Mazzer’s remarks are also true regarding driving behaviour.The fewer death’s over here do not reflect the real situation.If our traffic was less dense,it would move faster and doubtless result in more fatalities.
Conor.Simple soul I may be but I do know a graph when I see one.Do you mean graphic?
Why don’t we just get on with leaving the EU, build massive depot-only industrial estates near the ports, and force all incoming foreign trucks to dump their goods there, for us domestic truckers to then run around internally throughout the country?
mazzer:
Conor:
Gidders:
I agree with an earlier correspondant that Brits are the worst motorway drivers in Europe.Motorways are the safest roads in the UK and UK roads are some of the safest in the world.
Here’s a website with a nice pretty graph so simple people like you can understand…
Probably down to luck more than anything, would be interesting to see the figures broken down into motorways and other roads. Drive across Europe and it is noticeable the poor standard of motorway driving here, lack of signalling, lack of anticipation, lack of awareness as to what is going on around them an inability to drive at 60mph thereby keeping out of the way of lorries. You will overtake more cars coming from Dover to London than you will in a week driving on the continent and can someone explain why when I am going across the M62 at 40 ton I cam overtaking cars on the uphill. Europeans use motorways to get from A to B as fast as legally allowed Brits use them for a sightseeing tour.
If you drive a 64 plate tractor and you’re overtaking immigrant cars that for all we know could be 30+ years old, have no MOT, and driven by people that should have gone to specsavers years ago - then SURE you’re gonna be overtaking cars who think a “50” sign means “drive at 50kmh” which is 37 mph, not good when you’re just starting up a steep hill with serious tonnage on back… 
Winseer:
Why don’t we just get on with leaving the EU, build massive depot-only industrial estates near the ports, and force all incoming foreign trucks to dump their goods there, for us domestic truckers to then run around internally throughout the country?
Great idea, Europe could also do the same with any Brit reg trucks totally finishing off whats left of the UK Eurotrans companies 
In fact the rest of Europe should ban all rhd vehicles from entering, this would cut down the RTA’s inexperienced UK drivers have driving on the right on the ‘wrong’ side of the vehicle. This would put an end to all the dawdlers fannying around at 90kph looking at the scenery creating hazards on our roads…
villa:
you know most of the accidents on the motorway occur when foreign drivers or drivers driving left hand drive vehicles move into the middle lane to overtake but because of blind spots they regularly side swipe cars causing serious accidents. Well i have had a great idea that would level out the playing field because most of these lorry drivers fiddle the tacho , don’t pay our road tax , etc and fuel up over there using big fuel tanks meaning there overheads are cheaper so they are doing british family men out of work leaving british kids to go starving.
Anyway , i digress , this idea is mainly a health and safety idea and it is anyone driving a foreign lorry should only be allowed to drive in the inside slow lane or lane 1 for those who think they are clever. They should not be allowed into the middle lane AT ALL.
Good argument until you included that bit, unless of course you can substantiate it? Most? That is over half of them? Really?
AndrewG:
Winseer:
Why don’t we just get on with leaving the EU, build massive depot-only industrial estates near the ports, and force all incoming foreign trucks to dump their goods there, for us domestic truckers to then run around internally throughout the country?Great idea, Europe could also do the same with any Brit reg trucks totally finishing off whats left of the UK Eurotrans companies
The fact that we’ve managed to resist having “drive on the right” being imposed upon us all these years might suggest we might be required to pay such a price for such holding out in any case.
Don’t the Eurotrans firms have left hookers though? It would seem daft to let a standard RHD British truck tromp around all over the EU when 95+% of their journey is on the “wrong side of the road” for them?
DadsRetired:
villa:
you know most of the accidents on the motorway occur when foreign drivers or drivers driving left hand drive vehicles move into the middle lane to overtake but because of blind spots they regularly side swipe cars causing serious accidents. Well i have had a great idea that would level out the playing field because most of these lorry drivers fiddle the tacho , don’t pay our road tax , etc and fuel up over there using big fuel tanks meaning there overheads are cheaper so they are doing british family men out of work leaving british kids to go starving.
