The ban on trucks leaving the UK is still in place, with all sides working on a swift resolution.
Reports suggest somewhere in the region of 1,500 trucks are currently parked up in Kent. The vehicles are split between the M20 and a nearby truck park while they wait further news.
“It is a dynamic situation so we really don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Duncan Buchanan, RHA’s policy director (pictured above). “The ban may not last the full 48 hours, depending on an agreement with the EU and – especially – France. At the moment it lasts until midnight, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
“Our advice to drivers is not to go to Kent,” continued Buchanan. “If you need to leave the UK, it’s best to find somewhere clean and safe and look after yourself. Drivers need to practice social distancing and try and stay out of the way.”
The RHA man said if the situation changed in the coming hours, drivers could possibly plan to travel to Kent. “It is essential to get the supply chain moving,” he added.
Feedback from drivers in the Kent queues is that things “have not gone particularly well,” according to Buchanan. “It concerns me because we’ve been raising this issue [of delays] for a long time and things are not looking good for drivers ahead of Brexit.
“We’re in a well worn path but there are a lot of issues ahead,” he warned. “Not only have we got covid, there is also Brexit on the horizon and now a supply chain issue.
“The stock on those vehicles has been built up for Christmas and is now being denuded,” said Buchanan. “It’s essential that those trucks make their deliveries and are restocked before Brexit.”
