CM HITS THE ROAD WITH QUINNS
Page 36
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The challenge to spend the day as a working driver was thrown to CM and we took it up with relish. Our Friday was promised to be an easy one starting with a load of grain up to Teesport from the Quinns Transport yard in Shipton.
We are in the yard for 6am, conducting the walk-around check on his Scania R540 and, after a bit of paperwork, we are on our way in the dark up the A19. The sun is rising across glorious Teesside by the time we get there for the drop, and no sooner has the grain been tipped then we are off to Middlesbrough for some fertiliser.
Back down the A19 and we hit the highlight of our trip a proper truckers' breakfast at a truckstop just north of Staddlebridge (two sausages, two bacon, three toast, fried egg, beans, black pudding and tea for a fiver). However, on our way to Howden in East Yorks, we hear a bang as we travel through Quinn's home base in Shipton. Clearly someone is smiling down on us because we divert into the yard and discover a slow puncture on the middle right rear. The tyre change, thanks to Quinn's resident mechanic, takes no less than 20 minutes and we are thankful that it didn't happen on the side of a motorway or main A-road.
Problems hit again once we reach the drop at Howden, the fertiliser firm where we are set to tip, has staff in a union meeting. The poor driver in front of us has been there since llam, and it is nearly 1.30pm before we can make our drop. Frankly, the communication from the firm to the drivers is appalling and we are left clueless for what feels like an inordinate amount of time. Another half-hour delay. This has set us back and we need to play catch up for the rest of the afternoon. The fertiliser is eventually tipped and we set off to a nearby farm for more grain.
After the grain has been collected, we decide to hit the M62 and Al as the Friday evening traffic builds, but we need to get back to Teesport sharpish for the drop. Thankfully, the rush hour is kind and we make good time back up north, tipping the grain in the same place we were first thing that morning. We're nearly done for the day, but we need to head into Middlesbrough again for an ADR load. As CM is not trained to be on site, we wait in a nearby site cabin where we are entertained by the gate boys and provided with tea. We don't want to name names, but I ask the lads what the biggest problem is they face day after day. and the unanimous answer is: "Drivers. They don't ever listen..."
Then we are back on the road again to Quinns' yard in Shipton, where our day finishes at 7.45pm.
Just in time for a few pints in the local.