The UK’s road haulage industry has been made the scapegoat to cover the decades of under-investment in road maintenance by infrastructure providers, that’s the view of the Road Haulage Association.

Commenting, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “Many of our worst roads have little or no HGV traffic while many of the best are used by HGVs all the time.

“Local authorities have failed to maintain their infrastructure. Maintain roads properly and repair them after the installation of pipes and cables, and there will be little problem with pot-holes. Failure to do so will see problems multiply, along with the cost of repair and associated congestion. However, where additional wear and tear is as a result of overloaded vehicles, the RHA strongly supports effective enforcement.

“Road hauliers move 85% of the UK economy, delivering food, clothing, houses and jobs. The roads are their main place of work and the industry is doing its job. We expect infrastructure providers, working with central government, to get their act together and do theirs”.

Many other European countries have far better road surfaces despite facilitating the movement of hundreds of thousands of HGVs.  In addition, there are an increasing number of 60-tonne lorries operating on continental roads causing very little, if any damage to the road network.

Richard Burnett continued: “Our lorries now are no more damaging to our roads than they have been for many years, in fact quite the opposite. However, the damage to vehicle suspensions and tyres as a result of poorly maintained roads costs the haulage operator thousands of pounds each year”.

Road Haulage Association

About the Author: John Loughran