Italy is facing a severe shortage of safe parking areas for heavy goods vehicles, making the already difficult life of truck drivers more challenging. The problem is so alarming that it is pushing young people away from the profession, states the March issue of “Uomini e Trasporti,” a monthly magazine covering Italian transport issues.
The magazine’s latest issue highlights the shortage of safe parking areas for heavy goods vehicles in Italy.
According to the article, there are only 158 parking areas and rest stops for HGVs in Italy, providing a total of 7,640 parking spaces. However, there are approximately 718,000 lorries operating in the country, which means that there is only one parking space for every 94 trucks.
This ratio is clearly inadequate to meet the needs of the high number of HGVs on the roads, and it puts drivers at risk of having to park in unsafe or illegal areas.
Moreover, only 2,482 of the 7,640 parking spaces are considered safe and secure, which means that there is only one safe parking space for every 289 HGVs on the road in Italy, the magazine stresses.
This lack of safe parking areas can have serious implications for the safety of drivers and their cargo, as well as for the wider community.
It can also contribute to the already challenging working conditions of HGV drivers, as well as discouraging young people from entering the profession.
The situation in Italy is not unique. The report mentions that less than 3% of parking spaces for HGVs in Europe are located in secure parking areas, which is a worrying statistic for drivers and the transport industry as a whole.
The European Union has recently allocated 100 million euros to co-finance projects aimed at improving the safety and quality of existing parking areas for HGVs, which is at least one positive sign when it comes to addressing this issue.
Photo credits @ Rab Lawrence under CC BY 2.0