So the Daily Telegraph considers showers, lavatories and food to be “luxuries”. I wonder what the facilities are like for their “journalists”?
telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 … v-driving/
Can’t read it, it appears to be behind a paywall.
Hang on…
Not a uk motor in the picture.
Truckstops have come and gone simply because (a) Boss`s would not pay out to park (b) to many started renting out for trailer parking and night change overs (c) Drivers abused the facilities (d) no fridge segregation areas to get a decent sleep.
Luxury lorry parks are being considered by the Government as a way to lure more people into driving HGVs, senior industry sources have revealed.
Ministers are understood to be examining how to improve working conditions for lorry drivers, who are often forced to sleep in motorway lay-bys without hot food, showers or toilets.
The Government has already announced thousands of new temporary working visas as a national shortage of around 100,000 lorry drivers threatens to paralyse fuel and food deliveries over Christmas.
However, in a crisis meeting last week, haulage industry leaders warned that the lack of lorry parks with “decent facilities” was a “major obstacle” to attracting new drivers.
Ministers had now agreed to look at how to improve the facilities on offer, a senior Whitehall source said.
Duncan Buchanan, policy director at the Road Haulage Association, said the life of a lorry driver could be “very, very hard” and said the industry had been calling for more parks for years without success.
“The main problem we have is Nimby councils who can always find a reason to refuse an application to build a lorry park,” Mr Buchanan said.
“But we are asking drivers to sleep in lay-bys, without food or hot water. Many end up being victims of crime. These are the things that really put people off joining the industry, and need to be sorted.”
A 2018 survey by the Department of Transport identified a national shortfall of around 3,700 parking spaces for lorries, forcing drivers to sleep in lay-bys and industrial estates.
In all, 18,670 vehicles were found to be parked overnight across England – a rise of 36 per cent since 2010. However only 15,012 official parking spaces were identified.
Around 39 per cent of all vehicles were found to be parking off-site, with 14 per cent in industrial estates or retail parks. Around a quarter were found to be in laybys, of which six per cent were found to be lit and only one per cent with toilets.
“There is a shortage of HGV drivers and one reason for this is the negative public perception of the industry as well as drivers feeling underpaid and undervalued,” the Government report found.
“Providing drivers with suitable wash and food facilities, to enable them to have a pleasant overnight rest, is important for improving driver morale, perception and road safety.”
Dr Sarah Schiffling, a senior lecturer in Supply Chain Management, Liverpool John Moores University, said it would take time to make lorry driving a more attractive career.
“It’s issues like drivers not being able to go to the toilet somewhere, not being able to take showers, there’s not enough spaces to actually spend a sensible night somewhere rather than be stood in a lay-by,” she said.
“These are the basic things that we in the UK are lagging behind other countries that have much better infrastructure for drivers and therefore are obviously much more appealing to work in rather than the UK.”
lolipop:
Not a uk motor in the picture.
Well it is a stock picture, of Dover ferry port, If I am not mistaken. Why does that matter?
Sounds better than sleeping in “motorway lay-bys” that the Telegraph thinks get used currently [emoji28]
Predictably, perhaps, a few people have got hold of the wrong end of the stick; probably because it’s the Telegraph.
If you ignore the headline and read the content, it’s pretty much on the money. I wasn’t aware though that it was illegal to park in a layby in Wales (as one comment suggests) then again I don’t have to go into RDC’s and listen to rumours. Technically, “wild camping” is indeed prohibited but I would like to see a council try to prosecute an HGV driver, or its owner, for taking a legal break in a lay-by. The ruling is there to discourage motorhome owners, that’s all.
All well and.good building them.
.
But your still get companies that won’t pay for overnight parking
edd1974:
All well and.good building them.
.
But your still get companies that won’t pay for overnight parking
Perhaps, if there were adequate provision for lorry parking in the UK, bosses who discouraged use of same wouldn’t be treated so leniently by insurers when they put claims in for the truck’s fuel or load being nicked.
edd1974:
All well and.good building them.
.
But your still get companies that won’t pay for overnight parking
How much is taken by the Gov in fuel taxes? Dont we put enough into the system to get a little bit back?
The road network is part of the national infrastructure, and why isn`t parking treated the same?
The season is arriving for the chance of some persuasion to encourage skinflint bosses to pay for parking. With the longer nights encroaching, parking in laybys with the lights on - as is required- should with luck result in flat batteries and a nice expensive call out and disruption to the day’s work. Enough of this and minds may be changed.
cav551:
The season is arriving for the chance of some persuasion to encourage skinflint bosses to pay for parking. With the longer nights encroaching, parking in laybys with the lights on - as is required- should with luck result in flat batteries and a nice expensive call out and disruption to the day’s work. Enough of this and minds may be changed.
I admire the sentiment, but there aren`t loads of empty truck parking places because the fees are too high.
To be honest. I’d be happy with them to tarmac about a dozen fields across the UK. Large fields about the size of south mimms MSA? (hgv and car parking area but all for hgv parking) Actually maybe twice the size south mimms maybe more. Then stick some toilets and showers in the middle. Along with a greggs.
That’s all that’s needed.
Turning up to a MSA and having nowhere to park is a right pain in the ■■■.
How about the HGV Parking at services in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany etc etc…
Good food and no charge for overnight parking ! and then in between motorway services there are the large " Aires" also no charge for overnight parking !!! If you can find a slot.
But Oh no, not in the UK ! £32 to park overnight if you can find a slot…All full of Eastern European trucks but do they pay ? 
GS OVERLAND:
How about the HGV Parking at services in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany etc etc…
Good food and no charge for overnight parking ! and then in between motorway services there are the large " Aires" also no charge for overnight parking !!! If you can find a slot.
But Oh no, not in the UK ! £32 to park overnight if you can find a slot…All full of Eastern European trucks but do they pay ?
But it doesn’t apply to 99% of the drivers on here as they won’t sleep in the ■■■■ holes apparently , or lay-bys come to that , so it’s not a issue
As for the cost , when I tramped the company would pay to park the lorry there , they encouraged it , just the planners didn’t give you enough time ( half the time) to get there .