The revenue would have completed the motorway network' Alf Buckman,
Page 51
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
an owner-driver working out of Dover Docks, wonders why road accidents cause so much delay—and why the Government is so slow to act...
ne Monday morning I recently left my home in Dover at 4.30am for a delivery in Farringdon, Oxfordshire, scheduled for around 9.00am. I thought I was in reasonable time, but on approaching the M25/M26 intersection I came to a complete standstill. I was at the end of a tailback of almost stationary traffic. I was told by other drivers this tailback was six miles long, but a radio report stated that it was the result of an accident at Junction 8 which had caused two lanes to be closed, which meant the queue of traffic was far longer than six miles. On approaching Clacket Lane Services I z2 decided it was sensible to park up rather 8 than waste driving time moving at a snail's 2 pace. The result of this was. that I arrived at I my destination more than two hours late, u ,., F, like many hundreds, if not thousands, of -° other drivers that morning. T->The question is, why do the authorities take so long to attend and clear road traffic 012accidents at the cost of many thousands of i pounds in lost time, fuel and delivery times? Not to mention the total inconvenience to all the people on the motorway with very little or no knowledge of why they are stuck there for hours on end with no toilets or food, or why they're being diverted off a three-lane carriageway on to a single carriageway, causing severe congestion in that locality. Some 20 years ago the Road Haulage Association carried out a survey which found the total amount of revenue from all forms of taxation on all forms of road users earned in one year would have completed the motorway network and upgraded all major A-roads to dual-carriageway standard.
If this was or is the case, why was it never done, or why is it not being done now, especially as I hear the latest set of figures earned is some £28bn, of which only 25% is being spent on roads? The Government has had a 10-year derogation on 40-tonne trucks to enable bridges to be strengthened. Why has it left it until the past couple of years to start doing something about it? More often than not it solves the problem by introducing weight limits, causing long detours at the hauliers' expense.
It appears to me that we should have a similar network of roads to continental Europe, where we can pull off every five or 10 miles into an area that has, at the very least, toilets and a snack bar.
All these failings in our industry seem to be the fault of central government or the Prime Minister of the time, who does not appoint someone who has served time in that profession to each ministry. An ex-minister, since appointed to a top position in the industry, is now claiming for the industry just what his party would not agree to while in power. So when are we in road haulage going to stop stabbing one another in the back and unite for the benefit of all?