Rest areas planned
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CONTINENTAL-STYLE motorway rest areas for fatigued drivers could be given the green light following the introduction of the Road Safety Bill. This will amend the current Highways Act 1980, extending the Transport Secretary's powers to authorise rest areas to be built on motorways as well as trunk roads.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Transport says: "There is a possibility that we will run a trial site which could be on the M5 — a popular holiday route to the South-West —but this has not been set in stone."
The FreightTransport Association has welcomed the move, but says it is concerned that this could lead to a reduction in the building of fully equipped truck parks.
A spokeswoman says: "If they are simply lay-bys with no facilities and just space for cars then they will have little benefit for the haulage industry."
Recent government statistics revealed tired truck drivers are to blame for a third of all fatiguerelated road crashes.