Your Views.

[TWR]

This is about HGVs parking up at the service area at night ( They have no choice when their TACO time is up) the price is around 10 pound, there has been quite a number of thefts from their trailer amounting to thousands of pounds, should the owners of the service areas have all night security to patrol these areas? Yes, this is a motoring question but I'd like to know your views.

[nannybooby]

I Thought that most drivers slept in their trucks , unless its a curtain sider i would all be locked up surely.

[jackthehat]

Perhaps the haulage companies ought to club together and fund this idea?

[TWR]

I've been there Nanny but never had anything stolen, most are curtain siders.

[Booldawg]

This seems to be a crime thats on the up and up. I notice trucks parked in laybys with empty loads will leave the back doors open overnight to prove to the criminal its not work vandalising the truck.

Most parking areas have the 'vehicles parked at owners risk' signs up so I guess they dont want to take responsibility.

I wouldve thought most 24 hour service areas have security guards anyway? I'm sure they could extend their patrol areas to the truck stops.

[McMouse]

I thought most HGV drivers with high value loads planned their journeys and TACO stops to take advantage of secure parking facilities.

[Booldawg]

in an ideal world McM! Delays getting tipped or tailbacks on the motorways still adds time to driving hours and messes up the best laid plans.

[Messi_Ten]

They should be parked there permanently and not allowed on the roads until they pay for all the damage and disruption they cause.

[TWR]

Messi, you don't think about everyday Commodities I see, when you get the chance have a look at a HGVs road tax, ask about their Insurance, the amount they take on board with fuel & calculate that cost, then just think who & what brings your food to the supermarkets, TVs to the likes of PC World, petrol / derv for your car every item within your household, even the knickers you are wearing, live in a real world! I do.

[hc4361]

You can't make a non secure parking area liable for anything. Many car parks charge more than that per day with no liability. It would certainly push your costs up and nothing can be guaranteed.

Is it possible to alarm curtain sided trailers? Or take a big dog with you?

[andy-hughes]

I think the point raised that the costs raised by each service area providing security will increase the costs to the casual traveller, which seems not entirely fair.

I would suggest that valuable loads are carried in appropriately secure vehicles, although thinking about it, that may again push up the consimer costs as soilid-sided vehicles are more expensive to buy.

[jackthehat]

Or, perhaps the haulage companies ought to club together and fund this idea?

I think TWR is having trouble seeing my responses to his questions.....

[Nibble]

Messi, I'll stop delivering anything to your house..............That's what you wish, with no HGV to deliver????

[sunny-dave]

Road damage rises as the square of axle weight - a car has an axle weight of less than a ton, a 44 ton HGV has an axle weight of up to 10 tons.

This means that if a maximum size HGV was paying the same economic cost for the use of the road as a car, it would pay well over 100x the road tax.

Average road tax for a car (say) £150 - so the proper cost for a juggernaut HGV should be well over £15,000 - but they pay around £1,800 .... so Messi_Ten is absolutely right - take the monsters off the road until they pay their proper share of the costs.

[sunny-dave]

... and I don't mean that there should be no HGV traffic - just that it should bear a fair share of the costs - which would concentrate the minds of the hauliers and result in far fewer juggernaut journeys (many of which are carrying 'empty air') and more use of rail and then LGV deliveries from railheads.

[andy-hughes]

Nice idea sunny-dave, but the thrust of your argument suggests that it is haulage firms who should bear the cost of the perceived road damage caused by their vehicles. The reality is that any such costs would simply be passed on to the consumer in order to continue the viability of road haulage.

[hc4361]

sunny-dave, I want to be able to afford fruit and veg, groceries, household goods, white goods, clothes and everything else that is delivered in a HGV. Pushing up transport costs pushes up shop floor costs.

How many transit loads equals one HGV?

[Nibble]

Try about 38tons per HGV to 1.5 tons per Transit..... This equals about 5.25 Million transits on the roads to deliver what it's covered by HGV, i.e. 20 vans/HGV As a trucker, I see no point to get rid of the "hgv -- road abuse ---- weight limit" without a very serious rethink of our own ideas.

[TWR]

Sunny Dave, do your home work & find out why Tractor units ( That the front end pulling the trailer) has 3 axles, & the trailer has 3 axles then come back with your comment, regards the roads & the road surface, if the Local council did a better job repairing the surface instead of sending out a crew with buckets of tarmac in the back of their vans the roads would be better, if you drive a car you should see that. the other argument" stick it on the rail" what takes it to the rail yard? & after a day or so getting to it's destination, stored in a warehouse then GOING BY ROAD "OH by the way! who pays the extra cost? God?

[TWR]

HC, the only way a curtain side could have an alarm, if the webbing that makes up the strenght of the curtain was wired throughout that would work, but extra cost would be "if possible passed to the likes of people that condemn HGVs for destroying the roads, TO Sunny Dave,by carring your food, TVs, Petrol, Derv, Clothes, Flowers, cars,vans,papers, bog rolls, after shaves, medication, there is not enough room on the page to finish