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| Cold |
Waking up at 0700 hours, our first job today is to see if the truck has got a parking ticket or if we have been clamped. Stopping in Hollendau Autobahn services last night, we noticed that there were signs in the truck parking area, saying we had a maximum waiting time of 2 hours. Admittedly, it has limited parking for only about 20 trucks, but we were left with no choice but to park up and take our obligatory 9 hour break.
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| Getting colder |
THE EUROPEAN UNION RULES AND REGULATIONS STRIKE AGAIN !!!!! And you will keep those lawyers that I mentioned, in my last post, very happy if you do not comply. With no parking problems, its time for a quick breakfast and then head towards the Brenner Pass and push on through to Italy. With Monza only 300 kilometres away, we set off from a very cold Germany. Normally, Monza has been a race that has happened later in the year so we do not have to deal with these sort of temperatures.Unfortunately, as we head towards Austria, the sky is grey and the view is rubbish. We have to get our Austrian truck tax sorted before we go too far and we can fuel up the truck at the same time.
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| About as cold as it gets |
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| Go Box |
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| Brenner Pass Toll Booths |
We had some problems with our Go Box the last time we were in Austria
and got a fine so we are keen to check that we have enough credit on the
Go Box in case we have the same problem.The Go box is a small electronic device which attaches to the front windscreen of the truck. As we pass the overhead gantries which are positioned along the Autobahn, it should emit a beep. This sound means that the system has registered you passing a set point on the road and a percentage of your credit is deducted for the distance that you have travelled. These overhead gantries are sometimes fitted with cameras so that the registration plate of the truck can be taken. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.......and it,s more food for those lawyers should you wish to argue. My co-driver starts worrying when the Go Box beeps 4 times as we enter the toll section of the Brenner Pass, as he has never heard it beep so many times before. The 4 beeps means that as we pass through the toll, the charge has not been taken from our Go Box. We are meant to stop and have it checked within 5 hours or 100kilometres, whichever is sooner. According to the instructions, we might have problems again!! Oh dear. It might be a faulty box that we have, so an exchange may be needed. We will put that on the " things to do list". Continuing on up through the snowy mountains, passing ski slopes that run parallel to the road. and the Brenner See which is frozen and covered in snow. The speed is governed not by the speed limit, but by the truck in front of us. For almost 200 kilometres, there is one sign after another saying no overtaking for trucks. It,s eco terrorism at its slowest. I would like to elaborate on this but I will save it for a future post in my blog.
After a long, slow climb upwards, we take a slow descent across the Austrian-Italy border, and are still governed by the no overtaking rule. It gives us ample time to take in the scenery and gradually watch the sun emerge and the outside temperature climb to a much more pleasant, 14 degrees Celsius. This area of the border has changed and moved, many times over the years and you can see from the signs over factories and buildings that they are struggling with their identity and language. Some signs are very Italian and others are Austrian. And the local population probably speak both languages fluently.
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| Skiing by the road |
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| Sunshine and scenery on the Italian side of the Brenner |
Arriving at Monza around 1700 hours, we take a route to the circuit that we know. Italy is renowned for its road signs that point somewhere but take you nowhere. The roadworks have been ongoing for years and we navigate by recognising semi demolished bridges and local landmarks. For such an internationally famous race track, it is remarkably easy to get lost.The roads around the circuit are not really suited for a 16 metre long race truck.Through the gateway to Monza park, and into the tunnel that goes underneath the circuit, we recognise some familiar faces of the WTCC organisers. Some very abusive but not unfriendly words are exchanged with a smile on every ones, faces and it,s time to park up and go the hotel. A relatively, trouble free journey for us. I hope the readers of this blog are slowly starting to realise that we do not just get in the truck and drive.It bears no comparison to going abroad in your car with a sat nav to guide you on your way. The many different road laws that we have to deal with and knowledge of the route that we take are pivotal to ensuring that the trucks get to their destination safely and trouble free.
