Truckstops: A crucial investment for driver welfare, road safety, and community well-being — but where will they go, and who pays?

Many challenges are uncovered when considering where to locate truckstops. Investments are required to create truckstops, yet little investment to date has currently been undertaken to properly analyse the data that could tell us the most appropriate locations across the country in terms of routes and to benefit the local economy, community and environment whilst aligning to the needs of future government strategies, such as the Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.

To define and prioritise the right locations for truckstops, we need to understand the current origin-destination movements of HGVs and areas where HGVs are currently idle, such as unauthorised stops. This could be appreciated by utilising datasets that capture HGV patterns of movement, datasets such as telematic and movement data.

However, datasets such as telematic data can only tell us so much, as an understanding of the behaviours of the supply-chain network needs to be taken into account. This can be acquired through qualitative data collected from stakeholders, providing an understanding of why certain movement patterns are occurring. Having an informed understanding behind the data as to the driver needs would only enhance the location planning element. Qualitative data could also be assessed to understand the amenities required at a truckstop to encourage drivers to use the facilities.

Truckstops are not just rest facilities but a crucial part of the UK’s logistics network. The Department for Transport (DfT) reported that, in 2023, HGVs travelled 19 billion kilometres in the UK, with a staggering 1.55 billion tonnes combined total weight of goods transported. There are approximately 300,000 HGV drivers, as reported in 2024, transporting a variety of crucial goods, from food to machinery, across the country, facilitating a large percentage of the UK’s GDP.

In 2022, the UK government provided a £16 million boost to enable the development and upgrade of 38 truckstops in England, which is evidence of the scale of the challenge and the need to pre-plan the most appropriate truckstop sites to maximise the investment. Moreover, the economic benefits of truckstops extend to job creation and local commerce. The British Retail Consortium highlights how truckstops can become economic hubs, attracting a steady stream of commerce and creating employment opportunities. The positive impact on the local economy is undeniable, with truckstops fostering a symbiotic relationship between the logistics industry and the communities they operate within.

Providing adequate truckstop facilities emerges as a key factor for HGV drivers because of regulations around required rest periods. Truckstops can improve safety, provide security of goods, and mitigate community impacts. The location of these truckstops is important so they are located along highly utilised HGV routes with the correct distance between assets such as ports, distribution centres, depots, warehouses or other truckstops.

Utilising vehicle telematics, supply-chain origin-destination mapping, and stakeholder engagement can help pinpoint optimal locations for truckstop facilities to benefit drivers and support smarter logistics investment. By focusing on areas with high volumes of goods movement, the industry can confirm that truckstops are both commercially and financially viable and beneficial to the haulier industry.

Using a spatial platform such as GIS to help visualise available data overlaid with demand and strategic visions would help the government understand the bigger picture. Plotting existing truckstops, frequent HGV routes, and origin and destination locations can start to tell the story of the HGV movement. Incorporating necessary datasets into a spatial assessment could give a high-level and quick indication of where truckstops are required. Additionally, GIS could be used to prioritise a site-selection process, often referred to as a multicriteria analysis.

• Investment in truckstops is a necessary response to current freight and driver-welfare needs.

• Data from telematics, movement surveys, and stakeholder engagement should inform planning decisions.

• Truckstops must be located with safety, commercial benefits, and environmental concerns in mind.

• Strategic planning tools like GIS can support more intelligent infrastructure investment.

• A collaborative approach across industry and government is critical to long-term success. 

It is imperative that we continue to invest in and prioritise the development of these vital facilities and that they are strategically developed, utilising the right data to support decision-making, and maintained, paving the way for a safer and more prosperous, sustainable future for all stakeholders involved.