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The theme for UK Road Safety Week 2020 has been announced as ‘No need to speed’, following findings that a quarter of people think vehicles travel at a safe speed on the street they live on.

Coordinated by Brake, the road safety charity, Road Safety Week 2020 will take place between November 16-22 and will encourage everyone to learn the what, why and the where of speed and will highlight that the speed of traffic matters to people’s safety.

‘No need to speed’ was chosen as the theme for Road Safety Week 2020 following the findings of the ‘How safe are the streets where you live?’ survey, conducted online by Brake over the past year.

The survey of over 1,700 members of the UK public, found that only a quarter believe that vehicles travel at a safe speed on the street where they live.

Brake also found that six in ten people feel that the speed of traffic on their street negatively affects their wellbeing and two-thirds identify motorised traffic as the biggest threat to their health and safety on their street.

The week-long Road Safety Week campaign is supported by funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) and headline sponsors DHL and Specsavers and will use the collective voice of members of the public, schools, communities, organisations and the emergency services to demonstrate that there is ‘no need to speed’ on the road.

To participate in Road Safety Week, people are invited to register for a free action pack.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at Brake, said: “Road Safety Week provides a unique opportunity, every year, to focus attention on how the safety of our roads impacts all our daily lives.

“Speed plays a part in every crash and just 1mph can mean the difference between life and death on the roads. This Road Safety Week we want to help everyone understand why speed matters and to join together to say there is ‘no need to speed’ on our roads.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Highways England will increase the basic speed at which motorists can drive through roadworks to 60mph.

After extensive research and trials, the organisation has confirmed that where it is safe for road users and roadworkers, and where shown on road signs, vehicles can be driven at up to 60mph.

That is 10mph faster than the current 50mph limit.

The move comes in response to feedback from road users who said they were frustrated at not being able to go quicker. The trials showed that as well as saving time, more people were sticking to the higher speed limit bringing safety benefits.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England chief executive, said: “All of our research shows that road users benefit from 60mph limits in roadworks. They have shorter journey times and feel safe.

“Road users understand that roadworks are necessary, but they are frustrated by them. So testing 60mph has been about challenging the norm while ensuring the safety of our people working out there and those using our roads.

“We have a huge programme of work planned, so being able to use 60mph where safe will continue to improve everybody’s experience of our roads.”

Highways England recently completed delivery of the Government’s first road investment programme. It was found to have delivered most of its commitments and to have made good progress over the first road period, but the programme set out for major improvements was too optimistic, according to latest Office of Rail and Road (ORR) report.

The ORR had made observations on the delivery risk of the programme which saw re-planning from 112 schemes that were due to have started construction in the first road period to 73, agreed with the Department for Transport (DfT). By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News.

I’m not really sure why I would include such an article in my newsletter other than the fact that some people actually like this sort of information. So for the nerds amongst us – and I mean that in a cuddly friendly way here is the best motorway as well as the best A Road!

The M11 has been rated the best motorway in England in Transport Focus research covering the year to March 2020.

In the 2019/20 Strategic Roads User Survey the motorway from London and Cambridgeshire had the highest overall satisfaction of 92%.

The best ‘A’ road was at the other end of the country, the A66 route across the Pennines from Scotch Corner to Penrith.

This is the second year of the independent watchdog’s new survey looking at the views of over 8,000 road users about their last journey on a motorway or major ‘A’ road managed by Highways England.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, said: “In the 12 months before the coronavirus lockdown, more than three out of four drivers were satisfied with their journey on England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads – but some roads score much better than others.”

Drivers were least satisfied with the M20 (which links London and Dover), for the second year in a row.

Commenting on the M20, one driver said: “Get the roadworks done – it’s been 50mph for too long – must be two years possibly…”

Commenting on an M11 journey, a driver said: “Easy way to go, everything went well, no roadworks or holdups.”

Commenting on their experience on the A66, another said: “Quick journey, no hold ups.”

The survey also found that 92% of drivers felt safe on their journey and the overall satisfaction with road surface quality was 83%.

81% of road users were satisfied with their last journey using a motorway or major ‘A’ road managed by Highways England and 79% were satisfied with the journey time.

