“We face an acute driver shortage in the UK, and we will not fully tackle the root causes of the shortage until driver facilities and welfare are significantly improved with greater rest facilities and parking spaces,” says the organisation.
Although the RHA welcomed the funding provided by the government in the 2021 Budget to upgrade facilities, it finds that it falls significantly short of the level of investment required to transform driver facilities. These lorry parks, in many cases, have been allowed to fall to levels that are totally and utterly unacceptable.
There’s an estimated shortfall of 11,000 lorry parking spaces nationally, but developers are often held up by local authority bureaucracy.
That is why the trade body has urged firms and industry professionals to add their voices to the campaign, which includes a petition calling on ministers to pave the way for more safe and secure facilities.
“Commercial vehicle drivers are the backbone of our economy yet every day they are up against a lack of safe and secure parking areas, toilet, and shower facilities. We need the Government to urgently review all facilities and put in place a national programme to ensure that proper roadside facilities are available to all drivers,” explains the RHA.