More than a hundred MPs and peers have joined the call for improvements in roadside facilities for HGV and coach drivers, as part of the drive to tackle freight crime.

The 115 parliamentarians have signed a Road Haulage Association (RHA)-organised open letter to the prime minister Keir Starmer, which was delivered to Downing Street yesterday.

The letter urges ministerial support for measures that would ensure HGV drivers have access to safer, more secure roadside facilities and parking places.

The association’s requests, backed by members of both the Commons and the Lords, include mandatory lorry parking spaces for all major building and infrastructure projects, and land to be set aside by councils for truck parks.

In addition, it is calling for minimum security standards at motorway service areas for lorry parking, as a condition of operators’ leases.

The open letter was signed by the MPs and peers at a recent parliamentary reception focused on improving truck drivers’ health and wellbeing.

Rachel Taylor MP, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for freight and logistics, has been leading on the campaign. Ms Taylor, who has long been active in raising awareness on freight crime, said that 20 per cent of her constituents work in freight, many of whom are lorry drivers.

“These men and women are key workers who deserve rest facilities that are clean and safe, so it’s shameful that the UK’s driver facilities are now among the worst in Europe,” she commented.

“Drivers should not be forced to choose between sleeping in unhygienic facilities or parking at the side of dangerous roads where they risk being targeted by organised freight thieves.

Further information:

https://transportoperator.co.uk/2026/03/13/mps-and-peers-join-industry-call-for-safer-truck-parking/