Crying Polish truck driver on British roads is Internet hit

it's not a crime but it's illegal and dangerous to park on the shoulder to peal potatoes. If he understood what they were saying, he'd pay the fine and they would let him go (most likely) and we wouldn't have anything to talk about now.

It's pretty well the same here in Poland. They had a docusoap a few years ago about foreign lorry drivers and police. As I remember the police used to send huge teams in checking everything

No one is disputing it is illegal. Is it dangerous? Well, it's dangerous leaving your house. It can be dangerous in your house. The world is fraught with danger. But, the law is the law.

I saw something on British TV a few years ago about HGV drivers from all over Europe driving in Britain. One image stands out in my memory. A Polish driver said (incognito) that he had to drive crazy hours because his boss could easily find a replacement if he didn't. He said, "One day I will fall asleep at the wheel. It's not if; it's when." I haven't seen all of the film under discussion, but perhaps this guy was one of those drivers who are under enormous pressure to deliver. That might explain his histrionics.

Yes, it is dangerous and while it's also illegal, the cops did what they had to do, especially because they were acting accordingly to his irrational behavior, screaming, yelling, crying. To them, ti must have occurred irrational, not understanding what he was saying, judging only by the way he was doing it.

He wasn't acting that strangely. His behavior was not irrational. He had a job and a deadline to fulfill. He is an honest working man.

This proves we need more female long haul truckers. Perhaps 50% should be the goal. After all, aren't many women complaining about "equality"? Once on the road they can learn to change tires, and fix any small engine repairs as well. Feminists in particular can move themselves out of air-conditioned offices and learn about other job realities. - like long haul trucking or any of the dangerous jobs that men do and women don't. After all, why should men continue to be 93-94% of all annual job related deaths? Feminists don't want that sort of "equality".

If Lisa from Ice Road Truckers can do it, anyone can. She's hardly a 120kg butch dyke, is she :)

Well, to me he did, sorry. Ask people who don't understand any Polish how they feel about it and judge him only by his actions, not words.


agree with that part

He, most likely, did not want to take the time out from fixing food and being on his way nor anything on his driving record or paying a hefty fine. It depends on what's at stake. Hopefully, he won't do it again.

oooh Lisa, my heroine!
I doubt ZIMMY will respond to that, Lisa doesn't fit in to his world view....
I bet she picks up the bill too.

Exceptions to the rule are just that aren' they? That's why they are called exceptions. That's a long haul . from 50%. By the way, I like Lisa.


Oh, but she does. I respect any woman who will take on a 'man's job'. Women like that understand work realities that carping feminists don't. Wish there were more like her. .

It seems you have a jaded or incomplete view of what I really mean.


More bonus points for Lisa.

fgs Monia, stop being such a victim, it is illegal to stop on the hard shoulder regardless of nationality.
Hilarious bit of victimy acting!
I thought the traffic cops were rather kind to him, a hell of alot kinder than he might expect in some other european countries.

ZIMMY just pulling your leg, I knew you would like Lisa...:)

Are you paying attention to her posts ? I think this particular poster is weird. Bad weird.

:D

Lisa is more than welcome to drive that truck over to Manchester, I could do with a decent night out lol.


How about men who take on so-called "women's jobs"? I had a very manly job for many years (hard manual work, 100% male workforce), now I do "women's work" - which, ironically, I suspect that many men would find to be too much like hard work, and they would choose to become office boys instead.

Imagine a British truck driver responding to being stopped by Polish cops and behaving like that. Would you, honestly, say the same?

I see lots of male nurses. Men have figured out they can make a heck of a lot of money being nurses and they are often better at it than women because they have more upper body strength. Men make better nurses for the most part, imho.

Telfcat, where I live, people are emotional. They cuss and carry on when people frustrate them. Some don't, but a lot do. A lot of people dislike cops as well. It's true not everyone reacts like that, but that kind of reaction is far from uncommon.

Here, we have a lot of respect for truck driving trade, too. It's tough trying to see around the truck so people on the road help the trucker out by making space for them to change lanes. Trucks are given the right of way to make those wide turns. No one likes to see one of them pay a hefty fine or get hassled by cops unless he does something completely awful. Most of them very safe drivers and very polite in usage of turn signals and lane changes. Much better behaved than many motorists.

Too much caffeine, perhaps! Where I live (Poland) people are usually in control of their emotions. We don't like cops much either but when we get busted for a road offence we take it on the chin.

Also, this truck driver had a parking violation, not a moving one. Parking violations are considered much less serious and often do not affect the driving record.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, he didn't make things easy for himself, waving a knife around when a police officer approached his window. This probably made things worse for him.

He was using it to peel potatoes, Vincent. It was hardly a dangerous weapon.

I overlooked that part. Well, the cops could have done much more than they really did Plastic, don't you think?


knife is a knife and besides, how would they know what he wanted to do with it? I'm actually surprised they haven't stunned him.

You overlooked it because it was barely noticeable. It was his food knife.


They saw the potato peels then they knew what was going on. He wasn't a knife welding mad truck driver. Just a guy with a job that requires a lot of concentration and stamina trying to eat a meager meal as quickly as possible. Is there anywhere convenient for a truck to stop in GB? Why is this guy thinking the side of the road is the only place? Other truck drivers seem to experience the same issue. What is Britain doing to make a safe place for these trucks to pull over when they need to?

PlasticPole,You don't think the driver's behavior was a little erratic?I think the language barrier complicated the matter some.The cops will

always play it safe,especially in the UK;where they don't carry guns like the U.S. police..

But it could be. In this day and age Police will ask questions after they deal with a knife problem. I know he meant no malice but it was a daft thing to do.

add all of it together Plastic:
parking on the shoulder - clearly illegal
waving with the knife - indicating aggression and danger
irrational behavior - since they didn't understand him, according to his actions, it certainly was
What else do you need to understand that what they did was absolutely correct?


exactly, my friend

Yes.


Maybe because he is a) overworked b) stupid


Truckers driving in the UK have it really easy. Why are you siding with this fool and attempting to blame UK? Just because he happens to be Polish? If so, have you met Monia? You'd get along well.

Maybe the problem is, there aren't places for these trucks to pull over. Why not address the real issue? There were other trucks parked on the shoulder. Seems to suggest there's a need for these trucks to have a place to pull over and their drivers rest.

The knife could have been interpreted either way but one can assume a truck driver with a job, responsibilities and a life most likely would not harm a police man. He would be throwing away his future. It's mostly people committing illegal acts or with no job who are likely to pull a stunt like that.

I don't view the truck driver as a fool, Telfcat, just a guy trying to earn a living and avoid a fine.

A cop in the U.S. might assume otherwise and shoot the guy first, clear up the red tape later.

It would just depend on the situation. Cops observe what is going on and they deal with pissed off people a lot. Thousands a day do not end up getting shot.