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IllegalParking
According to TGI Security, at about 2.00am on October 17th, security officers at the Plaza noticed that one of the trucks parked on the side of the freeway was on fire. They ran to the truck and woke the driver telling him to get out. The fire subsequently spread to another two trucks parked close to the first truck. The first truck was carrying bitumen which normally has to be heated by gas bottles on the side of the truck, which apparently caught alight first. The other two trucks were carrying ammonium and fertilizer resulting in a huge fire. The fire department was called to put the fire out and R.T.I. came to direct the traffic. So there we have it – once again! The loss of three vehicles plus cargo, severe damage to the road, huge costs of dealing with the incident and hours of economic loss through total and then partial closure of the N3. The bill runs into mega millions of Rand. Thank goodness no one was killed. How do you put a price on a driver’s life? I don’t know. Ask his wife and children. According to Con Roux of the N3TC, all this happened despite intensive anti-crime operations to move trucks from this precise locality were conducted over the previous two months. One could raise the usual flag of protest that there are not enough legal parking spaces along the N3 and thus these drivers were forced to park illegally. This does not hold water as the Tugela Truck Inn is situated only about 10 kilometres from the scene of this disaster – and it has a parking capacity for about 170 trucks. On the night in question, there were a maximum of 114 trucks parked at the Truck Inn. Simple maths tells you that there were thus 56 open parking spaces on the night. The next night there were only 103 trucks parked at the Inn so the old argument of there not being enough legal parking spaces along the N3 does not hold water here. What does hold water is the fact that operators are still not controlling their drivers along the highways and by not doing so, are incurring huge costs to their own companies, their customers, other transport companies via delays during road closures and to the economy as a whole – not to mention the families of drivers who are killed in such incidents, as many have been. It’s all just so stupid and can so easily be avoided. Eeeish! What does it take? An obvious solution
"For the last year, we have never had more than 125 to 130 trucks parked here per night so we could easily accommodate another 30 to 40 trucks. The highest I’ve ever had was 168 on one night but that has not happened since," he says. OK – so now we know there is parking space available. But what about the fact that operators often complain that they give drivers money for legal and safe parking but the drivers themselves choose to avoid the truck stops and truck inns to keep the bucks? The answer here, of course, is firstly for the operator to check his lack of controls on the people manning his roving assets. Once that’s done, a control – and cashless - mechanism can be put in place by opening an account with a legal parking institution. Is this possible? According to Cornelissen, the answer is, once again, a welcomed yes. "Many transport operators already hold an account facility with the Tugela Truck Inn which allows their drivers to park on credit. The company then settles a monthly bill with us," he says. "We will open an account for any operator. All that is needed is the usual procedure of filling in a few forms, complying with a few simple agreements and we will send a monthly invoice based on the number of trucks parked during the month. The operator merely has to send us details of his fleet and registration numbers – and the drivers simply arrive. We then tally up the nightly invoices and send one account at the end of the month. The only thing we cannot put on account is diesel. That has to be cash. Diesel has to be purchased using cash or any approved bank fuel card. As for the rest - food, parking, security and everything else that comes with a safe and secure truck Inn like ours - is included." And the price? "R65 per night per truck," he says. So for R65 per night, the drivers get safe parking with armed guards patrolling the fenced premises 24/7, clean ablution facilities, a restaurant which is open 24/7, a rest area with satellite television and other benefits. All this for only R65 per night. Divide 65 into the mega millions that accrue from an accident such as depicted with this story and your drivers are going to park safely for many years to come. Of course, you’re also going to sleep better knowing that your drivers, your truck and your customer’s goods are all safe. Crime and health Still another factor to consider relates to driver heath. It is well known that commercial sex workers work the roads at night and all drivers face the very real risk of contracting HIV/Aids from these women – if they haven’t already got it. At a place like the Tugela Truck Inn, women on foot are not allowed into the premises at any time. "I cannot stop drivers from bringing women in who arrive with them in the cabs as some of the drivers travel with their wives. However, that woman cannot roam around the premises and must be accompanied by the person she came in with. She must also leave with that person in the same truck she came in. Our guards are very strict on this point," says Cornelissen There is also, by the way, a Driver Wellness Centre on the premises. Given all this, it is incomprehensible why so many trucks can still be found parked on the verges of highways and in towns along the N3. Obviously the operators who are giving cash to their drivers have no control mechanisms over their drivers once they are out on the roads. Others, perhaps, just don’t give a damn while still others reckon R65 is a huge spend to ensure the safety for their drivers, their assets and their customer goods. It’s beyond me. There is a solution. The question is: How many operators have the will to adopt that simple solution?
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This is all that’s
left of a once proud and profitable rig. Millions are lost
on our highways by operators avoiding a mere R65 fee for
safe parking for the night. 
Cheerio to the profits as the last of the
remnants of three burnt out trucks are carried away on the
back of a tow truck. Parking on the side of a freeway saves
money. You’ve got to be joking!