However, the management of roadworks was lower, 68% of those surveyed were satisfied in this area.

Smith said: “As drivers return to the roads it is vital that management of roadworks is looked at. With just 68 per cent of drivers satisfied this is clearly an area for Highways England to keep focussing on.

“Our research shows that if you’re happy with journey time, you’ll be happy with your journey overall. That’s an important message for Highways England as traffic starts to get back to pre-lockdown levels.”

The least happy road users were commuters at 76% satisfied, followed closely by those travelling on business at 77%. Among drivers of vans and lorries 78% were satisfied with their journey.

The Strategic Roads User Survey became the formal measure of satisfaction among users of Highways England’s roads in April 2020 as part of the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Met Police has reported a 71% increase in drivers caught speeding in London during lockdown, while other forces saw a decrease in offences, new figures suggest.

The BBC reports that, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the PA news agency, the Met Police issued 3,282 Traffic Offence Reports to drivers suspected of exceeding the limit in April, compared with 1,922 in April 2019.

London’s roadside cameras caught a further 14,736 people in April 2020 – the first full month of lockdown.

Speeding data obtained from other forces also showed areas reporting an increase in the number of drivers caught for speeding. Kent Police and Derbyshire Constabulary reported year-on-year rises, up 53% and 41% respectively.

Fleet News has reported how police forces across the UK have caught drivers speeding during the lockdown, with one driver breaking the legal limit by 81mph and another clocked doing 108mph in a 40mph zone.

However, the majority of forces who provided data to the most recent FOI request recorded an overall decrease, amid a reduction in traffic levels of around two-thirds as the lockdown was in full effect.

It showed that 13 forces did see an increase in the speed of the fastest drivers caught, including in Dyfed-Powys, North Yorkshire, Police Scotland and West Mercia.

In London, the highest speeds recorded during the lockdown were: 163mph on a 70mph road; 134mph on a 40mph road; 110mph on a 30mph road; and 73mph on a 20mph road.

In separate research, five forces – Northamptonshire, Gwent, Staffordshire, Kent and Humberside – all caught motorists driving at speeds in excess of 130mph on the motorway and three others – Police Scotland, the Met and Lancashire – recorded drivers at speeds in excess of 120mph.

Derbyshire’s fastest offender was clocked at 108mph, but that was on a stretch of the M1 with a 40mph limit – 68mph above the speed limit.

Det Supt Andy Cox of the Metropolitan Police told the BBC that many drivers caught speeding during the early weeks of lockdown did not expect officers to be patrolling near-deserted roads.

“Early on, for some people driving at extreme speeds, they would be really surprised to see us there,” he said. “They would actually come out and say ‘we thought you’d be busy dealing with Covid’.

“Maybe some people advantage because congestion was less and thought they’d get away with it.”

FLEETS WARNED

Licence Bureau says that the current reduction in traffic volumes, the incidents of speeding reported by police, and reduced driving activity for many employees combined with mounting economic business pressures, is creating a ‘perfect storm’ fleets need to pay special attention to.

Steve Pinchen, sales director at Licence Bureau, explained: “There is so much at play right now, but businesses really must ensure they do not drop the ball when it comes to legal compliance.

“Business driver road safety and duty of care, arguably more so now than ever, need to be at the top of the priority list for fleet operators.”

With employees returning from furlough, some of whom may not have driven for months, Pinchen argues that organisations have got to take a “pragmatic approach” by providing support and creating responsible cultures from individual drivers to senior management level.

The laws surrounding ‘driving for work’ include, amongst others, Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007; Health and Safety at Work Act 1974; and Road Traffic Act 1988 & 1991.

Renown Consultants was ordered to pay £750,000 in fines and costs last month, after being found guilty of serious health and safety failings.

In the June digital edition of Fleet News, experts speculate police may have feared failure had they charged Renown Consultants with corporate manslaughter.

Pinchen said: “Legal compliance; health and safety; duty of care – they are all part of an organisation’s responsibilities.

“At any given moment, a business needs to be able to demonstrate that it has done everything reasonably possible to reduce risks.

