Road Haulage Association Chief Executive Richard Burnett announced national lorry week at the RHA compliance conference last month:

“Eighty-five per cent of everything we eat, wear, buy and use is moved, at some point, on the back of a UK-registered lorry. Without us, supermarket shelves would be empty, homes would not be built and manufacturing plants would grind to a halt. This industry employs over 2.2 million people and, quite literally, delivers the UK economy - to which it contributes £74.5 billion.

We have a huge impact on the lives of everyone in Britain but sometimes that positive contribution is overlooked. “National Lorry Week’ will provide us with an opportunity to reach out to the public and politicians as never before to highlight our massive and positive contribution to daily life.”

The theme of the campaign will be “love the lorry” with the RHA organising a ton of events to raise awareness of the industry.

There will be a reception in the Terrace Pavilion at Westminster where MPs and Ministers will learn about the role the haulage industry plays in their constituencies. They will even get the chance to have a taste of what it’s like to be an HGV driver. Don’t worry, MPs aren’t actually going to be unleashed on Westminster in HGVs, but they will be able to have a go on an HGV driving simulator.

Watch out for a TV documentary following the BTCC racing car driver Tom Ingram as he tries to complete the training needed to become an HGV driver.  The documentary also highlights the current driver shortage and will hopefully inspire people to get into the industry by completing the training themselves. For people that love a competition, there will also be a social media campaign inviting the public to spot “Love the Lorry” stickers in the window of HGVs, and share them on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for a chance to win £1000 worth of vouchers.

To find out more about the events and competitions the RHA are running as part of National Lorry Week, you can visit their website.

https://www.rha.uk.net/events/rha-national-lorry-week

At Bridge Fleet Solutions, we fully support National Lorry Week and welcome the awareness it will bring to the industry. If you need any advice on how to improve the safety for your fleet of lorries, please get in touch on 0208 402 2350 or email info@bridgefleetsolutions.co.uk.

October 26th – 31st is the first ever RHA National Lorry Week!