I don't suppose having to drive down to the home counties to visit my terminally ill mother makes things easier, but at least I haven't forgotten to write something on the blog!
I've actually had some great work recently. I much prefer the more technical driving of country deliveries, to the somewhat boring motorway to and fro, so as the spring has started in earnest, I've been delivering building insulation to some very out of the way businesses, and delivering frozen food to various freezer depots that are NOT on main motorways.
What has really rattled my cage is the serious lack of thought by traffic planners when it comes to road construction and hazard sign posting.
One of the trips I had to do was down to Croydon, and the builders merchant I needed to deliver to was in a yard, surrounded by low bridges. My trailer was 14'11", or about 4.6 meters. Now I was aware the bridges were low, and I had to drive through some very small residential streets to get to where I needed to go, but my sat nav was next to useless. That's what I mean by liking the "technical" element of truck driving, where you have to use your brain, or incur serious damage to your truck, your trailer, your ego and your income.
But another of my little trips was to a village in Hertfordshire called, Little Wymondly. There is one road through the village and it's narrow. at each end of this road is a dual carriageway.
If you try to enter the village from one direction there is a sign telling you that the bridge across the road is 14'3" high. No problem, I thought; "I'll just go round the other way..."
Problem is; when you try to enter the village from the other side, the sign tells you there's a low bridge blocking your way.
To most people who don't live in the village, it appears there are two low bridges, with the village in between the two. In a truck it's very difficult to drive up to a low bridge and then decide you have to turn round!
Why, oh why can't the traffic planners attach a sign saying the low bridge they're warning me about, is in x number of meters? Instead of putting signs up that indicate you can't drive any further?
Anger is never far away when you're driving a truck, and despite it being short lived, and anger being replaced with a sense of pride once you've solved the problem, it does remain one of those things that sticks in your mind as being the act of someone who hasn't really thought very far beyond the end of their nose. And they're probably earning a big fat pay packet and on a gold plated pension as well!
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