Hell Drivers (1957) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Tom was labeled a coward after fleeing the scene when police arrived at the dance hall fight. Red called him 'yellow belly' and from then on, the other drivers bullied Tom and hindered his runs, refusing to accept him as one of their own.

• yellow belly
• coward
• bullying
• drivers
• hospitality

Cartley and Red were pocketing money by hiring five fewer drivers than the company paid for. They kept the difference for themselves, creating a payroll scam that enriched them while the drivers endured dangerous working conditions for minimal pay.

• scam
• payroll
• Cartley
• Red
• money
• corruption

Gino offered to switch truck numbers so the other drivers would unknowingly harass him instead of Tom, allowing Tom to complete his runs without interference and have a fair chance to win the £250 gold cigarette case by outrunning Red.

• Gino
• truck numbers
• cigarette case
• switch
• competition

Red forced Tom's truck toward the quarry edge, but when Red switched to what he thought was Tom's truck (truck 13), the brakes failed. Red and Cartley drove off the edge and died when the truck plunged into the quarry.

• Red
• Cartley
• quarry
• brakes
• death
• crash

Tom's mother blamed him for Jimmy's leg injury that left Jimmy dependent on crutches. She refused to accept any money from Tom because she held him responsible for her son's life-changing disability.

• mother
• Jimmy
• money
• injury
• tobacconist
• blame

Tom fled because he was an ex-con on probation, and being arrested would have violated his legal status and likely sent him back to prison. His criminal past made him particularly vulnerable to police involvement.

• police
• dance
• flee
• arrest
• ex-con
• prison

Red maintained his position as top driver by taking a hazardous shortcut that no other driver was willing to risk. This dangerous route allowed him to log more runs per day, but it was so risky that others refused to use it.

• shortcut
• dangerous
• Red
• runs
• competition

Tom reluctantly accepted Cartley's offer of a share in the stolen money and Red's truck 1 position because he needed to get behind the wheel to confront and expose the corrupt operation. He used the deal as a way to get close enough to end the scam himself.

• Cartley
• deal
• truck 1
• accept
• confront
• scam

Gino crashed because he was driving Tom's truck (truck 13) after they swapped numbers as part of the plan to help Tom win the cigarette case. The swap meant Gino was on the dangerous shortcut route where the crash occurred.

• Gino
• crash
• truck 13
• shortcut
• death
• switch

Tom's wages were docked to cover equipment damaged during the other drivers' bullying of him. Red claimed the money was needed to replace broken equipment, though this was really part of the ongoing harassment against Tom.

• wage
• docked
• pay
• equipment
• bullying
• deduction

Lucy ended her relationship with Gino because she had developed feelings for Tom. That same night, Tom confessed to Lucy that he had been in prison, not abroad as he had claimed, and Lucy chose to be with Tom instead.

• Lucy
• Gino
• break up
• feelings
• Tom
• confession

When Red sideswiped Tom, he was driving what he believed was Tom's truck (truck 13). However, after the truck swap, it was actually Tom's original truck. The brakes failed, causing Red and Cartley to plunge to their deaths, while Tom's real truck (which was actually truck 13) dangled at the edge with Tom inside.

• truck 13
• quarry
• brakes
• Red
• Tom
• switch