“Even in the ‘new norm’ these laws remain unchanged and all organisations need to have a sharp focus on the task at hand as everyone starts to re-find their feet.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Government is being urged to invest in roads policing and fast track technology to catch drivers who flout traffic laws.

 

Some 1,800 people die on UK roads each year – more than twice the number of deaths from homicides and terrorism combined. A further 25,000-plus people are seriously injured.

 

However, over the past decade, the number of roads policing officers has decreased substantially.

 

While the total number of police officers has fallen by around 13% since 2010, there was a 22% reduction in the number of dedicated roads policing officers between 2010 and 2014, and a further reduction of 18% since 2015.

 

In 2019, dedicated roads policing officers made up only around 4% of total force strength.

 

Furthermore, of those dedicated officers, many are often ‘double-hatted’, with responsibilities for carrying out more than one policing function.

 

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), in a report published today (Thursday, June 4), criticises successive cuts in roads policing.

 

It wants the Government to specify roads policing within its pledge to fund 20,000 additional police officers.

 

PACTS executive director, David Davies, explained: “The number of road deaths is more than twice the deaths from homicide and terrorism combined and breaches of road traffic laws are the biggest single cause of road deaths. This needs to be recognised in the Government’s priorities and resources for policing.”

 

Many of the casualties on UK roads result from a failure to comply with traffic laws – knowingly or otherwise, says the report.

 

Around two-thirds of collisions involve excessive speed, a driver over the legal alcohol limit, failure to wear a seat belt, or a combination of these factors. This does not take into account other offences, such as drug driving or hand-held mobile phone use.

 

Since 2010, the long-term decline in the number of road deaths and serious injuries has largely ceased, with many suggesting this is at least partly due to reductions in roads policing.

 

International research of the effectiveness of roads policing in increasing compliance with traffic laws and reducing road casualties, has been shown to cut some collision types by around a quarter.

 

A detailed analysis by PACTS of the ‘fatal 4’ offences (speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, driving under the influence of drink or drugs, and using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel) since 2010, shows that where enforcement has been increased, compliance has improved and casualties have dropped; but where cutbacks have affected enforcement, there has been little or no improvement.

 

The PACTS report – Road Policing and its Contribution to Road Safety – investigates links between roads policing, compliance with traffic laws and road casualties, and looks for ways to enhance the effectiveness of roads policing, ahead of a Whitehall review,

 

It says that the wider use of technology to “monitor, deter, detect and prosecute” should be exploited to help police target high-risk individuals and assist in improving compliance with seat belts, mobile phones, drink driving and other safety requirements – not just speed.

 

It is calling for a review of Home Office type approvals to allow for the development and implementation of technologies such as cameras with more than one purpose and evidential roadside testing equipment.

 

The report says that there is “clear public support” for enforcement of traffic laws and a desire for more visible roads policing.

 

“Use of speed cameras is supported by the majority, but with sensitivity,” it adds.

 

Figures from Lex Autolease showed that the volume of motoring fines and penalties incurred by company car and van drivers increased by 3%, last year.

 

Davis said: “The public support more enforcement. Roads policing provides double value: tackling those who drive dangerously often disrupts wider criminality.

 

“For example, Essex police found that almost half the drug-drive offenders had previous arrest records for serious crimes such as burglary, drug dealing and violent crime.”

 

GEM Motoring Assist has welcomed the recommendations made in the PACTS report.

 

GEM chief executive Neil Worth said: “Our members support more enforcement. The public supports more enforcement. The report highlights the success of roads policing in improving levels of compliance with traffic laws and reducing road casualties. Effective roads policing has been shown to cut some types of collision by around a quarter.

 

“We welcome this report and urge the Government to make roads policing a national priority.

 

“There should be no further cuts to roads policing – in fact we want an increase in the number of specialist roads policing officers who can support communities in ensuring there is no place for the minority of lawbreakers who pose such a threat to safety and security on our roads.”

 

The report also suggests the public should be involved to improve road safety, with schemes such as Operation Snap, which allows drivers to upload dash cam video evidence, proving “popular, manageable, and effective”.

 

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, welcomed the PACTS report.

