A CASE FOR TREATMENT
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Traffic congestion is certainly creating some strange bedfellows. Commercial Motor's vox pop of freight drivers parked up at an M25 service area (page 14) shows just how disillusioned are the men who have to deal with congestion day after day. So you'd think they'd be all for widening the motorway ring around the nation's capital. Not a bit of it. Most reckon that increasing capacity will only lead to an increase in use. Their view is uncannily close to that of the environmental lobby, which claims that Britain's congestion won't be solved by building more roads. So has road haulage finally embraced the green brigade? We doubt it. Although many HGV drivers would echo the words of Christian Wolmar, political correspondent of the Independent and author of a report on beating gridlock published by Friends of the Earth: "We need to show the politicians that enough is enough and that it's time for the priorities to be reversed to stop the domination of the car." It's certainly time to allow Britain's truck operators to actually get on with the job of distributing over 80% of the nation's goods to their destination on time. Who's causing congestion? Look at the numbers. There 22 million cars on Britain's roads and 420,000 trucks, of which only some 70,000 are top weight artics. Now ask yourself what's causing congestion. New road-building may not be the solution to every transport problem, but where it's appropriate, and needed, the Government should get on with providing it. When hundreds of residents of no less a place than Tunbridge Wells vote for road improvements to ease their daily burden, then clearly the option of doing nothing at all is no option at all. Only an incurable optimist could expect the road transport industry to get special treatment when it comes to overcoming congestion. But any treatment at all would be welcome.