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MAKE SECURITY OUR PRIORITY
Page 10
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Truck drivers going about their business, keeping the wheels of this industry turning, deserve to be permitted to go about their business without threats to their physical well-being. The job is stressful enough without hijackings and muggings, but sadly these now seem to be part and parcel of life on the road.
We report this week on two hijackings which took place in March on the A14. We know of a number of others in the West Midlands, and no doubt there are further examples in the major industrial areas of the country. We fear there are some major organised gangs at play.
In the case of the A14 hijackings the police suspect the trucks had been followed from the docks at Felixstowe and then targeted when they stopped for a break. The fact one of the containers was full of specialist TVs would indicate someone had inside knowledge.
The police advice is for drivers to be on their guard and to use secure parking. Well thanks a bunch, Einstein! As we all know there is a huge shortage of secure parking throughout the UK and drivers these days have to be on a lot of things, their guard being one of them.
What drivers require is better security we'd venture that rather than imposing an overtaking Pan on the Al 4 and using resources to police it, better patrols of lay-bys would be of more value.
"Drivers deserve to go about their business without threats to their physical well-being"
This isn't about overnight parking we'll save that for another day. This is about drivers going about their normal working day and being targeted by thugs. They deserve better and we all have a responsibility to come up with some solutions, starting with better policing and better protection.