SPECIAL REPORT


Whatever the situation elsewhere in Europe, it’s the level of crime in the UK as well as attacks on drivers who have tried to confront offenders that have been a major cause of concern for the Road Haulage Association (RHA) for some time. Chrys Rampley, RHA’s Manager Infrastructure & Security, provided this insight to Vigilant: “We know the hotspot corridor along the M1, although we have also seen displacement to motorway services further afield. These crimes are more organised than they used to be. Our intelligence suggests organised crimes groups originating in the UK send spotter vehicles out every night. They don’t know what they are looking for but if they find something and have someone who wants it, usually they bring in stolen vans/ HGVs on cloned plates to take the goods.”


It would be wrong for companies which are victims of these crimes to point a finger at motorway service operators. After all, sites clearly state that vehicles are parked at their owners’ risk. Nonetheless, services operators are not ignoring the problem and clearly want to be part of the solution. Aside from protecting a sizeable revenue stream from commercial vehicles, they are no doubt aware of the reputational damage that stems from a strong association with high levels of crime. With incidents of violence also being reported, they will be equally keen to protect their customers from any such threat.


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in our HGV parking areas. We constantly review security procedures at all our sites to deter potential crime, detect suspicious activity and improve protection for all our customers and continue to invest in new security features to meet these objectives.”


‘Motorway services operators are not ignoring the problem and clearly want to be part of the solution. Aside from protecting a sizeable revenue stream from commercial vehicles, they are no doubt aware of the reputational damage that stems from a strong association with high levels of crime.’


One TAPA EMEA member recently suffered such an attack. It had a group of eight trucks at a UK services which were targeted by thieves during the night. When one of their drivers was alerted to the attack as it was in progress, he and his colleagues confronted the offenders only to be threatened by the attackers, who also smashed the windows of their cabs.


Vigilant approached both Roadchef and Moto, two of the UK’s leading motorway services area operators for their response to the rising wave of attacks on trucks. Both were keen to comment. A spokesperson from Roadchef said: “Along with other Motorway Service Area operators, Roadchef is working closely with the police and other agencies to improve security


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A statement from Moto added: “Moto is committed to making designated parking areas for HGVs more secure and works in partnership with other motorway service area operators and the police National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) to achieve this goal. As the biggest motorway service area operator in the UK, Moto is also trialling a number of initiatives aimed at improving protection for drivers and their cargoes, including additional CCTV and security patrols.”


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