Number 10 petition – MPs join RHA push for better driver facilities

The RHA handed in a petition to No10 Downing Street yesterday calling for more safe and secure parking for truckers and coach drivers.

Dozens of MPs have added their voices to a campaign urging ministers to help improve roadside facilities.

Parliamentarians have signed an open letter co-ordinated by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Road Freight and Logistics, who say improved facilities should be central to the Government’s plans to recruit, train and support commercial vehicle drivers.

They’ve joined thousands of signatories including truckers on an RHA petition pressing the Government to do more to tackle the poor standards commercial vehicle drivers experience at service stations and truck stops.

The RHA is also pushing for more safe and secure parking – they estimate there’s a need for another 11,000 spaces across the country.

MPs and industry figures delivered the petition and open letter to No10.

Richard Smith, RHA Managing Director said: “We’re delighted with the support we’re getting from parliamentarians, businesses, people in our industry and the public for our campaigning to secure better driver facilities on our roads.

“Commercial vehicle drivers are vital to our economy so better food, toilets, showers, and somewhere safe and secure to sleep are the very least they deserve.

“We’d like to thank the APPG and thousands in our industry for backing our campaign as we press the Government to help us kick-start a new culture for drivers to feel safer and more respected.

Greg Smith MP, Chair of the APPG on Road Freight and Logistics, said: “A key element of the issues around driver recruitment and retention is the poor state of our roadside facilities. It is imperative the UK ups our game, ensuring drivers have safe, secure, comfortable, and affordable options that they know they can rely on.”

Firms including service station giants, Moto have also signed up to the campaign and have endorsed an RHA petition to the Prime Minister which has the support of nearly 20,000.

Ken McMeikan, CEO of Moto Hospitality, said: “Moto are absolutely delighted to support this campaign.

“We have believed for a long time that the UK’s unsung heroes have been the HGV drivers and they deserve, given the challenges of their role, good, secure conditions where they can rest, eat, sleep and shower. That’s not too much to ask but sadly they are very wanting at the moment in many parts of the UK and we all have to do more.”

The RHA with road transport software experts, Mandata has launched a quest to find ‘The UK’s Kindest Town’.

They’re asking truckers and others in the industry to nominate their kindest town based on their experiences, including access to safe parking, food and showers.

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Notes for editors

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The government’s National Survey of Lorry Parking Spaces found that usage of overnight parking facilities across the country is at a near critical level, with more than 100 sites fully used and a third of all lorries parked in laybys and industrial estates over the survey period. The RHA estimates an additional 11,000 parking spaces are needed, particularly in the South-East, East Midlands and East of England where usage rates are over 90%.

Just as important is the quality of the facilities we are asking our truck and coach drivers to use. With freight crime costing millions of pounds every year and regular reports of poor conditions and insecure sites, many drivers are led to believe they can do better parking off-site.

Improving driver facilities is one of the RHA’s key campaigning priorities.