Couldn’t agree more with Newmercman, I mixed with the French drivers because they didn’t fight
amongst themselves and enjoyed good food and wine. I also have never been served horse meat
unless I asked for it. Yes I would know the difference!
Hi JARVY, Zug,i have seen it on signs or been through it but forget where ,when i drove in SWISS the quicker you got out the better ,either delivering or TRANSIT.Brits we were targets for the extra fine ,like all the other non Swiss drivers …The 15 franc road tax was a joke ,it finished at 10pm or 2200hrs no matter what time you got ibrought that day, if you broken down [tough]pay again the next day at the border…also if you used the hum pack train you could be loaded weight 44 tons back then ,where it was normal 28 tons…on all roads…but you could drive to the train, that was not at the border ,work that out.i never spent one “sue” in Swiss on food or anything only the tax and fines
Newmercan ,you must be a exception from the norm ,i bet you never went to the local,secondary modern/ comprehensive ,if your my age group 72 they never did languages in our curriculum in the late 1950s so well done ,if you have the capacity to learn them ,i never did
A lot of what you wrote is spot on ,and yes it is a good job we are all different ,this is what as far as i am concerned makes this forum a good medium for men like “my self” to voice “MY” own opinions on topics we know so much about, if, some men want to read it or not,but not to take offence!!, yes even now after retirement so many things that happened in our line of work still ■■■■■■ me off,mostly other mens selfish greed and ill do what i want d so F—k you,and ruined lots of jobs for drivers… one hit wonders…tks pdb
Evening all,
Nostalgic old subject this one. When I first was driving over the water in the `60s it was a total surprise to me…particularly when I stopped at my very first café - bar with a round Les Routiers badge outside. It was like a simple restaurant inside, where I was greeted with courtesy, and seated at a long table with other drivers of various ages. But I simply could not comprehend the cleanliness of the place, the decor was unlike any Transport Cafe that I had “enjoyed” in Britain…Welcome, to a society where the skilled artisan was regarded with some esteem, and rewarded with “proper” food to eat.
Over the years I ate at many, some not so good, some superb. Often in the company of local people, who regarded the Routiers , (quite correctly), as a good value restaurant to enjoy…not a lorry drivers “greasey spoon”. If only our uk culture had allowed such establishments to be created, but it did not.
I am totally at one with NMM, and Jarvy on this subject…if you were uncertain on the menu…ask…it was the pride of the staff to serve you well, and that included advising you on the menu, and its, (sometimes quite, “exciting” content! Language, lack of, or fluency, really was never an issue. Conversations would spring up, and you add libbed your way around. We all had a common theme, we were lorry drivers, and all had a natural curiosity for what we each did, what we drove, what we were paid…and where we lived. Certainly in my case I made many friendships, some that have endured over many many years…its all about people, and how you get on with them…
I never worked in a lorry with a sleeper cab, yet I enjoyed great accommodation…some Routiers could offer rooms, but often I would be refered to a local “Hotel Commercial”, where comfortable and clean accommodation was available for a modest charge. Built, and run, to sustain the army of travelling salesmen who criss crossed France purveying every sort of product to keep its society functioning, their discovery was to me a revalation. Some offered food, a restaurant avec chambres, others had no dinning room, (but sent you onto a great bar, or café)…but universally the other guests were a hoot, and the story`s and conversations that flowed were superb…and never ever did I have any objections to parking my lorry, (from a little 4 wheeler, up to a rip snorting, (well I thought so), 150 Gardner powered S21 Foden with a 33ft box van), in the town/village square, or right outside…
My sadness came later, when I was away from lorry driving, but pounding the roads of France, Belgium, Italy, Holland, and points further north, and south in a totally different career, but still intimately involved with lorries. Often I would see UK vehicles parked at, “well known” Routiers on the way to Spain and Italy, and despite my urge to speak the Queens English again, I rapidly learned to avoid these places like the plague…why?..the behaviour of drunken, stupid, morons…off the leash…grab as much drink as they can, (then cannot hold it), and generally behave like spotty faced juveniles on their first night out alone…Professional drivers…oh, no, no, no…I can well endorse PDBs opinion to avoid them, and he was right…and judging by some of the driving antics early morning from British, and Irish registered lorries, it was well advised to stay well clear…Why on earth did operators employ these oafs?..were they just so cheap to employ?..but they did “our” industry no favours whatsoever…and gave the French Police a reason to target any lorry with white headlights.
