EU truckers beg for the slammer after driving for days

LONDON — Tired Canadian truckers frustrated over the lack of rest their bosses allow should take solace in knowing things could be worse. Sure, breaks may be hard to come by for drivers working for some unscrupulous carriers here, but at least we’re not yet hearing of exhausted truckers getting arrested — on purpose — just so they can catch some Zs.

According to the Daily Mirror in England, that’s exactly what’s happening across the pond. More than a few tired foreign commercial drivers have reportedly pleaded with police to be taken to jail so they can get some sleep and food to eat. Seriously.

Worried they’ll get canned from demanding bosses if they stop to rest, the drivers call police on their cell phones, giving details of their location, reports the Mirror. When the cops eventually pull them over, the truckers beg to be arrested so they can take a break away from the wheel. Some of the drivers — many of whom are eastern European — reported being on the road for as long as 30 straight hours, non-stop.

Chief Superintendent Geraint Anwyl told the newspaper that police forces all over Britain are getting such calls from haulers. He said he’s had reports of drivers who have hauled from Milan, Italy to North Wales without taking a single break.

Anwyl said the drivers are arrested and charged with failing to keep a
proper driving record or ignoring tachograph readings. But, he adds, they’re just happy to have a “nice warm cell … and hot breakfast in the morning before going to court. It’s often the first proper rest they’ve had for days.”

According to the Mirror, Romanian drivers are said to be the worst offenders, with more than 40 percent found to have driving limit violations.

— with files from the Daily Mirror, UK