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Europe hopes to Label secure truckstops
Page 7
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By Patric Cunnane A SCHEME to beat truck crime by identifying secure truckstops across Europe aims to accredit 80 sites in 10 countries by June 2010.
The accreditation process, called Label, was launched in Brussels last week at a conference sponsored by the European Commission and SETPOS (Secured European Truck Parking Operational Services), an organisation with 38 industry partners, including the Road Haulage Association.
SETPOS believes drivers will benefit from safe rest areas and truckstops will attract more customers on receipt of a Label 'blue flag: Label has received half its €2.7m (£2.4m) budget from the EC, the rest from 41 industry partners. The scheme follows an EC report showing that 60% of attacks on lorries take place in service areas, with crime affecting 90,000 drivers a year.
Truckstops will be given Label points under five headings—comfort and dignity; safety; food and shopping; security and services.
"We aim to build a certification process that is fair and acceptable to truck park operators," reveals Silvia Bader, project manager business development of German certification specialist Dekra, which is handling the applications.
The first SETPOS initiative was a 2008 project that lobbied for €.5.2m (i4.6m) from the EC to open five secure truckstops across Europe, with matched funding from the private sector.
The five are Ashford, in the UK; Valenciennes in France; Woernitz and Urhslesben in Germany; and Liege, Belgium.
Ashford used its funding to upgrade security, including installing new CCTV systems to aid its security staff.
"It's important that transport users are prepared to pay for secure areas," says Danish MEP Anne Jensen,