Freight News, Road

Truck parking closures misconceived, says IRU

[ February 10, 2017   //   Chris ]

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) has described the closure of secure overnight truck parking areas between Brussels and the Channel coast in a bid to tackle the migrants crisis as counterproductive. It says that the move threatens the safety of drivers, removes essential facilities, and could impact negatively on local neighbourhoods, potentially exacerbating rather than addressing the problem.

Irt argues that the real issue are lack of police capability and lack of funding for properly secured parking areas. Truck drivers will be forced to park in places where safety is not guaranteed, increasing the risk of attacks on drivers and cargo crime. It could also leave drivers without the necessary rest facilities, such as toilets and restaurants,  and may impact drivers’ ability to comply with driving and rest time rules.

Marc Billiet, who leads IRU’s work on road freight transport in the EU, said: “Closing motorway service areas to trucks overnight will not solve the problem of stowaways. The migrants will simply move to the areas where drivers are forced to stop, off the motorway. This could seriously threaten driver safety and bring disruption and dangers to unsecured, ill-equipped parking areas or neighbourhoods.”

 

 

 

Tags: IRU