Anyway , i digress , this idea is mainly a health and safety idea and it is anyone driving a foreign lorry should only be allowed to drive in the inside slow lane or lane 1 for those who think they are clever. They should not be allowed into the middle lane AT ALL.Good argument until you included that bit, unless of course you can substantiate it? Most? That is over half of them? Really?
Companies house would show that over half of foreign vehicles driving on our roads do not run out of a UK-version yard of that foreign company. That would mean that unless the trucker volunteers to pay any taxes they don’t have to - they won’t be then. Of those vehicles pulled over by police - I’m pretty darned sure that over half of them are guilty of some kind of offence, or they wouldn’t be getting pulled over without accusations of “harassment” being hurled at the police for legitimately going about their duties in a fair-and-square fashion. The comment in red is a fair comment to make, I suggest.
In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK, including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.
Winseer:
AndrewG:
Winseer:
Why don’t we just get on with leaving the EU, build massive depot-only industrial estates near the ports, and force all incoming foreign trucks to dump their goods there, for us domestic truckers to then run around internally throughout the country?Great idea, Europe could also do the same with any Brit reg trucks totally finishing off whats left of the UK Eurotrans companies
Don’t the Eurotrans firms have left hookers though? It would seem daft to let a standard RHD British truck tromp around all over the EU when 95+% of their journey is on the “wrong side of the road” for them?
Many UK haulage companies don’t exclusively run European work, some do regular runs but maybe not every week and some pick up the odd job, but most of their work is still UK domestic haulage, so it’s better for them to run RHD UK spec 3 axle trucks.
And then what about the likes of Trans Am and the F1 teams, they use Left Hookers, so do they get their trailers hauled to Dover by RHD trucks where their truck hook into them to take them over the water?
Winseer:
DadsRetired:
villa:
you know most of the accidents on the motorway occur when foreign drivers or drivers driving left hand drive vehicles move into the middle lane to overtake but because of blind spots they regularly side swipe cars causing serious accidents. Well i have had a great idea that would level out the playing field because most of these lorry drivers fiddle the tacho , don’t pay our road tax , etc and fuel up over there using big fuel tanks meaning there overheads are cheaper so they are doing british family men out of work leaving british kids to go starving.
Anyway , i digress , this idea is mainly a health and safety idea and it is anyone driving a foreign lorry should only be allowed to drive in the inside slow lane or lane 1 for those who think they are clever. They should not be allowed into the middle lane AT ALL.Good argument until you included that bit, unless of course you can substantiate it? Most? That is over half of them? Really?
Companies house would show that over half of foreign vehicles driving on our roads do not run out of a UK-version yard of that foreign company. That would mean that unless the trucker volunteers to pay any taxes they don’t have to - they won’t be then.
And your evidence for this is?
I know you probably never dare leave the UK, or even your house by the sounds of it, but if you did you’d find there were various taxes in many other European countries that these Foreign drivers pay and they’ll see the UK levy as no different, road tolls and vignettes are part of the job for European truck drivers.
In the first year of it’s operation the HGV Levy collected £46m from foreign registered trucks, at £10 a day, it would suggest a hell of a lot are paying it.
Winseer:
Of those vehicles pulled over by police - I’m pretty darned sure that over half of them are guilty of some kind of offence, or they wouldn’t be getting pulled over without accusations of “harassment” being hurled at the police for legitimately going about their duties in a fair-and-square fashion. The comment in red is a fair comment to make, I suggest.
As with UK registered trucks, the DVSA target certain operators with a history of non-compliance, and they have the power to fine on the spot, so not easy to get away without paying.
Winseer:
In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK,
Again your evidence for this?
There are some who’ll try and not pay and maybe get away with it, but then you could say the same about British drivers and hauliers.
Winseer:
including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.
And British Hauliers who regularly run abroad have big tanks for exactly the same reason, and I remember years ago where loads of UK hauliers would put their tractor units on the Euro Tunnel train on a Saturday morning to fill their tanks in France, so they could run round the UK on cheap diesel.
