The Driving Life Across the Pond - A Life of Wot

[Roadhog]

No...you don't need to worship an Angel. They are our servants. 8)



Crikey...I know I'm gonna burn for this.. :?
..Oh what the Hell...I don't care...I'll plead insanity. :P

[classicxl]

come on WOT we are waiting to hear some more of this adventure

[mrpersons]

I think wot should send this story in to one of the "trucker rags". looks good to me!

Keep it coming Mr Wot!!

[vavega]

Nothing to do but turn around and go back.

what!??? :shock:

whatever for!??? if you got past it, why go back?

[wot i life]

Returning from the "hold up" area with my ticket to verify that I had been there, I rejoined Billy at La Chambre. We were going towards the "Tunnel du Frejus" and into Italy.
A little bit about these tunnels; They both cut through the mountains for quite some distance, Mont Blanc for 11 kilometres and Frejus for 13 1/2 kilometres. At the time I am writing about, The Blanc was by far the most popular, however, the company I was working for liked us to use the Frejus; Why? I don,t know, given the fact it was more expensive and a longer way around if going to Milan or thereabouts, but ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die.
Which brings me to my great relief of our using the Frejus; You see, in the late nineties, and I was still travelling to Italy regularly then, a truck carrying cooking oil caught fire in the Blanc; The Belgian driver pulled over to attempt to tackle the blaze. He stopped at around the 7 kilometre mark, just over half way through the tunnel. The blaze quickly spread and more and more trucks coming up behind got caught in the chaos.
In the single worst truck disaster of all time, 39 European truck drivers were burnt to death, there being no hope of a rescue in such a short time.
The Blanc was reopened to trucks in 2002 (I think), but to this day, i WILL NOT USE IT.
TBC

[terrylamar]

Wot, I know it was just a job for you, but I would love to drive all those places. I realize you didn't get to sightsee much, still...

[wot i life]

Wot, I know it was just a job for you, but I would love to drive all those places. I realize you didn't get to sightsee much, still...

You get to see a fair bit at the weekends mate, unless you,re pulling a fridge, there is no driving on Sunday,s in most European countries. And you have to keep off the road on their respective bank holidays too, and when they decide to have driving bans for a day for absolutely no good reason.
I paid some in fines I can tell you :wink:

[ken_o]

hey a mandatory day off wtf.

[terrylamar]

Wot, I know it was just a job for you, but I would love to drive all those places. I realize you didn't get to sightsee much, still...

You get to see a fair bit at the weekends mate, unless you,re pulling a fridge, there is no driving on Sunday,s in most European countries. And you have to keep off the road on their respective bank holidays too, and when they decide to have driving bans for a day for absolutely no good reason.
I paid some in fines I can tell you :wink:

When I was in the Marine Corps, I was on Embass Duty, I was stationed in East Berlin, before the wall came down. We had Diplomatic Passports, we could go just about anywhere we wanted. I always wished I had seen more. I'm enjoying your post.

[wot i life]

When I was in the Marine Corps, I was on Embass Duty, I was stationed in East Berlin, before the wall came down. We had Diplomatic Passports, we could go just about anywhere we wanted. I always wished I had seen more. I'm enjoying your post.

Embassy duty?.... Well, here,s a funny little true story for you. Driving around London one day, I heard the sirens of a paramedic and spotted him in my mirrors coming my way; So, I pulled the truck over to the left to allow him to pass. I did,nt realise I had just stopped outside a middle eastern embassy(which is a big no-no).
Instantly, an armed U.K police officer came bounding over, shouting "F$%k off, now!" So I said, "I,m sorry officer I just stopped for the ambulance"
He then said "I don,t give a toss if Queen Elizabeth is in there fighting for her life, Just F$%k off driver!" :shock:

[wot i life]

