'why is it this country treats lorry drivers like scum?'
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Britain's economy would grind to a halt without the army of truck drivers who spend night after night away from their homes and families to deliver the goods. You'd think that someone would do something about the poor conditions they are forced to live in...
• As profit margins are squeezed and drivers' hours enforcement tightens, drivers are being forced to spend more time away from home. That leaves them to choose between the dubious comforts of a layby or, as most do, relying on a diminishing network of tnickstops. Those truckstops come in for their share of criticism, so to find out what drivers want, and what they think of their overnight stops, we went to the big Truck World site, just off the M25 at the Dartford Tunnel.
Francis Ireson, who drives for Gainsborough Express, has been on the road for more than 20 years and misses the old days: "It's all hare and tear today. In the cafes you used to get personal service. If another driver came in he would sit down beside you; now he'll go and sit at the other end of the room. Everyone knew each other — that's what's missing today."
Ireson resents the Inland Revenue's attitude to drivers' expenses: "You used to be able to present all your receipts for meals at the end of the year and claim it against tax. I got £250 back three years ago; they should bring that back.
"My £15.40 night-out money doesn't go very far," he adds, "and I don't get anything for food if I'm not away overnight. But I know some drivers who are really exploited and get less than £10 night-out money."
There have been some improvements over the years — showers, for a start. Most drivers are a lot cleaner than they used to be, because there are better facilities. But Ireson summed up the view of many drivers when he pointed out the failings of many truckstop washrooms. The sinks should be bigger, for a start, and there should be more privacy in the showers, he says.
"Here you've got to leave your clothes at one end with your keys," adds Steven Goodsell of Thomas Transport. "I've never had anything stolen, but there's always a first time. This is only 'my second stop here. If it hadn't been for a hold-up at the Dartford Tunnel I'd have been home with the family in Brighton by now.
"There's virtually nowhere to stop after the tunnel — the police have even closed the mobile cafes on the A23 because they say the lorry traffic stopping and starting in the laybys causes a traffic hazard. It's the same between Brighton and Dover — nothing."
TOO LATE
Ian Catterall, a tanker driver with 15 years' service at Sutton & Son (St Helens), says: "I wouldn't normally be here, but it's taken seven hours to get down from Runcorn and I was too late to reload. The trouble with this place is the noise. The wagons all seem to do a lap of honour before they pull out. BP at Alconbury's good; it's quiet."
Martin Dudley, a former policeman who trucked in the US until his permit ran out, is now working for MarshaBs Transport, Evesham. He complains that "there isn't nearly enough places to stop. South London is terrible. Why is it this country treats lori-y drivers like scum? I think it is because the British as a whole have no pride in anything they do."
Douglas Crawford has been on HGVs for two weeks. He reckons the new stop at Carnforth is "cheap, but the food's horrible", but Dudley insists it's "the best value for money in the country". It costs £4.50 to park, with a £2 meal voucher. While virtually all bosses pay the parking charge the trouble is that Dudley, Like so many other haulage drivers, gets the £2 knocked off when he claims the money back.
"Sharwoods Transport at Shepshed, off the Ml, has the right idea," says Dudley. "They charge either £3.50, for those who just want to stay in the wagon, or £6, with a voucher.
It's a good stop, although they haven't been able to get a licence for a bar."
Norman Ritchie, relaxing in an immaculate Mercedes 13-tonner, complete with TV, reckons he has "the best driving job in Scotland". A former owner-operator driven out of business by bad debts 10 years ago, he now drives for Ethicon, a surgical equipment company based in Edinburgh, and has three nights out a week.
He welcomes the gradual demise of the greasy spoon end of the business, and believes the collar-and-tie approach will become more common.
Les Simcox, driving a new Strato for P&O Roadtanks, takes a similar view: "Standards in truckstops are very good. We've got what we want, so long as we've got showers, 24-hour toilets, and the food's good at reasonable prices."
Tony Fay, who works for Dico Furniture, is glad to be working on own-account. "I wouldn't work for a general haulier, continually breaking the law." Now, he says, he has time to wash, relax and get a proper night's sleep.
No-one we spoke to put entertainment high on their list of truckstop priorities.
So what do drivers want from British truckstops? More of them, for a start, as they have in France. The many motorway service areas they often have to use don't fit the bill because facilities are poor and prices high.
Drivers want a good wash, and are more interested in good food than before — modest enough needs, which are matched by modest budgets. They are almost too unanimous in the view that BP is leading the way in improved truckstops, and not just because of the voucher system: "BP is taking over. Everything you want's there," one driver said, 0 by Jack Semple