Winseer:
There some who try and get way with it
Now it’s only some 
agreed there are probably some who try and get away with it and some of those don’t get caught.
Winseer:
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.
And the last time operation stack was in place and for how many days?
Most ferry route run weekends as well, so missing the last boat Friday is unlikely.
And if they get caught the fines have to be paid on the spot if the driver hasn’t got a UK address, so no throwing it in the bin.
And No I haven’t seen them get an on the spot fine when under a bridge, because I find it a bit difficult to read what the DVSA man is writing or hear what he’s saying when I go past at 56mph.
Winseer:
In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK, including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.
Re big tanks, why would any euro driver want to fill up on a UK forecourt, the fuel there is a ridiculous price. Big tanks have big advantages, i can get 1480 litres on board, that gives me access to cheaper fuel every week.
As for the rest of your post id say you have zero experience of European driving or how companies operate over here…
muckles:
Winseer:
DadsRetired:
villa:
you know most of the accidents on the motorway occur when foreign drivers or drivers driving left hand drive vehicles move into the middle lane to overtake but because of blind spots they regularly side swipe cars causing serious accidents. Well i have had a great idea that would level out the playing field because most of these lorry drivers fiddle the tacho , don’t pay our road tax , etc and fuel up over there using big fuel tanks meaning there overheads are cheaper so they are doing british family men out of work leaving british kids to go starving.
Anyway , i digress , this idea is mainly a health and safety idea and it is anyone driving a foreign lorry should only be allowed to drive in the inside slow lane or lane 1 for those who think they are clever. They should not be allowed into the middle lane AT ALL.Good argument until you included that bit, unless of course you can substantiate it? Most? That is over half of them? Really?
Companies house would show that over half of foreign vehicles driving on our roads do not run out of a UK-version yard of that foreign company. That would mean that unless the trucker volunteers to pay any taxes they don’t have to - they won’t be then.
And your evidence for this is?
Do you seriously want me to post the entire public records at companies house? The evidence is available to the public. Just because you or I cannot actually be arsed to go there and check in our spare time - doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.I know you probably never dare leave the UK, or even your house by the sounds of it, but if you did you’d find there were various taxes in many other European countries that these Foreign drivers pay and they’ll see the UK levy as no different, road tolls and vignettes are part of the job for European truck drivers.
The UK is soft on enforcement of both taxes and fines. The EU less so. Everyone tries to avoid as much tax as they can though - it’s human nature. I suggest that the UK makes tax avoidance a serious hobby for a lot more people than the EU systems do.In the first year of it’s operation the HGV Levy collected £46m from foreign registered trucks, at £10 a day, it would suggest a hell of a lot are paying it.
That’s less than 13,000 trucks per day spread across every port in the UK out of? … See if this is any good to you for the exact figure… I’m not a statistician. UK shipping services and analysis. Freight shipping to EuropeWinseer:
Of those vehicles pulled over by police - I’m pretty darned sure that over half of them are guilty of some kind of offence, or they wouldn’t be getting pulled over without accusations of “harassment” being hurled at the police for legitimately going about their duties in a fair-and-square fashion. The comment in red is a fair comment to make, I suggest.As with UK registered trucks, the DVSA target certain operators with a history of non-compliance, and they have the power to fine on the spot, so not easy to get away without paying.
So why do they just seem to be moving drivers on that are parked under bridges then? NO trucks impounded. NO on-the-spot fines being dished out. Just talking to the driver, often kicking them out of their bunk and ruining their 9 hours daily rest doing thus. If any British driver tried this though - I’m sure the police would be on them like a ton of bricks!Winseer:
In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK,Again your evidence for this?
There are some who’ll try and not pay and maybe get away with it, but then you could say the same about British drivers and hauliers.
