this is the one thing that frightens the crap out of me. i can deal with curtains slashed at night deisel nicked but the thought of being stopped by masked men that are tooled up really puts the spooks up me.
it seems to be a more and more reqular occurance on the road today, theres at least one a week on the news or on tele where somebody has be forced to pull overby villans flashing there lights at them or waving number plates or smashing the cab window while your asleep with a sledge hammer.
heres just a few of the stories in the news in the last month
it seems there just not happy nicking bits of your load anymore whe they can takethe lot with little or no fuss.it must be organised gangs where do they put it all when they off load it and bur the truck out, this must be a trumatising thing for a driver to go through and if it ever happened to me iwould chuck the towel in rather then go back behid the wheel…
I had someone try to stop me last year Jonboy. Luckily it was a private car, not a nicked van. The motorist wasn’t about to pull in front of me n slam the anchors on. I just kept going and reported it to the local police.
No-one, except the police and VOSA, have the authority to stop anyone driving along the public highway. If it was in broad daylight, with plenty of witnesses, ie on a town high-street, I might stop. If not, I would carry on, to the nearest police station if necessary.
About the only thing which would make me stop, these days, is if my wagon was somehow immobilised, for eg, jammed in the back of another wagon. A car or van that tried to physically stop me would be pushed out of the way. If I can possibly keep going, that is what I will try to do.
Of course, if a proper hi-jack attempt should actually be made on me, I’ve got no idea what I would really do, but that is my basic plan.
My basic plan is to wait uintil after they have forced me to a halt, and they get close enough to me, and throw a big old lump of… how can I put this so the word censor doesn’t get it?.. a big old lump of pooh at them, and trust me there would be plenty of pooh to throw.
Argos truck got done on the A444 the other night so i,m led to beleive jon .
Stuffed him in the boot and drove him around for a bit .
I wouldn’t stop i,d press the loud pedal and ram em / run them down .
No chance if your in a layby though .
Given the load’s that i carry any break’s i need i plan them to be taken in depot’s .
We also have a policy of no stopping for any unmarked vehicle’s , what we should do is phone 999 and ask for police ( get put through to local constabulary ) and ask for a marked vehicle to RV with you en route and then stop .
When I worked for Ilkeston Haulage we used to haul a lot of whisky on flat trailers roped and sheeted. But also plasterboard. Just down the road from our yard was a very tight turn over a little wooden canal bridge and early one morning one of our blokes had to stop because a car was blocking it. 3 masked men got out and opened his door telling him to get out. He was a very fat bloke and said he couldn’t because he was jammed behind the steering wheel. While 2 were trying to pull him out the 3rd slashed the sheet to find - plasterboard .
They scarpered quick, cursing, mainly 2 of them at the third, who later when all were caught turned out to be a recently departed driver from the firm and was supposed to know one load from another. .
Think I would have got out though , mind you they wouldn’t have believed I was jammed anyway .
A 2nd hand story, the nearest I’ve come to a hi-jack in 40 odd years. Am I pleased? You bet yer life I am .
I stop 4 no one,even if it’s an un-marked cop car.I show them my sign which is big enough to see and it inform’s them that i require a marked police vehicle to ■■■■■■ me to the nearest police station/DHL depot big enough to get my artic in.At the same time i will be in contact with my depot to inform them of the situation,plus take their advise on the situation. If the said vehicle pull’s up in front of me trying to force me to stop then he would soon find out that he has made a very big mistake as 44ton will hurt him more than me.
It’s encouraged to take break’s at a depot even if it isn’t your delivery depot but a depot en route …
One run we do it is impossiple to break at depot and you can only make it to a motorway service’s ( long haul route takes a full 9 hour drive to complete , in accident’s then two break’s to get the 10 ,or stop out . )
We are advised park in view of the cctv camera’s.
It’s the only vulnerable run .
The trailer’s are like a rolling advertisement , just like jon’s .
Although these are slowly but surely being phased out and replaced with the logistic’s contractor logo and emblem and the rest is left blank , same as the unit’s as there replaced . ( unit’s carrying the contract name being blanked and only sporting the logistic’s company name )
You won’t catch me kipping a lay by , i do my skiveing at depot’s
We do have one run that entail’s key’s phonecall’s and un manned depot …
Hate that run , you phone when you get there and unlock , if you haven’t phoned back in 15 mins the base phone’s the cop’s to attend …
I hate that depot …
I mean given the circumstance’s and that a few driver’s have been done over before there you would imagine the depot would secure the trailer for you …
( quickest trailer change in your life at an un manned depot in a rough area )
Well no !!! The curtain’s are left right back etc etc …■■■■■■’s
Me i back up don’t connect , hop out , put the trailer brake on , hook the line’s up , then start on the curtain’s and clips . The unit is alway’s ready to rip away pulling the line’s out if anything untoward happen’s . The last thing i do is open the trailer brake after i have backed onto the pin .
