An open letter to the Prime Minister by the RHA demanding HGV drivers get access to more safe and secure roadside facilities has been signed by 115 Parliamentarians.
The 84 MPs and 31 peers have backed the trade body’s calls, which include making lorry parking a mandatory requirement for all major building and infrastructure projects.
The letter, delivered to Downing Street today (12 March) calls for MSA operators to be given more support to implement minimum security standards and for an emphasis on HGV parking provisions in the National Planning Policy Framework and the release of a national policy statement outlining the infrastructure required by logistics.
The letter also asks for local planning authorities to identify sites for HGV parking and mandate lorry parking provision as a consent condition for all major infrastructure schemes.
The RHA said there was a national shortage of 11,000 lorry parking spaces, with police estimating that freight crime had cost the UK economy more than £1bn since 2020.
Richard Smith, RHA MD, said: “HGV drivers deserve to enjoy decent roadside facilities and have somewhere safe and secure to rest at the end of a shift. But sadly, thousands every night are left in laybys and secluded areas vulnerable to organised crime gangs who target them for their fuel and goods.
“We need to do better than that – and I’m grateful that so many MPs and peers have recognised that too by lending their voices to our campaign that makes it clear that drivers must feel, and be, safe at work.”
Rachel Taylor MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freight and Logistics, added: “20% of my constituents work in freight, and many of those are lorry drivers who keep our country moving and get goods to our supermarket shelves.
“These men and women are key workers who deserve rest facilities that are clean and safe, so it’s shameful that the UK’s driver facilities are now among the worst in Europe.
“Drivers should not be forced to choose between sleeping in unhygienic facilities or parking at the side of dangerous roads where they risk being targeted by organised freight thieves.”