I didn’t say that British drivers were not as likely as Foreign ones to avoid taxes when they can. They just get away with it less, because they have a home UK address to send the fines etc. to. Even today’s uproar over Hammond’s NIC doctoring smacks of “Don’t tax ME - Tax someone else!” Why don’t people just accept change and get on with life? These last two years have been sheer hell for getting things done for those who’ve been on the right side of arguments won… FFS before long - people backing horses that come second will be demanding their money back taken illegally (they’ll argue) from them by those pesky backers of the winner!Winseer:
including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.And British Hauliers who regularly run abroad have big tanks for exactly the same reason, and I remember years ago where loads of UK hauliers would put their tractor units on the Euro Tunnel train on a Saturday morning to fill their tanks in France, so they could run round the UK on cheap diesel. That’s a good example of Brit drivers using the very same system to achieve what the EU Origin driver does as naturally as breathing… It is done to avoid tax. If they were not trying to avoid taxes, they’d use regular trucks for their runs - not souped-up tractors with mods that should be questioned more… Too many lights? Too much fuel in a small space in the tunnel? Entering the country with no breakdown infrastructure? (Saw a Hungarian driver changing his own triple-axle wheel last night… Not very safe to do on a hard shoulder when it’s in the live traffic stream - is it?)
Winseer:
There some who try and get way with itNow it’s only some
Winseer:
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.And the last time operation stack was in place and for how many days?
Most ferry route run weekends as well, so missing the last boat Friday is unlikely.
If you miss the last boat from the continent on a friday to come here - you’re laid up the whole weekend I believe… Not allowed to drive trucks on the continent across the weekend! No such rule here, so it’s a rush to get across the channel on the last friday night ferry then - coming INTO Britain I was speaking of. You’ll be stuck not at the French port, because you never made the ferry friday night. You’ll be in some dangerous layby getting gassed, not allowed to drive the short distance to the port on a saturday - “because it’s not allowed”.And if they get caught the fines have to be paid on the spot if the driver hasn’t got a UK address, so no throwing it in the bin. Why don’t I ever see money changing hands then, or a uniform with a hand-held card reader out? Come to that, I don’t ever see uniforms getting into the trucker’s cab either. Odd that. The liability that a low-paid driver would be taking if they always got fined when parking under bridges - would mean that we never see the same firm doing it twice. What is the point in paying a driver 20% of the UK wage if he’s going to run up a thousand euro fine whilst over here each time?
And No I haven’t seen them get an on the spot fine when under a bridge, because I find it a bit difficult to read what the DVSA man is writing or hear what he’s saying when I go past at 56mph.
You get to see more closely what’s going on when you’re creeping past on a bottleneck down to one lane, something frequently happening on the M25 at night of late. 
this thread needs more colours
Winseer:
muckles:
Winseer:
The UK is soft on enforcement of both taxes and fines. The EU less so. Everyone tries to avoid as much tax as they can though - it’s human nature. I suggest that the UK makes tax avoidance a serious hobby for a lot more people than the EU systems do.In the first year of it’s operation the HGV Levy collected £46m from foreign registered trucks, at £10 a day, it would suggest a hell of a lot are paying it.
That’s less than 13,000 trucks per day spread across every port in the UK out of? … See if this is any good to you for the exact figure… I’m not a statistician. UK shipping services and analysis. Freight shipping to Europe
The Link might have been useful if it wasn’t the combined figure for RoRo and LoLo unit Loads.
Winseer:
muckles:
Winseer:
Of those vehicles pulled over by police - I’m pretty darned sure that over half of them are guilty of some kind of offence, or they wouldn’t be getting pulled over without accusations of “harassment” being hurled at the police for legitimately going about their duties in a fair-and-square fashion. The comment in red is a fair comment to make, I suggest.As with UK registered trucks, the DVSA target certain operators with a history of non-compliance, and they have the power to fine on the spot, so not easy to get away without paying.
So why do they just seem to be moving drivers on that are parked under bridges then? NO trucks impounded. NO on-the-spot fines being dished out. Just talking to the driver, often kicking them out of their bunk and ruining their 9 hours daily rest doing thus. If any British driver tried this though - I’m sure the police would be on them like a ton of bricks!
