During a conference organised by the Spanish transport association AEUTRANSMER, the Civil Guard, shippers and carriers spoke on the ban on overnight stays in Spain. This country, like the rest of Europe, lacks safe parking lots. After the ban comes into force, the number of cargo thefts may increase.
According to Fernando Ropero, an agent of the Civil Guard’s Traffic Department, the number of theft of goods from trucks in Spain will increase due to the ban on taking 45-hour rest in the cabin. As Ropero stressed during his lecture at the conference organized by AEUTRANSMER, such incidents most often occur in industrial parks and parking lots for trucks.
The officer also reminded that carriers and drivers should focus on all security measures and report any theft. Only then will the police be able to fight effectively against criminal groups robbing trucks.
Shipper solutions
At the meeting, shippers considered that the creation of a special security protocol to be used by carriers was necessary to minimize theft of cargo. According to Gabriel Mesas and Miguel Ángel Carro of LG Electronics, companies should take special measures, for example by refraining from transporting expensive products in tarpaulin-type trailers. Criminals get into tautliners with ease, which is why LG Electronics limits their use.
Mesas, citing internal LG statistics, stressed that Spain is the infamous leader in Europe when it comes to this type of crime. This is largely due to the lack of adequate safe infrastructure for heavy goods transport. There are not enough guarded parking lots but also places where drivers could legally have a regular weekly rest after a ban has been introduced.
Although regulations aimed at improving working conditions for truck drivers are desirable, the authorities must not forget to create an appropriate infrastructure to achieve this goal,” said Mesas.
According to Miguel Ángel Carro, the solution to the problem of cargo theft, from the point of view of the shipper, is a safety protocol. It includes, among other things, the following:
– confidentiality rule (concerning cargo information),
– careful route planning and coordination so that the driver (as far as possible) does not have to stop at parking lots and unguarded areas and to minimize waiting times, especially in industrial areas.
ASTIC criticizes the new ban
The Spanish international transport association ASTIC also strongly criticizes the ban on taking 45-hour rest in the cabin of a truck.
It does not seem fair that the driver is punished for taking a rest in the cabin, while the country lacks adequate, safe and sufficient infrastructure to provide space for both truck drivers and their vehicles,” says Ramón Valdivia, head of ASTIC.
The association stresses that such ‘paper-based solutions’ seriously hamper the real development of international road transport and encourage the emergence of new 'local experiments’ which serve only protectionism and the fragmentation of the single market.
Photo: Trans.INFO