1/2 Trucks at a rest area next to the A16 at Zevenbergschen Hoek.
There is a serious shortage of parking spaces for trucks. There is a shortage of 776 places in Brabant. This deficit will increase to almost double in 2040, according to a report from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
There are 2289 places in Brabant where truck drivers can park to rest. But that is not enough, according to the report. There is a shortage of rest areas, especially in Eindhoven, Den Bosch and Tilburg.
One of the consequences of the shortage of parking spaces is that drivers park their trucks on the hard shoulder. Apart from the fact that this is not allowed, this creates dangerous situations.
“It’s really scary at times.”
Bert Kreefmeijer can talk about it. He is a truck driver and sees these kinds of dangerous situations every day. “This afternoon there was a truck on the exit. That is dangerous. It is really scary at times.” Kreefmeijer mainly mentions the A67 as the place where the problem is major. “It is sometimes one big chaos there.”
Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN) considers the shortage of rest areas a major problem. “Drivers must adhere to legal driving and rest times. Then the facilities must be there to meet that requirement,” a spokesperson told Omroep Brabant.
The shortage causes stress for drivers. “If they can’t find a place every time, they drive on and then they can’t keep to the driving and rest times. With fines as a result,” says the TLN spokesperson.
“It happens that I can’t park in the third parking space yet.”
Wim is also a truck driver and he recognizes himself in this story. “It sometimes happens that I still cannot park in the third parking space. Then I drive on, for example to an industrial area. And then it is hoped that you can stand there.”
According to TLN, the problem is simple, but the solution is not. This is because several parties have to work together, such as municipalities, the province and Rijkswaterstaat. It is clear that there must be more rest areas, where drivers can also eat, go to the toilet, wash and relax.
TLN believes that by designing existing parking spaces in a smarter way, more spaces can become available. Space should also be reserved for parking spaces when new business parks are being built, and spaces could be created at large sites that are often vacant.