Cheerio for now.
There was a way round the dismal scenario that PDB and Saviem paint. We all knew and dreaded the ‘Brits abroad’ brigade who got ■■■■■■ and wanted to fight the Germans because they thought the war was still on etc etc. BUT the wise amongst us soon learnt to avoid the kind of Routiers / Hostals / Truckstops that attracted those kind of drivers, especially at weekends and bank holidays. The ‘cabbage patch’ BP truckstop at Bordeaux and Victors in Spain were definitely to be avoided, as were ‘Containers’ in Hungary and many others I could mention. You rarely came upon numpties in the smaller family-run institutions.
I have to say that in my last days on Euro work the Eastern Europeans had started to get a hold, and sadly, they took British bad behaviour abroad into a new league hitherto unimagined. They’d party all night among their wagons ■■■■■■ on supermarket beer, keep you awake all night and then bang you up in the morning to jump start their lorries because they’d run their batteries down blasting out loud music all night. I’m so glad I drove in Europe while it was still civilised. Robert
peggydeckboy:
Newmercan ,you must be a exception from the norm ,i bet you never went to the local,secondary modern/ comprehensive ,if your my age group 72 they never did languages in our curriculum in the late 1950s so well done ,if you have the capacity to learn them ,i never did
A lot of what you wrote is spot on ,and yes it is a good job we are all different ,this is what as far as i am concerned makes this forum a good medium for men like “my self” to voice “MY” own opinions on topics we know so much about, if, some men want to read it or not,but not to take offence!!, yes even now after retirement so many things that happened in our line of work still ■■■■■■ me off,mostly other mens selfish greed and ill do what i want d so F—k you,and ruined lots of jobs for drivers… one hit wonders…tks pdb
PDB, I didn’t learn a language at school either. I learnt languages in the University of Life: ie on the road. I can speak drivers’ French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish etc. It gave me a taste for languages so I went on take the trouble to learn Dutch and Arabic. It is quite safe to reach beyond the limits of our upbringing to achieve more than is expected of us. Robert
robert1952:
There was a way round the dismal scenario that PDB and Saviem paint. We all knew and dreaded the ‘Brits abroad’ brigade who got ■■■■■■ and wanted to fight the Germans because they thought the war was still on etc etc. BUT the wise amongst us soon learnt to avoid the kind of Routiers / Hostals / Truckstops that attracted those kind of drivers, especially at weekends and bank holidays. The ‘cabbage patch’ BP truckstop at Bordeaux and Victors in Spain were definitely to be avoided, as were ‘Containers’ in Hungary and many others I could mention. You rarely came upon numpties in the smaller family-run institutions.I have to say that in my last days on Euro work the Eastern Europeans had started to get a hold, and sadly, they took British bad behaviour abroad into a new league hitherto unimagined. They’d party all night among their wagons ■■■■■■ on supermarket beer, keep you awake all night and then bang you up in the morning to jump start their lorries because they’d run their batteries down blasting out loud music all night. I’m so glad I drove in Europe while it was still civilised. Robert
True words there Robert!
And it doesn’t seem likely that it’s going to change for the better with them EE lot…
PDB you are quite right, I did go to a posh school, however being the son and grandson of lorry drivers and coming from the mean streets of SE London o wasn’t a very good fit, although I did well academically and especially so in French class as the teacher was a complete maniac who dished out detentions to any kid that dared to speak English in his class.
Italian I picked up from a girl I used to hang out of, sorry hang out with in Milano. To be honest I enjoyed learning the language and found it quite easy, just like learning the words to a song really.
I have been in pretty much all of the famous/notorious stopping places, but I mostly gave them a wide berth, it was because of the clientele, but not because of their behavior, it was more to do with the fact that the Herberts were prepared to accept poor quality food as long as long as the booze was plentiful and cheap.
I’m not saying I was an angel, far from it, growing up where I did dictated that and I’ve thrown my fair share of right handers, but not for fun, only because the recipient deserved a good hiding. In fact I broke up a few punch ups in those places best avoided if you wanted a civilised night out, although I’ll admit that I did it so that the owners never shut up shop for the night, rather than because it was the civilised thing to do.
The whole experience of seeing the real side of a country and learning new things about cultures, languages and food was the part I enjoyed most about the job, I spent so much of my life at work that I needed that extra part of it to make it worthwhile, money was always my first priority, but so was satisfaction, not only in the job itself, but also in the part of it where I wasn’t in the cab driving or sleeping.
