Motorway facilities, Truckers, Liveline and Applegreen.
Sorry about the layoff. Been in Lithuania since I last talked to you.
Luckily enough I got back in time to catch Petrogas director Joe Barrett on Irelands Radio 1's Liveline programme.
A researcher from Liveline had already called Josephines a few months previously. A truck driver had complained about being asked to leave the car park at Josephines Applegreen Urlingford , Co. Kilkenny. The manager had explained that Health and Safety problems caused by trucks in the Josephines car park had left him no choice but to stop trucks using the facility. That ban went into operation over 4 years ago. Presumably the Liveline team didn't think it was a runner then and the piece had not appeared later in the live show.
This time however the complaint was from a woman trucker (or two?) whose main beef was the lack of toilet facilities on Irish motorways. A string of truckers lined up to vent their displeasure at being barred from Josephines. Some had a rather distorted view of the size of the car park at Josephines, one claiming you could park 40 trucks in it!
Joe sympathised with the truckers plight and also reminded them that he was working closely with the NRA to solve this problem in the near future. However the fact was that Josephines being an official Bus Eireann stop was also responsible for the safety of its customers and that the decision to ban trucks came only after a number of accidents and potentially dangerous situations had occurred.
Since then, 2004, signs have been placed at the entrance stating trucks are not allowed. Many trucks still ignore the signs and drive in and then of course must be asked to leave. Hence the tension.
Guest host Derek Davis made a point of acknowledging Applegreen's "great coffee" and quickly turned the conversation to the governments responsibility to provide rest stops on motorways. Both Derek and Joe sympathized with the truckers plight but it was clear that in the case of Josephines, with 24,000 people using the facilities each week, there was no alternative but to look out for the safety of customers and bus passengers.
The real message to come out of the discussion was, that there are a lack of rest stop facilities in general on Irish roads and the fact that truckers and indeed all people in transit in this country are not catered for properly, when one compares Ireland to other European countries. The NRA are at present addressing the situation but it will take time as Joe Barrett pointed out. I would be very interested to hear your views on this situation and in fact any aspect of motorway services for which you have an opinion or suggestion.
The other message to come out of the show was that we have great coffee. At least the shows guest host Derek Davis thinks so!
2 Comments:
England has the same problem - although most of their motorways have regular services, the major a-roads (some of which are busier and more important than many motorways) have very few truck-friendly ones. Even though the older motorways have very frequent services, they are often rubbish and at night they are reduced to just a petrol station.
Motorway Services Online
Johnny, I wonder if the answer is a combination of some motorway service stations with truck facilities and the type of rest stops available in central Europe, particularly Germany, where a truck can pull in and rest for several hours and use a toilet facility. These consist of simply a lay-by with toilet facilities and tables and banks. Then at least mandatory stops could be made. Even if the driver had to organize to bring his own food/beverage or pick it up somewhere else at least he could plan his stops in advance.
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