every country Iāve ever been to and so has every lorry driver in every country in the world. The term going for a spreadaxle was coined by British drivers taking a dump under the trailer and I can remember laybys being full of rubbish as far back as I can remember, long before I ever saw a lorry from Eastern Europe in the UK.
We used to have a thriving international transport industry for one reason, we were cheaper than the rest, now weāve been out maneuvered by the EEs.
Crying that it isnāt fair isnāt going to do anyone any good, itās the way it is and it aināt going to change unfortunately, time to move on and look forwards, looking back is a waste of time.
Itās all about doing whatās in the national interest.If I was Polish etc Iād want whatever is good for Poland but Iām not.Which leaves the simple question would you support opening up the North American transport market to Mexican hauliers both for third country operations and cabotage under NAFTA ?.Which would be the exact same analogy.If not then why the double standards in that whatās good/fair for Canada/US is also good for us.The same applies regarding the Australian/NZ type work permit situation.In which driving trucks is off the menu.
not like you rob to sit on the fence on this one did you know you can grt gin and tonick in cans now fucin progress or what
if
Rob is more a Campari and Soda manā¦
Yeh I try and regain and maintain a certain intelectual elegance and sophistication while sat in the back yard of my council house on āāThe Estateāā with my whippets, struggling to keep them off my pigeons if I can, and definitely away from my Pit Bull Tyson.
I can be seen sat like a lord in the old armchair that has been dumped by someone in my front garden, with my feet up on our old washing machine I chucked in there about 10 yrs ago sat with my Campari (shaken not stirred) often sat chatting with my neighbourā¦ who is in fact a bit of a celebrity, he has appeared on the Jeremy Kyle show at least twice, and an appearance on āLife on benefitsā.
Anyway the wife tells me the bailiffs are at the door, if it aint them itās the ā ā ā ā leccy man trying to catch me fiddling the meter, or that bloody drug dealer next door but one, getting fire bombed againā¦ so must dash.
Lord tractor does not know heās born in his mansion.
not like you rob to sit on the fence on this one did you know you can grt gin and tonick in cans now fucin progress or what
if
Rob is more a Campari and Soda manā¦
Yeh I try and regain and maintain a certain intelectual elegance and sophistication while sat in the back yard of my council house on āāThe Estateāā with my whippets, struggling to keep them off my pigeons if I can, and definitely away from my Pit Bull Tyson.
I can be seen sat like a lord in the old armchair that has been dumped by someone in my front garden, with my feet up on our old washing machine I chucked in there about 10 yrs ago sat with my Campari (shaken not stirred) often sat chatting with my neighbourā¦ who is in fact a bit of a celebrity, he has appeared on the Jeremy Kyle show at least twice, and an appearance on āLife on benefitsā.
Anyway the wife tells me the bailiffs are at the door, if it aint them itās the [zb] leccy man trying to catch me fiddling the meter, or that bloody drug dealer next door but one, getting fire bombed againā¦ so must dash.
Lord tractor does not know heās born in his mansion.
[/quote ]
The lady doth protest too much, methinksā¦
newmercman:
Franglais, as you say, we were among the few that used a blue book as it was intended, but we werenāt alone.
Yes the lorries in Zeebrugge were tipping and loading to/from the UK, but I donāt think the Belgian traction boys were too happy about it.
I can remember retail parks starting to ban overnight parking in the 90s, long before the EE invasion, the reason was because of the mess the drivers were leaving behind, you say itās worse now, that may be the case, but it was still an issue before they came, who knows, they could have adopted a when in Rome attitude.
There is an awful lot going on here. I started on Euro work in the back end of the 80s. I still do a bit. The cowboy UK outfits running then were largely matched by the cowboy Dutch outfits and most other countries. The world was a different place, and although Ill prop up a bar with others and fondly reminisce I wouldnt want to return. The EE drivers we have now are nothing like as professional as those from that era. Most EEs from then were perfectly competent drivers. They were well paid by the standards of their own country and got on with the job properly. From talking to one of the current crop it seems they are not so well treated today. From what he was saying (a Romanian driver for a Spanish firm) the transport companies now running are only offering a little more than a domestic wage for drivers to go away. They really are cutting down on everything they can. And the standard is dropping. They are no longer the pros doing a good job we remember, but steering wheel attendants. IMHO the rest areas are dirtier now than before. There are as many or maybe more clean up crews out there but theyre losing the battle. I dont maintain all EE citizens are dirty or anything, but with less western trucks and more EE what are we to think? I dont want to be prejudiced, but I wont ignore the evidence of my own eyes in the name of P.C. The restaurants we used are closing. More trucks on the road, more drivers, but less restaurants. They cant afford to eat out as we used to. Cant blame them for wanting to send money home rather than go on the booze can we? Heres a few figures if youre interested. Its from WHO on road deaths, but may be a hint about driving standards?
https:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate/
Extracting a few bits, Road Fatalities Per Hundred Thousand Vehicles.
UK 3.6
France 7.6
Germany 6.8
Poland 15.8
Hungary 20.7
Romania 31.4
Not proof positive, but a bit of a hint I`d say?
I do agree with you, their driving standards are appalling, but then again that isnāt exclusive to the EEs.
The places we(I started in the late 80s too) stopped at are disappearing fast, but with all the bypasses and lorry bans that would possibly be the case anyway.
The big influx of, first Polish and then the rest did have a detrimental effect on wages, prior to their arrival there was some bloody good money to be earned.
However, that was only because of supply and demand, there wasnāt enough drivers, so employers went EE, but on top of that the agencies jumped in to āsave the dayā and they capitalised on the EEs, using them to manipulate themselves into the position they are in now.
Everybody blames the players, but itās the game thatās at fault, itās all about money.
newmercman:
I do agree with you, their driving standards are appalling, but then again that isnāt exclusive to the EEs.
The places we(I started in the late 80s too) stopped at are disappearing fast, but with all the bypasses and lorry bans that would possibly be the case anyway.
The big influx of, first Polish and then the rest did have a detrimental effect on wages, prior to their arrival there was some bloody good money to be earned.
However, that was only because of supply and demand, there wasnāt enough drivers, so employers went EE, but on top of that the agencies jumped in to āsave the dayā and they capitalised on the EEs, using them to manipulate themselves into the position they are in now.
Everybody blames the players, but itās the game thatās at fault, itās all about money.
.
Union anymore because instead of looking at it as a possibility it is much easier to jump on the bandwagon and chantā¦they āādonāt believe in themāāā 
did you know you can grt gin and tonick in cans now fucin progress or what 