scanny77 wrote:
as i am not a tramper i dont know much about transport cafes but i do know about service stations on the motorway network Claire and you will be able to relate to them too hence i will use them to emphasise my point.
we are allowed to park for 2 hours free BUT they do fill up quickly for overnight parking. coach bays are normally empty overnight but even stopping in them to nip to the toilet can easily turn into a £250 (the smallest fine i have heard of) fine to release a clamp. the clampers seen to use unmarked vans and target drivers who are either asleep or absent, never a fully alert driver sat in his seat (what does that suggest?) so what do we do? once you are out of time you must stop but if you stop you will face a huge fine. overnight parking (which is where the main concern is) is paid for but provides little value for money. £15 upwards for a meal and a shower and neither seem to be of very good quality from what i have heard. plus the parking is largely insecure, certainly in motorway service areas but evidentally in proper truckstops too. take lymm, cars running through the HGV park, clampers are known to operate there and the facilities arent exactly 5 star either.
i personally do not have to suffer these places for more than a trailer swap or a break (depending on the job) but when i do park up overnight i choose somewhere urban with no parking restrictions and plenty of light. its free and providing i stop for supplies beforehand, i need not leave the truck. councils are increasingly restricting overnight parking in the towns and cities though so i would imagine my colleagues here use different tactics. this does not take anything away from the original point though. why are we having to find somewhere to park up instead of having proper facilities at our disposal?
I am a "Roamer" not a tramper that "scannny" refers to in his statement but as I am away for up to 3 nights a week, I understand what he says about the distinct lack of safe and secure parking facilities for lorry drivers and their cargos.
There are very little facilities for drivers to park up in a safe environment as how would you feel if you had to sleep in your property with little or no security (try sleeping with your doors unlocked at home!) or in the middle of nowhere in a layby or on an industrial estate with something like £50,000 or £100,00 of goods on board with no toilets or washing facilities let alone somewhere to get something to eat at the end of your working day?
We have to put up with the "Nimby" culture of we don,t want dirty smelly trucks on out doorstep but we want the goods delivered in a "Just in Time" fashion, and then go away because we don,t want you when you have done your days work so go and find somewhere else to park your vehicle away from here (preferably in the middle of nowhere)!