Call for safe and secure parking for HGV drivers
Coach and lorry drivers deserve better roadside facilities, including parking that is safe and secure. That is why we have joined the Road Haulage Association's campaign lobbying government for action.
HGV drivers help to keep our shops stocked and our economy moving. Not only do they deserve better parking facilities but better food, toilets and showers.
In an open letter 75 MPs and dozens of businesses, including the BPA, call for the Prime Minister to take action to provide more safe and secure overnight parking spaces for hauliers and coach drivers, specifically:
- Establish a cross-departmental taskforce to review existing driver facilities and work with industry, operators, and local authorities on a viable long-term solution to increase available facilities across the country.
- Reform the existing planning framework, working with local authorities to ensure that appropriate parking plans are developed to meet industry needs.
- Commit to the increased funding for roadside facilities, looking at both quantity and quality.
Currently there is little concrete information about plans to increase the number of lorry parking spaces, particularly for overnight stops. Nationally, there is an estimated shortage of 11,000 lorry parking spaces. Established facilities on major freight routes are regularly operating at full capacity.
This situation leads to drivers taking rest periods in insecure locations such as laybys and industrial estates often. There they have no access to basic facilities, and no protection from criminals looking to steal valuable loads and fuel.