Twice i have been there and seen dodgy type’s hanging about ( ind est ) , phone back yo base let them know , keep driving round the roundabout’s until a cop car show’s up and watches you in and out …
The depot is only unmanned because security won’t man it
kitkat:
I stop 4 no one,even if it’s an un-marked cop car.I show them my sign which is big enough to see and it inform’s them that i require a marked police vehicle to ■■■■■■ me to the nearest police station/DHL depot big enough to get my artic in.At the same time i will be in contact with my depot to inform them of the situation,plus take their advise on the situation. If the said vehicle pull’s up in front of me trying to force me to stop then he would soon find out that he has made a very big mistake as 44ton will hurt him more than me.
Is you sign a company one or home made?
Been trying to get one out of my lot but just draw a blank!
kitkat:
I stop 4 no one,even if it’s an un-marked cop car.I show them my sign which is big enough to see and it inform’s them that i require a marked police vehicle to ■■■■■■ me to the nearest police station/DHL depot big enough to get my artic in.At the same time i will be in contact with my depot to inform them of the situation,plus take their advise on the situation. If the said vehicle pull’s up in front of me trying to force me to stop then he would soon find out that he has made a very big mistake as 44ton will hurt him more than me.
Is you sign a company one or home made?
Been trying to get one out of my lot but just draw a blank!
kitkat:
I stop 4 no one,even if it’s an un-marked cop car.I show them my sign which is big enough to see and it inform’s them that i require a marked police vehicle to ■■■■■■ me to the nearest police station/DHL depot big enough to get my artic in.At the same time i will be in contact with my depot to inform them of the situation,plus take their advise on the situation. If the said vehicle pull’s up in front of me trying to force me to stop then he would soon find out that he has made a very big mistake as 44ton will hurt him more than me.
Is you sign a company one or home made?
Been trying to get one out of my lot but just draw a blank!
Company one m8
Do you have an order number for it, or even a spare one? Considering we’ve had a few of our Sprinters knocked off for some of the contract stuff we deal with, might be worth holding on to one.
paul@midway:
We do have one run that entail’s key’s phonecall’s and un manned depot …
Hate that run , you phone when you get there and unlock , if you haven’t phoned back in 15 mins the base phone’s the cop’s to attend …
I hate that depot …
I mean given the circumstance’s and that a few driver’s have been done over before there you would imagine the depot would secure the trailer for you …
( quickest trailer change in your life at an un manned depot in a rough area )
Well no !!! The curtain’s are left right back etc etc …[zb]'s
Me i back up don’t connect , hop out , put the trailer brake on , hook the line’s up , then start on the curtain’s and clips . The unit is alway’s ready to rip away pulling the line’s out if anything untoward happen’s . The last thing i do is open the trailer brake after i have backed onto the pin .
Twice i have been there and seen dodgy type’s hanging about ( ind est ) , phone back yo base let them know , keep driving round the roundabout’s until a cop car show’s up and watches you in and out …
The depot is only unmanned because security won’t man it
Paul,i’m sure it break’s health & safety rule’s where there is ment to be a minimum of 2 person’s on any site incase something happen’s ie you get injured I think i’d look into that one m8 if i was you.
kitkat:
I stop 4 no one,even if it’s an un-marked cop car.I show them my sign which is big enough to see and it inform’s them that i require a marked police vehicle to ■■■■■■ me to the nearest police station/DHL depot big enough to get my artic in.At the same time i will be in contact with my depot to inform them of the situation,plus take their advise on the situation. If the said vehicle pull’s up in front of me trying to force me to stop then he would soon find out that he has made a very big mistake as 44ton will hurt him more than me.
Is you sign a company one or home made?
Been trying to get one out of my lot but just draw a blank!
Company one m8
Do you have an order number for it, or even a spare one? Considering we’ve had a few of our Sprinters knocked off for some of the contract stuff we deal with, might be worth holding on to one.
I’ll see if i can get hold of 1 for you,will let you know via pm then if you send your address i’ll post it onto you m8.
Paul,i’m sure it break’s health & safety rule’s where there is ment to be a minimum of 2 person’s on any site incase something happen’s ie you get injured I think i’d look into that one m8 if i was you.
Had to go to a depot the other morning before everyone started to pick the wagon up.
What would you say to the boss though?
“I’m not going in there on my own i’m scared!”
Paul,i’m sure it break’s health & safety rule’s where there is ment to be a minimum of 2 person’s on any site incase something happen’s ie you get injured I think i’d look into that one m8 if i was you.
Had to go to a depot the other morning before everyone started to pick the wagon up.
What would you say to the boss though?
“I’m not going in there on my own i’m scared!”
No simple m8, I ain’t going in What can he do…sack me I wish his arse wouldn’t touch the ground by the time i’d be finished with him.
.
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his arse wouldn’t touch the ground by the time i’d be finished with him.