Parking for HGVs. As you are well aware, HGV drivers are a vital cog in the wheel of British Industry. We work under the burden of insanely complex rules and regulations. Yet when we are required to have a break under those laws, there is little or no provision for us to do so. Overnight parking is a particular problem, with many places charging over £20 a night just to park so we can get necessary sleep so we can drive safely in the morning. Motorway service areas are terrible for this, charging up to £25 a night, and providing terrible food and shoddy facilities. Showers are a case in point, being often broken, dirty and generally awful. See trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=37224 for further information and driver’s experiences. How are HGV drivers supposed to be awake enough to safely drive 40 tonnes of vehicle on disturbed sleep and with unsanitary conditions to clean themselves in? It’s particularly bad as a woman in the industry because some places only have shared facilities. How MSAs can charge such ludicrous amounts to allow us to obey the law is incredible. It wouldn’t be so bad if they provided decent food, clean working showers and on-site security, but they don’t.
Maybe they’ll look into it, who knows?
Any examples of places in the UK who have one set of showers for all who come? I know a few in Europe, but none here so far.
i always used to like tibself, ferrybridge,blyth and birchanger ( wet room ) oh and whitwood when they were new, its been a few years since i was last there and do they still charge a pound.
The off forum feedback I’m getting about the general neglect of showers at MSA’s point to drivers being willing to pay for showers if they were cleaned after use. It would appear that its the ‘cleaned after use’ thats the sticking point. MSA showers are cleaned once, maybe twice a day tops.
reason i ask … not been in there since last year… (dec / nov)…
those pics look like the exact same as the last time i was in there … !!! just wont stop there now… place is a disgrace …
A little tip for Lymm showers, i think you say cost £1? thats for the token? Anyway they work perfectly well if you just put a 2p piece in And as you go in i think the farthest left and right is free !!
Hilton Park were taken on 25/10/08 (Northbound) and 26/10/08 (Southbound). Disgrace? UK’s bussiest site apparently.
Lymm was a token but now its just a quid coin and as you say just about anything else that will fit. Most of the cubicals are locked out of order.
I discovered the following: The state of MSA showers come under the juristiction of the sites local authority Environmental Health Department. So its difficult on an official capacity to alert Environmental Health to the situation because of the number of local authorities involved, although work in this area is in progress. I have contacted one sympathetic Environmental Health Officer and sent them these and more photographs. I await news of any action to be taken…
And as you go in i think the farthest left and right is free !!