Call me a romantic old fool; but I still hold Londra-camp in Istanbul close to my heart. And you had all-comers there, from psychopaths to gentleman-of-the-road; and that’s only the Brits! Robert
Which category did you fall into Robert?
robert1952:
There was a way round the dismal scenario that PDB and Saviem paint. We all knew and dreaded the ‘Brits abroad’ brigade who got ■■■■■■ and wanted to fight the Germans because they thought the war was still on
To be fair ze Germans could do a bleedin good impression of Blitzkreig or the Nuremberg rallies mixed with Octoberfest type drinking and sing alongs of WW2 marching songs if you knew the right ‘Italian’ or Austrian/Bavarian venues in the 1980’s. 
It is a fact that British drivers would have a fight after too much beer or spirits.
They could not handle the booze, the BP truckstop known as the Cabbage Patch in Bordeaux was another venue for fisticuffs.
Many drivers ended up marrying the waitresses and lived and worked in France .
European children drink at a young age so can handle it when they are teenagers .
Drivers would say " I’m not eating that foreign muck " when ordering food .
I used to like the Cerdo de Mano or hand of the pig, pigs trotters or it’s knuckles.
The cows stomach or tripe, or the Cassoulet made of animal innards or whats left after the best meat has gone .
If you were in a hurry, it made sense to use the motorways although some days there would not be that much difference in time saved. If you had time to spare, you wanted a decent evening meal where you could park up or to save some money then you would take the scenic route, simples.
I am sure that I am not the only one who bought a Berlitz teach yourself to speak French cassette along with the little book that you got with it, I also had the German one. 
It not only passed the time while plodding along the auto routes but I found that just by attempting to speak some one else’s language in there country then they often became more cooperative and helpful with any problems that you may of had.
We could probably of earned a lot more money driving a tanker around the U.K. thirty odd years ago but the memories of seeing all the different countries and places like Istanbul, Athens, Venice, Rome, Paris, etc. are now in my opinion… priceless. 
newmercman:
Which category did you fall into Robert?
I was at the personable lunatic end of the spectrum! Robert
And @ ‘mushrooman’: yes indeed those experiences were beyond price, which is why I too earned less globetrotting than running fridges up and down the M2. Robert
I only ever did 2 trips to Italy in the very late 90s and i cant remember too much about them apart from being very non eventful. i remember my first impression of the Blanc and the conversation about the return trip back into France was originally a two way road .We used a mix of nationals and motorways but ours was always a rush job. The loads always had to be there before theyd set off . I do remember coming up through France on my second trip and we left the motorway and went on what seemed to be an endless road to avoid Paris , 1 driver told me he didnt like using that route due to the long narrow dead straight sections with lorries coming at you at high speed , he said all it would take is 1 driver coming the other way with nodding dogs or a split second lack of concentration and that would be it. There was a bloke from Leyburn who originally worked for Arthur Green at Silsden but then bought his own motor that allegedly did 48 trips in 1 year ,2 weeks holiday and 2 weeks the Italians had off, not bad going if it was true, Pete Stalliey i think was his name
Don’t forget also that how you were paid often came into the equation. On one company I was on wages + European night out money plus £5 per day European bonus 
! The longer I stayed out the more money I made, so I often took my time, took the scenic routes especially in the south of France, an area I love, and, as long as I arrived at where I was supposed to be at around the correct time then all was good. That was the year I made enough money to get a mortgage and I bought my first place!
Yet, on another job it was trip money 
We all know how that one works. One hits down or back to Spain (Irun) and Milan. Just constantly pushing to get there so as to turn around and get back so as to turn around and ship straight back out again. Motorways all the way, not much sleep, not much fun, just a drag really.
Good res ponce from all contributors however Robert summed it all up in one" He was glad he did the European driving when he did" I second that 100%,we all remain individuals .as Sinatra sang" i did my way".pdb.
peggydeckboy:
Good res ponce from all contributors however Robert summed it all up in one" He was glad he did the European driving when he did" I second that 100%,we all remain individuals .as Sinatra sang" i did my way".pdb.
