Can any one explain why, when the channel is Closed or the roads leading to it, Lorries are still allowed to Drive into Kent and just park where ever they feel like?

The M20 is closed coast bound at the moment and has been since at least 7 if not ealier yet when I finished work at 12 there were still huge numbers of lorries driving about and parking up in Stupid and illegal places, even though the lorry park wasn't full. Visability was awful already because of the snow which was falling and grip is obviously low so getting home involved multiple occasions of having to pull out with lorries entirely blocking views up the roads. Why can't they just stop where they are?

because they will be trying their best to get to a port and get to a country that is still moving, but if stupid car drivers get in the way and slow then down all day, then they run out of driving hours, driving hours decided by a spotty faced twat to justify his wages, and as the hours are recorded electronicly, if he goes just a minute over he could be in the poo with boss and police, i got a 10 page report from the company i worked for one christmas for going 1 minute over, and i was supposed to sign it to say i had been warned, 10 pages for 1 minutes, nice to know marks and sparks deliveries are a green planet loving company

quote:

---

Originally posted by morcus
Why can't they just stop where they are?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bj928
because they will be trying their best to get to a port and get to a country that is still moving, but if stupid car drivers get in the way and slow then down all day, then they run out of driving hours, driving hours decided by a spotty faced twat to justify his wages, and as the hours are recorded electronicly, if he goes just a minute over he could be in the poo with boss and police, i got a 10 page report from the company i worked for one christmas for going 1 minute over, and i was supposed to sign it to say i had been warned, 10 pages for 1 minutes, nice to know marks and sparks deliveries are a green planet loving company

---

Remember that lorries are the life blood of our economy, even though we are on-line shoppers etc they still have to transport everything we have in the shops and home. I feel that get a raw deal particulary in this country. In France every few miles on major routes there are Aires where truck drivers can have a shower, use the loo and buy proper food and park up safely for a rest. Poor buggers in this country have to squeeze into some god forsaken layby with no facilitys or risk getting ripped off by motorway services and a fine if they don't pay a parking fee after a two hour stop I am not involved in the trucking business but I say good luck to them they do a great job. Barry

I was watching the lorries last night, as I was being ferried home from Heathrow to Suffolk - it was impressive to see how well-behaved they all were. Must have followed or passed 40 or 50 lorries at near midnight in medium snow, and they were all being very sensible.

I must admit that I wouldn't be happy driving that size of vehicle in terrible conditions late at night...

[Edited on 2/12/10 by David Jenkins]

As stated earlier lorries and their driivers are what keeps this country going.No lorries = no deliveries of any kind including the fuel needed to run a locost.

Lorries parking on the road opposite a lorry park subsidised by my council tax helps the country does it?

It's not the lorries moving thats the problem, it's lorry drivers who feel the need to park up dangerously and illegally when facilities have been provided for them, If I parked on a dual Carriage or in a lane aproaching a round about I'd be arrested.

the problem with parking in the places supplied is the cost, rip off prices, i'm trucking in America now, and its so much better, truck stops everywhere, free parking, free showers most the time when i fuel up, good food, big screen tv to watch in the truck stops, laundry room to do my washing, and most the time i won't do 20 miles between truck stops, but in the uk truck stops and decent cheap or free parking is un heard of, thats why truck drivers squeeze into laybys, they are the only place free, and if the council gives the truckers somewhere to park (at a cost to the driver), only parking, no toilet, and then wonder why locals complain when the drivers pee at the side of the truck, where else they got to go, people that haven't ever don't trucking or been in the industry will not understand how much british truckers are screwed, if its not the boss, is the police, VOSA, public, europe, and anyone else that wants all the trucks off the road, not sure how these haters want their chismas presents, food, fuel, to get to where they want to buy it, but having been in the industry all my working life, its nice to be in a country that looks after their truck drivers

and if car drivers would get out the way, more trucks might be able to get around in the bad weather, even a slight slope will cause an artic a problem if they get stopped or slowed by some idiot car driver that hasn't a clue, a truck needs momentum to be able to keep going, all the time they are moving with momentum even just a little they have a better chance of getting up hills and sloppes, if they have to stop they are screwed, ridgids aren't so bad as they have more eight on the drive wheels, but an artic will struggle.

According to the Vosa blokes who work out of the Truck stop in Ashford it cost £5 and has showers, Tv rooms, Reading rooms, eating places the lot, yet all the areas around it are always clogged up by lorries parking illegally. Thats the problem, I'm not complaining about anything you've brought up, my concer is having to Cross roundabout and get on to dual carriage ways where lorries have parked blocking all view.

Would you park a lorry on a dual carriage way? or right next to a roundabout?

it depends on a lot of things, agree £5 is good, but that won't be the hole story, you will probably find most the trucks parks in silly places arn't uk trucks, the uk ones know they would be moved on, where as the others know the police won't do anything because its to much trouble trying to make a non english speaking trucker understand, uk truckers get screwed while all others get away with murder, if you foreign and maybe got no £ to pay for parking and your out of hours what you going to do, if a copper moves you on your aoud to move as long as he signs tacho, or now i guess sign a digi card printout, the problem is, for someone not from the industry to understand we could be here for years trying to explain, and nothing against you, but this is the problem with car drivers in general, they think a truck is a mini and can park, stop and corner like one, for you to fully understand you would need to spend at least a day in a truck and you would see how bad we get treated

i'm lucky enough to have got out the uk rat race, and now wander around america in this, at 73 mph not the uk 56 mph



[Edited on 3/12/10 by bj928]