Being a skip lorry driver isn't easy. They have a massive job on their backs as they drive around with a skip. A skip hire company is expense to run, the petrol, the permits for the different locations, the masses of staff needed, the list goes on! It is true, it's a very tough and responsible job to do.
With all this in mind, you cannot expect the company to be good at everything, and its this point that brings me to the curious incident of the skip on a railway line.
One fine day, I was cursing in my ford mustang when it could not drive an inch further. The problem was an 8 cubic yard builders skip blocking my path. It was now lying across the railway lines. The crazy lorry driver was trying to push it off the tracks himself!
Have you ever watched the world's heaviest man on TV? Well they can lift things that seem impossible to average people. However this man was not from that TV show, and the sight of him struggling was hilarious.
I decided to stop my car and help. Not much I could do really, but two grown men, trying to push a skip off the tracks, provoked a few more to stop and help, between eight fully grown men, we were able to push the skip off the tracks and get it back on its bottom, so the skip hire vehicle could get it back on the skip! Fantastic I hear you say.
It wasn't all plain sailing though and we actually ended up damaging the lines. If I train came, we knew that it wouldn't be able to pass over the lines safely. I knew a train was due within the next ten minutes or so, there wasn't much time to spare here at all. I checked my timetable again
trying to convince the relevant people that we were not playing a joke, and that a skip had indeed fallen on to the tracks and damaged it was hard work. Finally we got somewhere and managed to help save many lives. The skip hire driver was nearly in tears. he could not believe he had been so stupid. he was in a rush and not securely fastened the skip to the lorry, causing it to fall off when he tried to go over the lines.
mush inconvenience later the the line was fixed, and service resumed as normal. I got a mention in the skip hire magazine and the driver got a disciplinary! - 16732
With all this in mind, you cannot expect the company to be good at everything, and its this point that brings me to the curious incident of the skip on a railway line.
One fine day, I was cursing in my ford mustang when it could not drive an inch further. The problem was an 8 cubic yard builders skip blocking my path. It was now lying across the railway lines. The crazy lorry driver was trying to push it off the tracks himself!
Have you ever watched the world's heaviest man on TV? Well they can lift things that seem impossible to average people. However this man was not from that TV show, and the sight of him struggling was hilarious.
I decided to stop my car and help. Not much I could do really, but two grown men, trying to push a skip off the tracks, provoked a few more to stop and help, between eight fully grown men, we were able to push the skip off the tracks and get it back on its bottom, so the skip hire vehicle could get it back on the skip! Fantastic I hear you say.
It wasn't all plain sailing though and we actually ended up damaging the lines. If I train came, we knew that it wouldn't be able to pass over the lines safely. I knew a train was due within the next ten minutes or so, there wasn't much time to spare here at all. I checked my timetable again
trying to convince the relevant people that we were not playing a joke, and that a skip had indeed fallen on to the tracks and damaged it was hard work. Finally we got somewhere and managed to help save many lives. The skip hire driver was nearly in tears. he could not believe he had been so stupid. he was in a rush and not securely fastened the skip to the lorry, causing it to fall off when he tried to go over the lines.
mush inconvenience later the the line was fixed, and service resumed as normal. I got a mention in the skip hire magazine and the driver got a disciplinary! - 16732