A very nice, and very apt reference, PDB! Robert
It’s true, we were fortunate to be around during the good old days, I did my last trip in 06 (maybe 07, not sure now) and it was a miserable experience and had it been my first trip, it would’ve probably been my last too.
newmercman:
It’s true, we were fortunate to be around during the good old days, I did my last trip in 06 (maybe 07, not sure now) and it was a miserable experience and had it been my first trip, it would’ve probably been my last too.
Hello all,
Mark, my last trip as a full time paid driver…February 1969…and I kept noticing just how many UK vehicles I saw on my way back out of Italy…(Mt Cenis of course, I hated that new Blanc Tunnel, and avoided it like the plague). I thought this job is going to go down…when I got back to sunny Shropshire, glum faces all around… the families only European work, (my job)…gone!
.Two months later, and I was a “Junior Commercial Vehicle Salesman” in the deepest Black Country, but my girlfriend, agreed to marry me!..because I would not be away from home anymore…5 years later I was working in France, back home every two months…
Like Robert says, I too earned only a modest wage driving in Europe…but my memories of that period are beyond compare…like PDB says, we all did it our way…and whatever the outcome, it was great…and the memories will live with us forever.
Cheerio for now.
newmercman:
Oh dear, you have no idea. Yes I was one of the one a week groupage gang, I also worked and later subbed for the most prestigious fridge company in Britain, I’ve also done hanging meat and I still managed to use the RNs through choice.I’ve also shipped out of Dover many times en route to Spain as leaving London I could be south of Poitiers long before a boat had docked in Caen, Cherbourg or Le Havre.
I’ve spent many nights in good routiers sat at a table with total strangers from all over Europe dining on freshly cooked food and sharing wine, learning new things and improving my grasp of different languages, all with a wallet full of DKV, EuroShell, Caplis and Via cards.
While you follow the big blue line on the map drivers sat on your own in a service station cafeteria eating bland food from the freezer.
I know one thing for sure, I’m bloody glad I did it the way I did the job and not the way you did it. I’ve got a truck load of memories and made a lot of friends during my time over the water.
Hi All.
Nicely written NMM.
I was fortunate enough at the beginning of my continental driving career in my very early 20’s to have driven for a certain boss in Ferry Lane, Rainham who didn’t pay the peages. We were all on trip money and given just about enough running money to get where we were going, collecting a draw for the homeward trip when we loaded back and whether it was Italy, Spain or Portugal normally shipped out via Dover- Boulogne or Calais and drove RN all the way except when there was a weight limit around certain towns which then incurred a nominal peage fee of 1 or 3Francs. These were normally easily redeemed as a “plus” when fuelling up or “phone call”… Anyway, having been fortunate to have been shown the way by one of the more experienced drivers on the firm I quickly learnt the joys of driving on the RN in France and the Carreteras Nacionales in Spain, Portugal didn’t have any Motorways in those days so there was no choice anyway. The days driving duties weren’t governed by the Tacho !! but instead by where you would stop for lunch and which Routiers you would park up at for the night, all within legal driving hours of course… I learnt a lot about wines from the different regions that we would transit and how to order a proper steak amongst other culinary delights. Stopping for fresh produce and wine at Le Mammout Hypermarches en route was also enjoyable. Pulling in to the Routiers parking area looking for other trucks that you recognised, knowing that a good session was ahead if certain drivers were inside, instead of parking on the entrance to or exit from an Autoroute Aire like they do nowadays because all the parkings are full. Camaraderie !! a long lost word in the drivers vocabulary of today. Delivery dates were always met unless bad weather or a breakdown caused delays, and keeping an eye out for the French electric fire speed radar hidden amongst the trees at the side of the road was a must.
I just returned from a 9,000km in 8 weeks motorhome roadtrip with my wife and children and we covered France from East to West to South and back to South East all on RN and a fair bit of SS in Italy, through the old border at Ventemiglia and on down to Rome and Pompei and back up the East Coast via mostly SS and boy, how things have changed !!
I noticed that most of the old haunts are now overgrown and derelict and apart from the RN4 and parts of the RN10/RN910 there is not much HGV traffic due to the weight restrictions and traffic management schemes. My old favourite stop Sth bound on the RN10 near Vivonne is still going strong but alas no seafood buffet anymore except on Sundays. Stealth speed cameras are every where and the Gendarme and Polizia are rarely seen on the road. I suppose “Big Brother” is keeping an eye on things these days.
It was a pleasure to drive the National roads again after so many years and my wife and kids know all the “old roads” to…wherever.!!
Vive le RN,SS,CN.
GS. over and out… 