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Written by Alex Whiteman 04/11/2022
Transport associations and drivers have responded positively to enhanced rest stop requirements under new EU rules, announced on Friday.
But they condemned some member states for being slow to open more facilities.
Introducing the European Commission’s mobility package, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) said the measures would improve conditions for drivers by promoting “adequate facilities for those taking statutory breaks”.
Raluca Marian, EU Advocacy Director at IRU, said: “Adopting new standards is a step in the right direction as the sector urgently needs more safe and secure parking areas across the EU.
“We also welcome the additional funding available under the Connecting Europe Facility to build new parking areas and upgrade existing parking areas, which has played an important role to date.”
The new legislation sets minimum levels of safe service and parking areas must provide for professional drivers. This includes telecommunications (internet) connections, emergency contact points and procedures, food and beverage provision, gender-friendly facilities and power supplies, with stop points approved under the new platinum, gold, silver or bronze standard.
One driver told The Loadstar that this was “very good”, but added that it failed to address the more pressing problem of “there not being enough numbers of rest stops in Europe”.
Another driver told Lodestar that European facilities “were not doing well”, but he considered Switzerland to have the best options.
“The ones in Germany and the Netherlands are certainly more consistent than those in Belgium, France and Spain; as for Italy… part of the problem is that they don’t ask the drivers what they want. It’s like asking architects who are not interested in football to design a stadium; they don’t They know what is needed
“The UK government has a golden opportunity to put this front and centre, but they won’t because they don’t care about the welfare of drivers; all they want is revenue from fuel tax.”
Several sources also said that a lack of facilities, not just across the continent, but in the UK and the US, plays a “huge role” in the dwindling numbers of available drivers and the associated increase in the cost of goods.
Jason Breakwell, Wallenborn’s commercial director, told The Loadstar: “There is no doubt that younger generations will not be attracted to road transport until parking standards are raised. Parking facilities across the European transport network are not being developed fast enough, and the provision of Safe and clean parking is a challenge, both on the road and around major freight hubs such as airports.
“We are seeing a growth in the number of high-quality facilities, but this is incremental, and since they are expensive, they are not an option for many drivers.”
An IRU report last year found that the EU was short of 100,000 parking spaces to meet demand, and of the 300,000 currently available, only 7,000 – less than 3% – were in areas certified as safe and secure. .
“More ambition is needed,” Ms Marian said. We are calling for a dedicated policy and business target to double current safe and secure truck parking spaces by the end of 2025.
