MPs and peers join industry call for safer truck parking

Rachel Taylor MP and RHA managing director Richard Smith outside 10 Downing Street

More than a hundred MPs and peers have joined the call for improvements in roadside facilities for HGV and coach drivers, as part of the drive to tackle freight crime.

The 115 parliamentarians have signed a Road Haulage Association (RHA)-organised open letter to the prime minister Keir Starmer, which was delivered to Downing Street yesterday.

The letter urges ministerial support for measures that would ensure HGV drivers have access to safer, more secure roadside facilities and parking places.

The RHA cites a national shortage of 11,000 lorry parking spaces, and an estimated £1 billion cost to the UK economy since 2020 resulting from freight crime.

The association’s requests, backed by members of both the Commons and the Lords, include mandatory lorry parking spaces for all major building and infrastructure projects, and land to be set aside by councils for truck parks.

In addition, it is calling for minimum security standards at motorway service areas for lorry parking, as a condition of operators’ leases.

The open letter was signed by the MPs and peers at a recent parliamentary reception focused on improving truck drivers’ health and wellbeing.

“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,” said RHA managing director Richard Smith.

“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, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for freight and logistics, has been leading on the campaign. Ms Taylor, who has long been active in raising awareness on freight crime, said that 20 per cent of her constituents work in freight, many of whom are lorry drivers.

“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,” she commented.

“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.

“That’s why I am proud to be leading this call by 115 parliamentarians and the RHA for the government to implement five clear, practical changes that would dramatically improve the availability and quality of driver rest facilities.

“That’s vitally important for ensuring we can recruit and retain the drivers this key industry needs to boost growth and keep our economy on the road.”