So you can tell what’s being said and what happening when you go past?
and yes the Police would be onto a UK driver if there was a Police patrol going past and if you did see it you still wouldn’t be able to know exactly what was going and and what was being said.
Winseer:
muckles:
Winseer:
In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK,Again your evidence for this?
There are some who’ll try and not pay and maybe get away with it, but then you could say the same about British drivers and hauliers. .I didn’t say that British drivers were not as likely as Foreign ones to avoid taxes when they can. They just get away with it less, because they have a home UK address to send the fines etc. to.
.
So no evidence
They don’t send the fines to them, they are fined then and there and this has been the case since about 2009.
Winseer:
muckles:
Winseer:
including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.And British Hauliers who regularly run abroad have big tanks for exactly the same reason, and I remember years ago where loads of UK hauliers would put their tractor units on the Euro Tunnel train on a Saturday morning to fill their tanks in France, so they could run round the UK on cheap diesel. .
That’s a good example of Brit drivers using the very same system to achieve what the EU Origin driver does as naturally as breathing… It is done to avoid tax. If they were not trying to avoid taxes, they’d use regular trucks for their runs - not souped-up tractors with mods that should be questioned more… Too many lights? Too much fuel in a small space in the tunnel? Entering the country with no breakdown infrastructure? (Saw a Hungarian driver changing his own triple-axle wheel last night… Not very safe to do on a hard shoulder when it’s in the live traffic stream - is it?)
.
Brit driver using the same legal system.
I don’t think your average East European driver has a truck with loads of spot lights. Much more a Western European thing. And the large fuel tanks are not a “souped up” extra, it’s a standard feature, which you can specify from the manufacturer, the Germans are known to take a dislike to any fuel tank which is non-standard.
As for breadown cover most Euro drivers will have something like a DKV or AS24 card which you can use to pay for repairs, but they are also known to change their tyres, agreed not a good idea, but hardly evidence of widespread fiddling.
Winseer:
muckles:
Winseer:
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.And the last time operation stack was in place and for how many days?
Most ferry route run weekends as well, so missing the last boat Friday is unlikely.
.If you miss the last boat from the continent on a friday to come here - you’re laid up the whole weekend I believe… Not allowed to drive trucks on the continent across the weekend! No such rule here, so it’s a rush to get across the channel on the last friday night ferry then - coming INTO Britain I was speaking of. You’ll be stuck not at the French port, because you never made the ferry friday night. You’ll be in some dangerous layby getting gassed, not allowed to drive the short distance to the port on a saturday - “because it’s not allowed”.
.
You can drive in Europe on Saturday, you can drive from Belgium to Calais on Sundays, it’s called the corridor, and you can drive in Belgium, The Netherlands and Spain on Sundays. You can drive in France with a loaded Fridge and Italy and Germany or Austria if you have a permit. So they don’t need to panic about getting finished on a Friday anymore than a Brit driver and as for being gassed, probably no greater risk of that than in the UK.
And if they get caught the fines have to be paid on the spot if the driver hasn’t got a UK address, so no throwing it in the bin.
Winseer:
muckles:
Winseer:
Why don’t I ever see money changing hands then, or a uniform with a hand-held card reader out? Come to that, I don’t ever see uniforms getting into the trucker’s cab either. Odd that. The liability that a low-paid driver would be taking if they always got fined when parking under bridges - would mean that we never see the same firm doing it twice. What is the point in paying a driver 20% of the UK wage if he’s going to run up a thousand euro fine whilst over here each time? .Maybe the risk of getting moved on isn’t great enough to deter, but that’s down to lack of police and DVSA patrols.
And No I haven’t seen them get an on the spot fine when under a bridge, because I find it a bit difficult to read what the DVSA man is writing or hear what he’s saying when I go past at 56mph.You get to see more closely what’s going on when you’re creeping past on a bottleneck down to one lane, something frequently happening on the M25 at night of late.
