Hi all,
At 0400 this morning because of the problems on the M25 i reached my 15 hour limit so had to park up on Trowell services for 9 hours, even though two hours previous i was told that i would be picked up in the van but later the office sead they could not as i was out of driving time, At this I contemplated running back reguardless of the law of the land, but sorry to say I chickened out, and paid the £21 parking charge. However i did get a full breckey out of it and about a half hours sleep, so I have lost todays pay because i am to tired to work.
Now the point in all this woffel to all the driving taco experts on here is that I think i am far more dangerous on the road after spending 9 sleepless hours in a cab although legal, than i would driving 2 and half hours above the 15 hour limit, and i would like to know if i could of got away with driving back to warrington due to lack of facilities. i.e. no pillow, bedding,and pee vessal.Also do the company for which i work not have a duty of care to there staff reguarding making sure that drivers are picked up and returned to base.
Thanks for any forthcomming advice and comments.
i thought that if they picked you up and there was Somone driving you that was ok , if they wanted you to drive it wasnt
If your base is Warrington and the run takes you as far South as the M25 then a night out should be expected and you should have had overnight kit with you.
jjmorris1960:
Hi all,
At 0400 this morning because of the problems on the M25 i reached my 15 hour limit so had to park up on Trowell services for 9 hours, even though two hours previous i was told that i would be picked up in the van but later the office sead they could not as i was out of driving time, At this I contemplated running back reguardless of the law of the land, but sorry to say I chickened out, and paid the £21 parking charge. However i did get a full breckey out of it and about a half hours sleep, so I have lost todays pay because i am to tired to work.
Now the point in all this woffel to all the driving taco experts on here is that I think i am far more dangerous on the road after spending 9 sleepless hours in a cab although legal, than i would driving 2 and half hours above the 15 hour limit, and i would like to know if i could of got away with driving back to warrington due to lack of facilities. i.e. no pillow, bedding,and pee vessal.Also do the company for which i work not have a duty of care to there staff reguarding making sure that drivers are picked up and returned to base.
Thanks for any forthcomming advice and comments.
What was the problem with getting sleep in the cab? I’m assuming it was a sleeper and not an across the seats job.
If you had no kit with you how is that the firms fault, I would say it was lack of planning for the unforseen on your part.
If you were daft enough to risk a 17 hour spread over then you deserve to get done, however you didn,t, but the co. completed their duty of care by providing you with a sleeper cab, it ain’t there responsibility to provide you with bog paper etc 
Assuming that you had no more extended driving days available 2½ hours over your driving time is way too much to expect to be let off, 15 minutes you can get away with but not 2½ hours.
Your company could not legally pick you up because the time spent travelling back to base would have counted as other work and you’d already done 15 hours, therefore the travelling time would have made it impossible for you to have the required daily rest period within the period of 24 hours.
So I’m afraid that legally the answer to both of your questions is no, no you most likely would not get away with driving 2½ hours over your driving time and no they could not legally pick you up.
Moral of story always prepare for the unexpected. I always carry wash kit. Inflatable pillow basic dry food bags. Kettle. You never know.
Martin:
If your base is Warrington and the run takes you as far South as the M25 then a night out should be expected and you should have had overnight kit with you.
+1
It must be amateur hour again.
Thanks for all replies,although i should of mentioned that the last time i had to do a night out was last march which is the reason i do not take night out gear with me.
It’s when I hear things like this I’m glad I have my own truck.
If I end up getting caught out unplanned I have all my gear and stuff with me so it ain’t no drama.
A breakdown, a puncture, a bad smash and an ordinary day can go poop up.
There no such thing as an unplanned night out, just an unprepared driver.
Once your given a job & prior to departure, it doesn’t take much to figure out that maybe there might be the slightest possibility that that trip might goe ■■■■ up and leave you out for the night, so gear up for the worst case scenario
Fail to prepare…Prepare to fail.
FFS you are meant to be a PROFESSIONAL driver, that far from home, how long does it take to throw the overnight kitbag on the bed. All of 10 seconds.
Always taken by me Everywhere !!! mainly due to me liking my biscuits and kettle !
When you’re on day work and driving different units each day it’s not practical to take night out gear to work with you every day. I’ve been driving for 9 years and never done a night out yet and only come close to it on 2 occasions.
