News

Around one in six truck drivers across Europe has been subjected to an attack, according to a shocking new survey. The Attacks on International Drivers report, by the International Road Transport Union, (IRU) included 1,300 face-to-face interviews and 700 replies to an internet questionnaire, from drivers and transport industry representatives in 35 countries. It found:

• 17% of all drivers interviewed suffered an attack during the five-year period investigated between 2000 and 2005  
• 30% of attacked drivers were attacked more than once
• 21% of drivers were physically assaulted
• 60% of the attacks targeted the vehicle and its load, while the remaining 40% related to the theft of the driver's personal belongings
• 42% of the attacks took place in truck parking areas
• 66% of the reported attacks occurred between 10pm and 6am
• 30% of the attacked drivers did not report the incident to the police
• Countries where the highest number of surveyed attacks occurred, per million tonnes of international traffic, were: Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Russia.

The IRU has called on national authorities to establish and maintain safe and secure truckstops and parking areas, as well as national police road freight crime units, and for operators to put more emphasis on their own vehicle security systems. Debbie Jones, general manager at commercial vehicle safety and security specialist Viper Guard, adds: "Drivers are in the front line, and the  level of personal risk they run and they suffer is completely unacceptable.

"If this were the case in any other industry, the government would be rushing through new legislation to stop it. "Businesses and workers in road transport deserve the same concern for their safety and security." Jones says the Highways Agency must make secure parking areas a mandatory feature of all trunk road improvement schemes.