Climbing up the mountains towards Modane and the Tunnel du Frejus is extremely reassuring and satisfying in a British truck.
Allow me to explain; You,re in a right hand drive, driving on the right, and the sheer drops of the mountains are as far away as is possible from you.
Nice feeling eh?
So, you join the queue,s at the toll booths and slowly work your way forward. At last, it comes to your groups turn to be allowed through the tunnel and you,re off. Passing through the tunnel is nothing too daunting and you soon pop out the other end in Italy.
I rejoined Billy at a truck stop immediately on the Italian side and he warned me.."Watch out for these crazy Italian bastards, they won,t let you out; Won,t let you in, in fact they won,t let you do anything. They just beam you(full beam lights) and accelerate into the gap. If you kill them, they,ve proven their point and you were wrong to move".
The British professional driver ranks alongside the worlds best and is in complete contrast to the Italian (professional?) driver who knows one thing and one thing only..... Full speed ahead...Everywhere!
I once asked one of these guys why they come screaming down the mountains in top gear and accelerating.
His answer?
If God has chosen that this is my day to die, then I will perish. If God favours me, I am ok.
So, you have an idea of the roller coaster ride that driving in Italy is.
Don,t just take my word for it, look on the internet for most dangerous drivers.
I bet if someone ever compiled a list, the Italians would be near the top berth
And here was the young Wot, surrounded by millions of em!
TBC

[classicxl]

wot i saw a documentary on that fire in the tunnel what a nightmare i know why you avoid it

[wot i life]

wot i saw a documentary on that fire in the tunnel what a nightmare i know why you avoid it

It,s supposedly a damn sight safer now and there are escape routes inside it. I,d still rather go through Frejus or in summer, over the Simplonpasse

[classicxl]

yea that is what the documentary said that they had put in escape tunnels but what if you cant get to one don't want to die underground because of someone Else's mistake

[wot i life]

yea that is what the documentary said that they had put in escape tunnels but what if you cant get to one don't want to die underground because of someone Else's mistake

I believe it all started through a discarded cigarette thrown from a truck and lodged in his air intake. Horrendous thing to happen

[classicxl]

yea i guess lesson learned so when are your posting more of your story

[wot i life]

As I said, climbimg the French side is no big worry in a right hand drive truck(Although I forgot you have to drive back down; On the right!).
But, the Italian side is something else; It runs downhill for miles and through countless dark tunnels which, on exit, you are blinded by the sunlight and scared witless by the views of sheer drops to your immediate right when your eyes re-adjust themselves.
Having said that, the run from Bardonecchia to Susa( where it levels slightly) is probably one of the most scenic in Europe. To my mind, and I love the mountains, I think only the run between Brig in Switzerland to Milan is superior.
But not the first time....
First time at running down the Alps, you will ****e yourself; And so did I.
The amount of heavy vehicles that have descended the Alps over the years have slowly but surely carved channels in the road that you must try and stick to; If you misjudge, your truck will bounce and sway from side to side until you regain composure. Thats not so intimidating or frightening in a left hooker(L.H.D) but in a right hook, it can be somewhat daunting.
Imagine if you will, driving in the United Kingdom, in an American tractor unit, you,re on a winding twisting road running down the mountains of Snowdonia, and, because your on the left and we drive on the left, then sometimes you will be facing directly down a gorge, hundreds of feet down. Then imagine you climb into a British truck, crossing the Alps on a winding, twisting road, but, this time, some of the drops are near thousand feet.
Passing trains look like schoolboys toy sets, towns appear to be from Gullivers travels. The only thing you are plainly and perfectly aware of the size of, and indeed, the fragility of, is yourself.
Humbled, alone and scared.
But you overcome it and laugh later.
And thats exactly what I did.
Laughed my arse off when I got to the bottom; No more precipices, no more sudden death situations.
How I laughed and laughed.
TBC

[classicxl]

wish you had pictures of that road

[ct77]

you are so right about Italian drivers even though the Parisians are just as bad, felt like a fighter pilot always checking my three,six and nine oclock. Cant even imagine doing it in a truck with the steering wheel on the wrong side(haha) i mean right side. Lived in Germany 15 years and you are so right about navigating Europe great road signs hard to get lost.

Reminds me of a fellow soldier who came to Germany got on the Autobahn and saw the AUSFAHRT sign at every exit on the highway. We drove about 3 hours and he says" Man that must be a big town" I say "what town?" he says "the one on the sign'AUSFAHRT'"

AUSFAHRT means Exit in German

[ken_o]

someone call a waaaaaaaaaaaaabulaaaance wot is afriad of the alps.