The Freight Transport Association's (FTA) members have, in the main, rated UK truckstop facilities as very poor in its latest survey.
The FTA Quarterly Transport Activity Survey for Q2 2009 asked members to rate, at a regional and national level, truckstops in terms of driver facilities, availability and security levels on a five-point scale from 'very poor' to 'very good'.
Two-thirds of FTA members rated truckstop facilities as 'poor' or 'very poor'. None of the respondents rated truck stops as 'very good'.
Regionally, truckstops in Wales had the lowest rating for availability, driver facilities and security. The South-West had the best overall rating for availability and security, with the North-West having the best rating for driver facilities. However, the highest average ratings barely reached 'adequate'.
Don Armour, FTA manager for fleet information, says: "These results confirm just how poor truckstop provision is in the UK, the implications of which are very serious. Aside from providing lorry drivers with the humane standard of a basic facility needed for a decent sleep, secure truckstops also mean that drivers are far less likely to be at the mercy of violent truck thieves."
He adds: "Lorry drivers are legally required to take plenty of rest periods for obvious road-safety reasons; the simple fact is that they have to park-up somewhere, so why not somewhere safe?"
As RT.com reported last month, the first steps towards a European standard for truck parking, which will see truck parks accredited as 'secure', 'highly secure' or 'special', are now complete. The next step is for the accreditation process to commence and a network of sites to be created; the TRUCKinform website will co-ordinate the activity.
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