GIVE US A BREAK!
Page 5
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The Highways Agency appears to I. adopted a policy of closing layby tr stops. CM has published many sto about Jenny Hawes' three-year legal tie to keep her unlicensed roadside open at the Chapel Lane layby on the A47 I Wisbech, Combs, culminating last month in victory in a county court. And the news this v that the Welsh Office's highways departn intends to close all the layby cafes along the mile stretch of the A55 between Bangor Chester (see page 6) means drivers in ano part of the country will not be able to refreshment or stop for their required bre Safety must lie at the heart of the road trans industry and must be promoted and backer Government and the industry itself. But opportunities for drivers to stop for tl required breaks, to rest when they feel tired even to take a trip to the loo are significc dwindling around the country. The services do exist got a definite thumbs down in our re survey—drivers said that standards at ser stations are poor and overpriced (CM 18 July). Compounding the problem, in this we instance, is the Welsh Office clearly not doin, homework because other roadside ser, providers along the route will not welcome trucks, on the grounds of lack of parking. Commercial Motor has long called for an integrated transport policy: an idea, it seems, which is beyond the capabilities of the DOT. But if we're going to have rules that say drivers must stop driving for a certain amount of time each day, there most be enough facilities provided to accommodate this. Safety cannot be left to market forces.