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Operator accuses Moto of a 'biased' clamping policy
Page 16
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The RHA agrees that clamping UK vehicles but not foreign vehicles in the same situation would be unfair. Roanna Avison reports.
MOTORWAY SERVICES operator Moto has defended its clamping policy after one UK operator suggested it was biased in favour of foreign vehicles.
Mark Dole,owner of Mark Dole Transport, says one of his drivers went into Thurrock services because he had a stomach complaint: "It was 3.30am and he couldn't get into the truck park because it was full and the entrance was blocked by foreign lorries, so he decided to park in a coach bay while he went to the toilet."
Also parked in the coach bays were two other UK vehicles and two foreign trucks. Dole adds: "When my driver returned 15 minutes later. he found that his lorry and the two other English lorries had been clamped, but the foreign ones hadn't been."
Dole says the driver paid the £250 fine to have the clamp removed, but he is angry that his vehicle was clamped while foreign lorries parked in neighbouring coach bays were not:"It does seem that the clamping policy is biased."
Chris Rampley, manager for infrastructure at the Road Haulage Association, says it seems unfair if UK vehicles are being clamped while foreign vehicles in the same situation are not: "There should be more flexibility to allow lorries to park in coach bays during the night. It makes more sense than having empty coach bays and nowhere for LGVs to park.
A Moto spokesman says: "The Thurrock service area has 75 dedicated LGV parking spaces, which is insufficient to meet the demand created by the increasing number of trucks on our roads. In recognition of this we have an overspill facility for LGVs which is managed on site by CP-Plus, whose staff operate until midnight.
-We're very happy to talk to any transport company that regularly has vehicles arriving at Thurrock after midnight, in an effort to work out a solution.However.our coach parking bays must remain outside the overspill contingency because of early morning coach traffic, and the health and safety implications of passengers moving around large vehicles with a limited view. Any vehicle risks being clamped by parking in a dedicated coach bay,