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RHA hails 1-hour free parking at service station as “big victory” for HGV drivers

The Road Haulage Association has managed to secure 1-hour's worth of free parking for HGV drivers at the Winning Post Service Station in Exeter, which it has has hailed as a “big victory for drivers". Although the announcement is undoubtedly welcome, the social media reaction shows some drivers feel the RHA's reference to a “big victory" is somewhat an overstatement.

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Gregor Gowans

Gregor Gowans

Journalist Trans.INFO

|

26.05.2022

Hailing the announcement, the RHA’s new Managing Director, Richard Smith, tweeted:

“Our facilities campaigning is starting to pay off – we’ve won an extension to parking times for HGV drivers at an Exeter Motor Fuel Group, meaning they can take rest periods without having to pay. We’re confident that this is the first of many such wins.”

In its press release covering the news, the RHA wrote:

“As a result of our engagement, MFG has agreed to extend its free parking from 30 minutes to 1 hour at its A38 Haldon Hill site. This follows concerns raised by members at our Midlands and Western Regional Council – a critical tool for members to discuss issues in their area.”

The press release continues:

“Members highlighted that some sites were charging £1 after 30 minutes – despite the mandatory 45-minute rest period being in place for drivers. We called for a 1 hour free parking as a minimum – and MFG responded to our call, stating it valued the custom and opinion of our members, and didn’t want to prevent them from being able to take required breaks. The move will come into place on 7 June 2022.”

According to the RHA’s social media pages, the extra free parking at the service station is a “big victory for drivers”.

Clearly, the more free parking there is for lorries, the better it is for both drivers and hauliers. Therefore, any improvements the RHA can make in this area are most welcome.

That said, the reaction among drivers on Twitter shows that many truckers believe the reference to a “big victory” to be something of an overstatement.

One lorry driver replied: “1 hour free parking is classed as a ‘big victory’?”

Another sarcastically added: “Wow, amazing. A whole hour”, before going on to urge the RHA to do more to address conditions for drivers at RDCs.

Although similar comments could also been on seen on the RHA’s Facebook page, the reaction there was noticeably more positive.

Among those to praise the announcement on Facebook was Paul Stentiford, Transportation Manager at Newman Haulage Ltd. He described the announcement as “great news” and added that it was ideal for mandatory breaks.

Update: the RHA has since removed the original tweet and reposted the story with new copy

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