…continued from part 1.

Zimele Investment Enterprises Company (ZIEC), manages six truck stops along the N3 route, where overly tired drivers are removed from the road. The needs of the truck, driver, and load are catered for at these stops.

Micro and macro studies have indicated a shortage of around 1 000 parking spaces in the middle section of the N3 route. However, there have been some major truck stop developments recently. In Montrose, a new roadside development will shortly accommodate anything between 600 and 800 parked trucks.

In April this year, members of ZIEC went to Belgium, France and the UK to participate in an international best practice survey on the truck stop industry. They report that, to a large degree, South African truck stop facilities are of a generally high standard. However, they say the country lags behind as far as equipment and specialised security services go at these venues.

While it is quite possible to protect what is parked in truck stop facilities from criminal syndicates, driver-to-driver theft remains a serious issue. ZIEC says it is addressing a wide range of issues simultaneously and is attempting to elevate the standard of truck stops within the next year or two.

“It is our intention to develop our truck stops so that measurable standards can be generated,” says Kleynhans. “The European Secure Parking Organisation (Esporg) works with a lock system; the more locks, the more sophisticated the venue. We’ve started a process with the Truck Stop Association and a section 21 company has been established. The constitution has been generated and we’re moving towards getting it functional so that we can act as the mouthpiece of the association in South Africa. We have extended our hand to Esporg and to our clients in the haulier industry to get their input.”

…more in part three.