RHA managing director Rod McKenzie has told BBC Radio Essex that its campaign for more safe and secure lorry parking in the UK “has fallen on deaf ears”.
The Road Haulage Association says truckers have been continually targeted by criminal gangs looking to steal goods from lorries, particularly since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to a report by BBC radio Essex, crimes across the UK relating to HGV cargo theft have gone up by more than 50% in the last three years.
The Department for Transport says it is addressing concerns that have been raised, but both truckers and hauliers are keen to see action taken as soon as possible.
Speaking to BBC Radio Essex, RHA managing director Rod McKenzie said that the facilities at some truck stops in the UK are “completely unacceptable”:
Road freight crime is nothing new. We’ve long campaigned for more safe, secure lorry parking. And it’s completely unacceptable that drivers should have to park in dingy, ill-lit areas with no fencing, security, lighting or CCTV, which, as we know, deters criminals. These are no opportunist thieves; they’re organized criminal gangs and they’re after valuable and resalable contents in the back of an HGV.
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