Just a couple of questions that crossed my mind recently, and are directed at all drivers, but especially those that go tramping or do euro work.
What would happen, if your wife rang you to say one of your children had been knocked down by a car for instance, and been rushed to hospital intensive care, and you had to get home as soon as possible.
Does your boss or company have a provision in place to get you home in an emergency, if you are hundreds of miles away or in the middle of mainland Europe? Either with or without the truck?
Also, if you happened to come down with a real bad case of the flu or something and you felt too ill to drive? Would your boss allow you to park up for a day or two to try and recover in the bunk, or would they expect you to ‘man up’ and keep driving while feeling ill?
I’m ill in Austria at this very moment. Been in bed for 2 days now. Luckily it’s a school skiing holiday and the other driver is doing a couple of days shuttling them about. Don’t know what would happen if I was on my own.
Mike-C:
This is gonna be good, four pages at least i reckon
Even more so if the driver drives back without his landing legs fully up and learnt to drive in a wagon and drag and forgets to eject his card while it’s on break and is a polish agency Stobart driver.
Terry T:
Even more so if the driver drives back without his landing legs fully up and learnt to drive in a wagon and drag and forgets to eject his card while it’s on break and is a polish agency Stobart driver.
I have had a couple of experiences when drivers getting home in a hurry was called for. On Fed Ex my mate was heading for Kent with a bulk load and got the call that his wife had fallen down stairs, fair play to Fed Ex who told him to turn around and forget the load. My wife was rushed into hospital in May during the night, I was en route to Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont, my company told me to forget the load and go to her.
When I worked on shows my mate was running shows for a month in Morocco when he tore a ligament, the company flew a replacement out and him back in two days.
I broke a bone in my foot when in Venray Holland. Luckily at a regular delivery, taken to hospital to have it plastered then a hotel for the night. Next day home with another truck. 10 weeks off and an insurance payout from the company scheme.
I have also been in or heading for France when two separate relatives have died, on both occasions all stops pulled out to get me home. The same happened for other drivers should the need arise; but we did work for a ‘proper’ firm.
Few years ago, I got a call to say the house had been burgled at 2PM. Luckily I had parked at Stockyard. Phoned in and said that I was going home. Got a hire van, car not available, and drove to Somerset. Helped wife to sort both her and the house out, and we went to bed at 10pm. Up at 4am, fill the van with red, did not have white in the garage, and return the van, got a lift to Stockyard and continued run. All was well in the end, BUT the company were bl00dy useless.
God forbid it ever happened but if it was one of my children or my partner it would either be drop the trailer, yank the fuse and ■■■■ on, then ring the firm en route to tell them what was happening.
If it was abroad I’d weigh up which was quicker drive or plane and either do as above or do as above and park at the airport
Pat Hasler:
When I worked on shows my mate was running shows for a month in Morocco when he tore a ligament, the company flew a replacement out and him back in two days.
So he fell off the stage and they flew out a replacement ligament?
Ha ha…I actually got blood poisoning from a badly gashed knee that I got when onstage at a gig in Hungary in 2007. I was violently nastily sick for 24 hours and had to board a plane in Budapest in a wheelchair because I was delirious. If I’d been there working, IE driving, I would not have got home for a long time, my knee swelled up to the size of a rugby ball and I was not capable of sitting upright or putting any weight on it for a fortnight! The doctor back here in the UK eventually decided that I had probably got some sort of bleach or disinfectant in the gash that my body rejected by shutting down my leg for a month!
My brother had this dilemma. His son (my nephew) had an accident in the bath he slipped under the water for several minutes, anyway he was parked up for the night near accrington his son was critical so the police blue lighted him all the way back to sheffield in his truck no mention of tachos or vosa it was just get the dad to his lad!! It didn’t turn out well he sadly passed away but I think if its life and death and its a justifiable reason no judge in this land will prosecute you for it!!
Tipper Tom:
God forbid it ever happened but if it was one of my children or my partner it would either be drop the trailer, yank the fuse and [zb] on, then ring the firm en route to tell them what was happening.
If it was abroad I’d weigh up which was quicker drive or plane and either do as above or do as above and park at the airport
This. ^
Anybody who considers rules and regulations to be more important than their loved ones is a clown.
I don’t doubt there’s some out there though; probably the same clowns that’ll work Christmas Day for time and a half.
Management @ our place have no empathy towards drivers, I’ve no idea what would happen but I think it’d depend on who you are @ the end of the day, we have a few teachers pets/jobsworths/ring piece lickers @ our place… Over the years I’ve heard of drivers who’ve passed in the truck whilst down the road & it’s never cleaned/valeted after:shock:
