“Hello, we are doing a truck check. Can I come in?” As friendly as a boa from the municipality of Halderberge initiates the inspection, he is unrelenting when handing out a print. The trucker has to pay 100 + 9 euros for administration costs. One small consolation: he is by no means the only one this Monday.
Because finally the government checks on the lorry ban in the Pastoor van Breugelstraat in Bosschenhoofd. At least, that’s how the residents experience it.
Whether early in the morning or late at night: they have been awakened for years by the umpteenth ten-tonner that tears past. And that while trucks that do not have Bosschenhoofd as their destination are not allowed to drive here at all.
And yet drivers drive en masse on the road. Every day between 300 and 350, the municipality of Halderberge once calculated. The Pastoor van Breugelstraat is popular because the road connects the A17 with the A58: a shortcut that is shorter than following the standard paths.
“It’s dangerous on this street.”
“So much freight traffic is a problem here in the village,” says resident Louis van Peer. “It is dangerous in this street. So I think it’s great that they’re checking now.”
That this is really a coming of age of truck combinations, becomes clear during the inspection itself. While boa Ralf Boomaars talks to a driver, one truck after another drives past undisturbed. They are lucky: there are not enough hands to check everyone.
“We assume that this will reduce the nuisance.”
Boa Boomaars is satisfied with the result at the end of the morning. Of the 20 trucks, 18 shouldn’t be driving here. Only 2 drove legally and actually had Bosschenhoofd as their destination.
Traffic alderman Thomas Melisse also takes a look. “We hope that with these checks, drivers will realize that they are not allowed to drive here.” He is serious, after residents have been sounding the alarm about it for some time. “Safety and quality of life are related to traffic here. We assume that this will reduce the nuisance,” says Melisse.
“I am happy with it and think it helps.”
It remains to be seen whether truck drivers actually care. Many truckers follow the navigation, which guides them over (un)familiar roads. Even if there is a prohibition sign at the beginning of the road, it appears this Monday morning.
“We hope that this will spread among the truckers,” says alderman Melisse. “And that the nuisance caused by freight traffic will therefore decrease.”
For the next six months, the municipality of Halderberge will continue to send boas to Bosschenhoofd, who will therefore regularly check the village. Louis van Peer is optimistic: “I am happy with it and think it helps.”