Lorries need safe parking spaces

FTA calls on government to deliver on promise to improve truck parking

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is urging the government to follow through on its promise to provide safe parking spaces for HGV drivers, who have been tasked with keeping goods moving throughout the pandemic and beyond.

Two years after a government pledge to improve truck parking, the FTA said its members still report that provision has not improved. The association said many HGV drivers are forced to take their rest breaks in unsafe locations with inadequate welfare, hygiene and sanitation facilities.

Chris Yarsley, policy manager for road infrastructure at the FTA, said: “The COVID-19 outbreak has brought home how vital lorry drivers are to society and the economy; they are working tirelessly, and bravely, to provide the goods the nation needs to get through the pandemic. Yet the government fails to provide them with even the most basic provision: secure, safe places to park during their rest periods with access to adequate welfare, hygiene and sanitation facilities. No other industry would be expected to operate in such conditions; the government has no excuse not to deliver on its promises.”

The Department for Transport’s National Survey of Lorry Parking identified that there is an immediate need for more than 1,411 parking spaces across the country, to enable drivers to take their legally mandated rest breaks without concerns for security and safety. In the South East alone, 37% more overnight parking spaces are required to meet basic demand.

Chris Yarsley said: “This shortfall of parking spaces is forcing drivers to take their rest periods in unsafe, undesirable locations, such as industrial estates, in laybys or on public roads. In an industry where you are compelled by law to take regular breaks and rest, adequate provision to do so must be provided. Two years on from the commitment made by ex-road minister, Jesse Norman MP, we need action – the nation’s HGV drivers deserve so much more.”