No tempered wind for shorn lambs
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I HAVE remarked before on the singular lack of personal preparedness of lorry drivers for exceptional weather. It certainly surprised Tony Scraff, manager of the AA-BRS Rescue communication centre in Birmingham, when arctic weather descended on Britain last month.
The obvious precaution of taking warm clothing and a flask of tea and sandwiches was ignored by many drivers stranded by frozen fuel, flat batteries and seized brakes. "Quite literally, all hell broke loose at about 5am on the Thursday," said Tony. And what caused the devil to burst his chains? A record 650 distress calls — almost a week's input — in a day. Even Captain Scott would have been proud of the gallant rescuers.