“Lorry mayhem” caused by satnavs according to local councils

Local members of councils are expected to take further action against lorry drivers causing “mayhem” in some small towns and villages, which often experience damage to local property such as bridges – drivers are often directed to these locations by their sat-nav devices.

Councils want more powers to tackle rogue drivers causing "lorry mayhem" in towns and villages by crashing into bridges after often being taken there by a sat nav. Some drivers use sat-navs designed for cars, rather than a sat-nav for a HGV – while some of the sat-navs for truck drivers are not kept up to date in terms of which roads are available for use for truckers depending on the height of their vehicle.

Speaking on behalf of many local authorities of England and Wales, the Local Government Association launched a survey in which over 50% of councils stated that traffic is considered to be one of the biggest issues within their local areas.

In Cambridgeshire, is Britain’s “most bashed bridge” which has been hit by trucks over 120 times. The locals blame misdirection from sat-navs, meaning truckers will head onto the route with the bridge. It was most recently struck in June, there have since been warning signs installed pre-emptively to alert truck drivers.
According to Network Rail, the vehicles most likely to have impacts with bridges include HGVs and buses. Estimated costs at £13,000 per clash, researchers say the costs for taxpayers could be as high as £23 million per year.

The LGA plans to insert a scheme which would enable local council officials to fine lorry drivers who ignore some of the restrictions in-place within some of these towns and cities to avoid additional costs in property damage in the future. At the moment, London and Wales councils along with law enforcement are the only authorities who can hand such a fine, but the LGA plans to extend this to many local councils across the UK.
The scheme will not only reduce the rate of incidents with drivers, but also mean availability to travel through these villages and towns could be much more restricted for lorry drivers. Which would tackle the congestion and pollution concerns that many local communities face.

Locals of many communities have also expressed their concerns through lorry watch schemes and contacting haulage and freight firms, with little support in return according to the LGA.

Speaking on the concerns, councillor Martin Tett – LGA’s transport spokesman said: “Councils are on the side of the motorists" elaborating by stating councils want to "enhance safety" and improve road quality as a whole.
He continued: "The spate of accidents we have seen involving lorries blocking streets, damaging local areas and crashing into bridges on an all too regular basis shows that action needs to be taken by government in the upcoming Spending Round.

"With powers to enforce moving traffic violations also given to councils outside of London and Wales, they could act to prevent disruption by the minority of rogue lorry drivers that incorrectly use weight restricted roads through our towns and villages and cause havoc and mayhem on our local roads."

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