Government report highlights urgent need for secure lorry parking, says FTA

Thursday 10 November 2011

An extensive survey of truck stop provision across England carried out by the Department for Transport has been welcomed by the Freight Transport Association. But the leading trade body warns that the link between the provision of secure lorry parking facilities and lorry crime must not be ignored.

Malcolm Bingham, FTA’s Head of Road Network Management Policy, said:

“By law and for safety’s sake drivers have to rest, but there is no legal requirement for the provision of places for drivers to take those breaks. This means that drivers are often forced to park in lay-bys or industrial estate, leaving them exposed and vulnerable to criminals and thieves which also affects the local community.”

The report shows that there are some specific areas of very high demand and that some areas were particularly short of capacity, including the south east. This corroborates a recent survey of FTA members where 70 per cent rated truck stop provision in the south east as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Bingham concluded:

“The report is good as far as it goes, it shows that those regions where there are severe capacity issues attract more crimes – in some cases more than one a day – but by its own admission it doesn’t identify the precise areas where the shortfalls are most critical. If it did then it would help developers and local authorities to build accordingly.

“Through secure parking provision we will not only provide decent facilities for drivers but help to deal with the negative aspects that have been associated with lorry parks in the past.”

Notes for editors

The report is available at http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/lorry-parking-study
 

FTA Press Office

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