By Charmaine Ndlela
Driver error linked to fatigue is one of the major causes of vehicle crashes, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said on Thursday as she launched a national framework aimed at improving the safety and standard of truck stops across the country.
Creecy said proper rest infrastructure had to become part of the government’s road-safety strategy, with drivers needing safe places to park, rest, eat, shower and recover before continuing their journeys.
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The scale of the infrastructure challenge was highlighted by statistics published by the SaferStops Association two days before the launch, which found that only 39 of 137 facilities classified as truck stops met the new framework’s security requirements. SaferStops assessed 179 truck and rest-stop facilities nationally.
Creecy officially launched the National Truck Stop Framework at the Sasol N17 Truck Stop in Mpumalanga, moving a project that has been under development for several years into its implementation phase.
The framework provides a common national approach to the planning, development, management, assessment and improvement of truck-stop facilities. The Department of Transport says it also provides practical guidance to provinces, municipalities, state-owned entities and private developers.
Research, stakeholder engagements and site visits undertaken during development of the framework found inadequate and unsafe parking, insufficient lighting and security, poor ablution and shower facilities, limited access to driver wellness services and inconsistent standards between facilities. There was also insufficient provision for women working in the road freight sector.
Creecy said trucks were also being parked along roadsides and in other unsafe locations because appropriate rest facilities were unavailable, inaccessible or inadequate.
“These conditions have implications beyond driver comfort. They affect road safety, driver fatigue, freight efficiency, cargo security, the dignity of drivers and ultimately the performance of our logistics system,” she said.
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The framework introduces a system for assessing and classifying truck stops according to the level of security and amenities they provide.
Creecy said the classification system would allow drivers to understand what level of service and security they could reasonably expect at a particular facility.
But she said the framework was about more than providing somewhere for trucks to park.
“One of the strongest messages emerging from the development of this Framework is that we cannot discuss freight efficiency without discussing the people who move that freight,” Creecy said.
Truck stops could also become platforms for health screening, fatigue awareness, road-safety education and other wellness interventions for professional drivers.
“Our objective must be to create an environment where taking a proper rest break is not regarded as an inconvenience, but as a normal and essential part of professional freight operations,” she said.
Creecy also highlighted the lack of suitable facilities for women in a road freight industry that remains heavily male-dominated.
Site visits found some truck stops were not designed with women drivers in mind, including a lack of dedicated ablution and shower facilities, adequate lighting and appropriate security measures.
She said addressing the problem would require more than infrastructure, with government, industry, Sector Education and Training Authorities, training institutions and freight operators needing to expand access to training, licensing, mentorship, workplace experience and employment opportunities for women.
Properly located truck stops could also support local employment, small businesses, suppliers, maintenance services, food outlets, accommodation and other economic activities, Creecy said.
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Future facilities would also have to adapt to technological changes in freight transport, including digital management systems, intelligent transport systems and cleaner-energy vehicles, with provision for electric-vehicle charging and other alternative-energy infrastructure as the market develops.
“Our success should ultimately be measured not by the number of documents we produce, but by what changes on the ground for truck drivers and the freight industry,” she said.
