Fell asleep perhaps? Apparently, the continent is not so strict on use of Tachos as we are, so a truck driver can drive all day in Europe, come over here and put a tacho in and continue to drive for much longer than he actually should.
Here you are utterly wrong, Lynne. The regulations are disobeyed in Germany, too, but the Autobahn Police lances a lot of unexpected raids controlling lorry drivers. If they stepped over the allowed driving time, the have to sleep on a parking lot; if the lorry is'nt roadworthy, it is stopped and must be repaired at the next garage, or it is declared unsafe beyond repair and put into custody at the next police station. The fines are heavy and have to be paid on the spot; if not, the driver must wait until the money is sent by his employer.
Especially the East European drivers are on the road with vehicles you can only describe as adventurous; our police do what thy can to make our roads secure.
In France they are even harsher than our people; there they seem to have no problems with a "police state".

Glad to read that your parents came out safe and sound.