Thank you to all who attended this month’s Freight People forum. I don’t think we have ever enjoyed so many presentations at one forum and with so much information to digest.

Special thanks to Paul Nunn from Maple Security, Julia Jepps from the British Parking Association, Andrew Green from Roadchef, Chris Holloway from Motorway Buddy, Ali Sadrudin from The Red Lion Truck Stop and our regular contributors Mike Dawber from NaVCIS and Jennifer Rawlinson from Flourish in Mind.

Here were the key takeaways learnings:

•  where the HGV crime hotspots are,  the crime trends and the frightening statistics of the cost of crime.
• What motorway service area Roadchef is doing to collaborate with other motorway service areas, police and drivers to promote safer parking
• How the Park Mark Scheme run by the British Parking Association in  collaboration with the police is looking to increase HGV parking
• The security measures we can put in place to safeguard our vehicles, drivers and customers’ goods
• How the Motorway Buddy App  can be used not only to find rated  parking areas, but  to be alert to crime hotspots
• How the Red Lion Truck Stop has ‘raised the bar’ and what great looks like.

Attendees received a full review, with all top tips including our monthly wellbeing top tip.

Our polls highlighted that:

• 76% of those who attended had been a victim or impacted by HGV crime
• 100% of attendees believed that parking areas should have star ratings
• 86% of attendees would be prepared to pay for safer and securer parking

What an eye-opener!

If you haven’t read the latest NaVCIS report click here. NaVCIS only survives through sponsorship, yet the work it does is invaluable to our industry.  Should you be able to offer sponsorship or know of anyone who would be interested in sponsoring, please give me a call.

Operators please do ensure that you report EVERY crime to the police, it is only by doing so that the real issue to our industry is highlighted. Freight People is firmly of the opinion that the figures that NavCIS shared  are far inferior to the number of crimes suffered by operators on daily basis – in particular with regard to curtain slashing and fuel theft, which often go unreported.

Never before has mental health been more in the headlines, along with the need to look after the wellbeing of ourselves, colleagues and employees.  Jennifer Rawlinson from Flourish in Mind’s Top Tip for the month was to have a Mental Health Champion, to offer support not only to drivers but to managers and business owners, who are not only juggling every day transport issues, but the impact of COVID, Brexit, the skills and driver shortage, the cost impact of LEZs and implementation of the Direct Vision Standard.