I have to agree with others that Warrington to the M25 area and back is pushing it a tad, personally if I had been given that run to do I would be telling them to shove it on the grounds that if there were to be a slight hold up I would not make it back.
If I did get caught out like you did I would be booking into a hotel for the night at the company’s expense, I’m ■■■■ ed if I’d be spending the night in a truck with no facilities
Big Roy:
When you’re on day work and driving different units each day it’s not practical to take night out gear to work with you every day. I’ve been driving for 9 years and never done a night out yet and only come close to it on 2 occasions.
I have to agree with others that Warrington to the M25 area and back is pushing it a tad, personally if I had been given that run to do I would be telling them to shove it on the grounds that if there were to be a slight hold up I would not make it back.
If I did get caught out like you did I would be booking into a hotel for the night at the company’s expense, I’m [zb] ed if I’d be spending the night in a truck with no facilities
Whats not practical in having a holdall with a sleeping bag/spare clothes/wash stuff,its not rocket science.If you venture onto the m25 on a friday there is every chance you’ll be held up.
mb14:
Big Roy:
When you’re on day work and driving different units each day it’s not practical to take night out gear to work with you every day. I’ve been driving for 9 years and never done a night out yet and only come close to it on 2 occasions.
I have to agree with others that Warrington to the M25 area and back is pushing it a tad, personally if I had been given that run to do I would be telling them to shove it on the grounds that if there were to be a slight hold up I would not make it back.
If I did get caught out like you did I would be booking into a hotel for the night at the company’s expense, I’m [zb] ed if I’d be spending the night in a truck with no facilitiesWhats not practical in having a holdall with a sleeping bag/spare clothes/wash stuff,its not rocket science.If you venture onto the m25 on a friday there is every chance you’ll be held up.
If you venture onto the M25 on any day of the week there is a good chance you’ll be held up.
I have a fitted bedsheet, 2 pillows, and a 10.5tog duvet in my motor and i havent had a night out in aprox 4 years.
Always expect the unexpected.
I did a 4 day job once, tip Switzerland, reload Strasbourg, back to the yard, i had to take another motor, only took my bedding and 3 days of clothes.
The job was regular, id done it around 6 times, well this time there was no reload in Strasbourg, i ended up with 4 collections around Milan, and 4 deliveries in Portugal, total time of the job including weekends out and a day or 2 waiting for a reload was 15 days.
That is why i always carry a bed even thou ive not had a night out in years.
Big Roy:
When you’re on day work and driving different units each day it’s not practical to take night out gear to work with you every day. I’ve been driving for 9 years and never done a night out yet and only come close to it on 2 occasions.
I have to agree with others that Warrington to the M25 area and back is pushing it a tad, personally if I had been given that run to do I would be telling them to shove it on the grounds that if there were to be a slight hold up I would not make it back.
If I did get caught out like you did I would be booking into a hotel for the night at the company’s expense, I’m [zb] ed if I’d be spending the night in a truck with no facilities
One ex army kitbag with a shoulder strap ■■?
FFS . It’s called survival training
Contraflow:
Martin:
If your base is Warrington and the run takes you as far South as the M25 then a night out should be expected and you should have had overnight kit with you.+1
It must be amateur hour again.
+2 especially on a Friday.
You should of booked into the hotel & got the company to pay for it on the company credit card.
mb14:
Big Roy:
When you’re on day work and driving different units each day it’s not practical to take night out gear to work with you every day. I’ve been driving for 9 years and never done a night out yet and only come close to it on 2 occasions.
I have to agree with others that Warrington to the M25 area and back is pushing it a tad, personally if I had been given that run to do I would be telling them to shove it on the grounds that if there were to be a slight hold up I would not make it back.
If I did get caught out like you did I would be booking into a hotel for the night at the company’s expense, I’m [zb] ed if I’d be spending the night in a truck with no facilitiesWhats not practical in having a holdall with a sleeping bag/spare clothes/wash stuff,its not rocket science.If you venture onto the m25 on a friday there is every chance you’ll be held up.
Because it just isn’t practical, I already take a holdall with me every day so to take another holdall full of night out gear looking like Sherpa Tenzing every working day on the remote chance of a night out would be a major pain.
I agree with you 100% about venturing down to the M25, that’s why I said I would tell them to shove it in case I got stuck out