Danish authorities to clamp down on non-payment of rest stop parking fees

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Last weekend, the boss of Denmark’s road transport authority called for action to thwart those who avoid paying rest stop parking fees. Now there are reports of wheel clamps being more frequently utilised to ensure nobody dodges payment.

Earlier this week, Danish trucking website lastbilmagasinet.dk said it had received several calls from drivers at rest stops who had seen clamped trucks with parking tickets on the windscreen. This was reportedly the case at the Dall rest stop south of Aalborg in particular.

According to Claus Kjær-Pedersen, head of Tungvognscenter Nord (the northern division of Denmark’s HGV policing department), the authorities in Denmark will be taking more concerted action to ensure parking fees are paid.

Kjær-Pedersen said that until now, the Danish Transport Authority had been the only organisation handling the inspections of parking at rest areas. However, he adds that the officers from the tungvognscenter have now been given the means to fine those who don’t pay the fees.

Although officers won’t be „moving up and down the motorway” to catch those who leave without paying, Kjær-Pedersen made it clear that inspections at rest stops would be part of tungvognscenter’s „general control”. At the same time, officers shall check that the trucks parked on site are operating legally.

The tungvognscenter also have the authority to clamp trucks until fines are paid, though Kjær-Pedersen admits that making wheel clamping standard procedure may be a step too far.

News of the added controls come days after the publication of a strongly-worded open letter from Erik Østergaard, the CEO of Denmark’s haulage association.

In the letter, Erik Østergaard said that Danish hauliers who pay up are being disadvantaged by the foreign companies who try to get away with non-payment. Østergaard even went as far as to say „foreign trucks are above the rules in Denmark” and that the situation was „untenable”.


Photo credit: Stromcarlson / Wikimedia Commons (cropped image, image is for illustrative purposes only)

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