BRISBANE-based truckie Bruce Skelton has slammed grey nomads for
commandeering truck parking spots at roadside
rest areas.
He now wants the authorities to take action against caravanners and other
RVers who monopolise parking bays specially set
aside for heavy vehicles.
"It's beyond a joke," the frustrated Mr Skelton told the transport
industry's nationally distributed Big Rigs newspaper.
"Caravan associations talk about it, but every few months we get a whole
new breed of caravanners who have no idea and have to learn from scratch."
Free parking bays were getting "harder and harder" to find, he said.
Mr Skelton has now called on the government to take responsibility for the
parking bays and realise that recreational vehicles were squeezing truck
drivers out of rest areas.
"There needs to be someone you can ring so they can police the no-parking
rules," he suggested.
"There's no point putting up signs that say 'no camping' or 'no standing'
if they're not enforced. We cannot manage our fatigue if we can't park."
When raising the issue with errant caravanners, Mr Skelton claims some of
them snort:
* I've paid my taxes for years and I'm
entitled to park wherever I want.
* Why don't you take more drugs and keep driving.
* I don't care what the sign says, no-one's going to book me and
make me move on.
He said he was always met with "disrespect
and no understanding".
