The lack of decent rest facilities has been high among the concerns of professional drivers for years. Spending many hours on the road, drivers rightly feel that when the time comes to stop for a while, they should be able to enjoy a comfortable break.
Too often, that’s not the case – whether at a commercial rest area or at customer premises or a distribution centre. It’s even cited as one of the barriers to attracting more people into the industry – at a time when there is a clear need for more professional drivers.
With some 3,500 drivers out on the road on an average day, Driver Hire is well placed to find out what the professionals really think, so invited our drivers to share their views.
Overall, two thirds of respondents* said that commercial rest area facilities meet their needs less than half the time. It’s maybe not surprising then, that 60% of professional drivers only occasionally or never use them.
Top of the list of concerns is a pretty basic human need – decent toilet and washing facilities, with 53% of drivers saying this was their first or second priority. Next on the list was catering. Other options included value for money, location, cleanliness, security and a comfortable place to sit or have a nap.
Comments included, “dated and not clean”, “expensive, unhealthy food”, “nowhere to properly shower”, “make drivers feel like second class citizens”, “better on the continent”.
When choosing where to stop, views were fairly evenly split, with 37% selecting motorway services, 30% choosing layby cafes and 33% choosing a truck stop or ‘other’. Although several drivers pointed out that due to location and drivers’ hours, they often don’t have much of a choice.
The survey also asked about food options. Over two thirds of drivers (68%) currently make their own meals. It’s a smart move, offering a lower cost and putting you in control of the heathy options. But many said they would be more likely to use commercial facilities if they felt they would have access to affordable, healthy food choices – and to know that the facilities would be open for business when they needed them.
Access to toilets and washing facilities is also top of the list at RDCs and customer premises – in fact the picture is even clearer. 62% listed this as their main or second biggest concern, with access to refreshments coming next. Almost 11% said they just felt generally unwelcome when visiting customer premises or RDCs – a real worry given the essential role that drivers play in the supply chain.