Funny because when I get stuck in slow traffic on the motorway, you also quite likely to see a UK registered truck parked as well to get their break in after being stuck in the traffic, no need can write it up, but so many British haulage companies have rather unforgiving policies on infringements, seemly enforced by people who’ve never had to do the job for real.
But even if I’m creeping past I’m more concerned with the road ahead and the [ZB} pulling in the gap I’ve left then taking a long hard look at the DVSA man or Plod on the side of the road.
Winseers argument is so flawed its pretty obvious he hasnt been further than Dover…
AndrewG:
Winseers argument is so flawed its pretty obvious he hasnt been further than Dover…
I doubt he’s been further than his Daily Mail wallpapered bunker. 
James the cat:
this thread needs more colours
Are you sure?
AndrewG:
Winseers argument is so flawed its pretty obvious he hasnt been further than Dover…
Well, let’s hear your argument then. I dunno what “Daily Mail” has got to do with all this, any more than the moderators of this board has to do with it. 
The only countries I’ve been to but not Driven in are Egypt and Switzerland btw. Neither is this side of Dover for those of you that are “hard-of-Geography”, nor are Holland, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, and Spain - where I HAVE been an active road user at least for a few days apiece over the years - assuming we’re talking about “further than Dover in a road vehicle” here of course… 
use the A roads. 
Winseer:
Companies house would show that over half of foreign vehicles driving on our roads do not run out of a UK-version yard of that foreign company. That would mean that unless the trucker volunteers to pay any taxes they don’t have to - they won’t be then. Of those vehicles pulled over by police - I’m pretty darned sure that over half of them are guilty of some kind of offence, or they wouldn’t be getting pulled over without accusations of “harassment” being hurled at the police for legitimately going about their duties in a fair-and-square fashion. The comment in red is a fair comment to make, I suggest.In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK, including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.
I keep swearing to put you on ignore, but I’ll bite for the last time,
That’s an exceptional load of babble, even by your mercurial standards. What experience do you have have of continental haulage and how do you know anything about the ‘opinion presented as fact’ crap that you claim is going on?
Winseer:
DadsRetired:
villa:
you know most of the accidents on the motorway occur when foreign drivers or drivers driving left hand drive vehicles move into the middle lane to overtake but because of blind spots they regularly side swipe cars causing serious accidents. Well i have had a great idea that would level out the playing field because most of these lorry drivers fiddle the tacho , don’t pay our road tax , etc and fuel up over there using big fuel tanks meaning there overheads are cheaper so they are doing british family men out of work leaving british kids to go starving.
Anyway , i digress , this idea is mainly a health and safety idea and it is anyone driving a foreign lorry should only be allowed to drive in the inside slow lane or lane 1 for those who think they are clever. They should not be allowed into the middle lane AT ALL.Good argument until you included that bit, unless of course you can substantiate it? Most? That is over half of them? Really?
Companies house would show that over half of foreign vehicles driving on our roads do not run out of a UK-version yard of that foreign company. That would mean that unless the trucker volunteers to pay any taxes they don’t have to - they won’t be then. Of those vehicles pulled over by police - I’m pretty darned sure that over half of them are guilty of some kind of offence, or they wouldn’t be getting pulled over without accusations of “harassment” being hurled at the police for legitimately going about their duties in a fair-and-square fashion. The comment in red is a fair comment to make, I suggest.
In short, Foreign drivers do everything they can to avoid paying taxes in the UK, including having supersized double fuel tanks so they can do their entire UK run without re-fueling at a UK forecourt even once.
Running over here on a ferry, getting caught in operation stack, missing the last ferry before the weekend, and other undesirable events that make life hell for a intercontinental trucker - also make fiddling one’s tacho almost mandatory and endemic therefore. We UK drivers would have to pay our fines though. Continental drivers can just throw them in the bin without consequence, because we’re too soft on them.
Another Observation: I’ve seen a lot of VOSA speaking to these guys parked under motorway bridges of late - but have yet to see any on-the-spot fines being dished out by said VOSA.
Well said mate ,spot on