I’ve often used the Genoa to Palermo ferry to go to GT race meetings at Enna.Then usually drive back via Messina.The run along the A3 is longer than would think.
Like for going to Sardinia Genoa is very convenient.Prefer going to Sardinia than the Dalmatian coast in Croatia in that regard it’s easier and cheaper.
We had a Goldilocks period in ~80s, when higher horsepower was available, the routes mentioned were bitumened, speed limiters were science fiction and enforcement was sporadic. I’d say with the right spec, Melbourne and Mt. Isa could have been done quicker, with a single trailer, then than now.
Back then we had trucks capable of 100 mph, now we’re limited to 100 kph.
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That doesn’t explain how everyone else manage to get onto European work while you failed miserably.
All I see from your posts on this matter are excuses and woe is me. At what point do you take personal responsibility for not achieving your goal?
Bearing in mind it seems that every man and his dog did work driving in Europe I feel you could be the weak link here. Was it a lack of effort, a poor attitude or something else that prevented you?
How many jobs did you apply for?
How many companies did you personally visit stating your intentions and aspirations?
How many times did you go back to those companies, and back again and back again?
Did you seek advice or speak to drivers currently working at companies who did Euro work - maybe that could have been a way in?
Why didn’t you accept a job at a company who ran trucks both in the UK and abroad. Yes you may have to start on the UK side but once your in then you never know when an opportunity may present itself?
You have to be proactive if you want something. My guess is you did none of the above and then blamed everyone and everything but yourself.
And this is clearly where the company ended their interest in you as an employee. It’s laughable that you actually expected they’d give you all that info before you’ve even clocked in for your 1st shift.
Yes, see below.
No, Carryfast has always considered himself the peak authority on every subject.
Woe is me hardly.I consider myself bleedin lucky to have stayed in work during the worst economic period/s this country has ever known at over 3 million unemployed.
While Danny Bryan’s stitch up affected more than just me.Of all the other drivers I worked with at that time at our depot two left at the time of the UPS takeover.One of who, the youngest of them, is now approaching 80 and we still visit each other.
The others remained good friends until their deaths.One of those being the Shop Steward who said we can’t win this while cursing Danny Bryan and the TGWU even more than me.
For everyone who did there were two or more disillusioned hopefuls.Among the ones who did you’ll often hear plenty of them whingeing about too long spent away from home and their families.While young single no ties were lumbered with local home every night UK work because no ‘experience’.
1980’s here most were lucky to even have any job in the worst recession since the 1930’s.When you could travel for miles on the motorways etc and count the number of heavy trucks on one hand in that distance.Many of them would be running empty.1990’s not much better.
I see you’ve avoided answering the questions I posed to you. Instead just replying with another post of whining and excuses.
Cool story bro but what has any of this waffle got to do with your inability to get a job driving trucks abroad?
Lets put that to the test on here shall we. A question for all the other drivers on here reading this.
How many of you managed to work driving a lorry abroad, whether in Europe, the Middle East or further afield during the 80’s, 90’s or even the present day, whether you wanted to or not?
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Keep trying to convince yourself, Carryfast.
Of the hundreds, if not thousands of fellows who have passed through these pages, you’re the only one who failed to secure meaningful employment, in their chosen sector.
There are young men and women in the New Drivers’ section with more skill, experience and knowledge than you.
You are so concieted that you thought employers should be falling over each other, trying to secure your services, with little experience, a poor track record of commitment and worse attitude. You no doubt conveyed at any interview, that you knew better how to run their business than they did. That with your very fragile demeanour made you highly unsuitable for any position requiring stamina, physical labour or the ability to follow company procedures.
At least six of my employers took me on specifically to run abroad 
That was only 'cos they didn’t want you hanging around the office window complaining 
Too right! And I was one those who didn’t mind tilts, so the further the better On a really bad day on dock traction you could end up doing two tilt strips in the Home Counties in a single day. On a long-haul trip you might get away with one or two in six weeks.
Did any/many of them state or imply a requirement of international experience ?.
Or no requirement ?.
As I said in my personal experience making the jump from UK work to international was more difficult if not impossible than getting a start on UK work.
Obviously the narrative will be set by those obvious exceptions to the rule who got the break.
Bearing in mind the reference to the whingeing by many older family men, moaning about spent too long away from their ties at home, v early 20’s, single no ties, lumbered with 5 years of working life gone, as a home by 5.30 pm 5 days per week council driver.Now tell me that’s made up fiction too.
The so called ‘Waffle’ , about the bad side of unions, as in their ability to make detrimental changes to terms and conditions on the employee’s behalf, with no right of refusal by the employee, has everything to do with the topic.
The rest was in answer to SDU’s ridiculous aspertions that it was all a plan by the union and colleagues to get rid of me personally.My experience is that union membership can too often do more harm than good in the road transport sector specifically.
You think it’s laughable to need to know which motor you’ll likely be taking out at maybe 2 am and whether you’re doing a day run to Northern France or Belgium or more than a week away to Southern Italy etc, at some point before you turn up for work.
Or even told it’s none of the above you’re going to do an induction regarding our procedures and paperwork requirements etc for a few days.Then we’ll let you know all the above information you’ll need after that.
What is laughable is a call saying none of the above you’re going to be working on our UK side doing UK work instead.
The first one wasn’t bothered - unsurprisingly, as no one else was likely to take a day-cabbed TL artic to France. But that opened the door to the others: had I driven a lorry to the Continent? Yes. It’s an on/off switch. I was ‘in’.