 

“It comes at a time when a number of key institutions, including the Government and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services are also interested in how we police our roads,” he said.

 

“There are more than twice as many road deaths as homicides in the UK every year. This shows how significant road death still is.”

 

A road safety charity, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) promotes evidence-based policies to improve to road, rail and air safety.

 

It works with Government, Parliament, experts and stakeholders, and its founders were responsible to for the 1981 legislation which made it compulsory to wear a seatbelt in the front seat of a car. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

 

DriveTech is helping to fill the gap with online speed awareness courses after a classroom-based option was halted due to coronavirus.

 

Having reconfigured course delivery online via the Microsoft Teams platform, it has delivered classes to 22,000 motorists helping them avoid a police prosecution.

 

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Roads Policing suspended classroom-based speed awareness courses for 12 weeks in March.

 

More than 1.2 million drivers attended a speed awareness course last year. The courses usually cost between £80 and £100, but motorists avoid paying a Fixed Penalty Notice or picking up penalty points on their driving licence.

 

DriveTech, which works in partnership with police and UKROEd, had to move rapidly to rebook around 50,000 classroom delegates bookings prior to the lockdown, to avoid motorists facing the alternative of prosecution, points and fines.

 

With revised digital course content needed, and DriveTech’s body of 175 trainers needing upskilling to deliver the virtual online experience, it says that the challenge was considerable.

 

Five weeks on from the first day of digital course delivery on March 27 (a week after lockdown measures affected venue participation), DriveTech says it is delighted that online course capacity is now matching the former levels of classroom supply.

 

Des Morrison, director of police business at DriveTech, said: “We reflect now on a pretty hectic few weeks, but it is satisfying to now see our digital delivery performing well and with some excellent customer feedback – both from our police force customers, delighted by our professional response in a crisis, and delegates.”

 

DriveTech is now delivering the three mainstream courses digitally – National Speed Awareness, National Motorway Speed Awareness, and What’s Driving you? and delegate feedback, as measured by Net Promoter Scores (NPS) has been at world class levels, it says.

 

In addition to placing the first priority on satisfying a backlog of delegates already booked onto a venue-based course, DriveTech is now taking bookings for new delegates from across the country.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Drivers are being urged to slow down during the lockdown after Greater Manchester Police said it has caught 6,200 drivers breaking the speed limit since Monday, March 23.

 

With all non-essential travel currently banned under Government guidance, the majority of people are staying at home and if they need to go out, they are sticking to the speed limits.

 

Department for Transport (DfT) data shows motor vehicle use in Great Britain has fallen by two thirds over the past month.

 

However, Greater Manchester Police has seen an 57% increase in vehicles travelling above the speed limit over the past few weeks and other forces have reported similar problems.

 

One driver was recorded at 115mph on a 40mph road in Greater Manchester, while another was clocked at 134mph in a 40mph limit in London.

 

Superintendent Julie Ellison from GMP’s Specialist Operations Team said: “Sadly we have seen a huge increase in speeding offences and numerous examples of drivers who are putting their own lives and others at risk.

 

“My officers are working tirelessly to track down these offenders who are using the quieter roads as their own personal racetrack.”

 

Scottish police reported a man was recorded travelling at more than 130mph on the A90 between Peterhead and Ellon, Aberdeenshire, on April 12, while a driver was stopped in Sudbury, Suffolk, travelling at 80mph in a 30mph limit with no insurance and no driving licence.

 

Police in Wales, meanwhile, have seen speeds of 114mph in a 70mph limit on the A55 in Rhuallt Hill, another at 105mph in a 60mph limit on the A5 in Halton, Wrexham, and a third at 104mph in a 70mph limit on the A48 in Pensarn, Carmarthen.

 

Nick Lloyd, head of road safety at RoSPA, said: “We’re alarmed by the latest reports of speeding across the UK, and the reckless disregard with which some drivers treat the rules of the road just because they are more quiet than usual.

 

“Excessive speed at any time is dangerous, and you put other people, as well as yourself, at risk of death or serious injury. Please don’t be selfish, and stick to the limit – it’s there for a reason.”

 

Lloyd says that drivers also need to be extra vigilant given the lockdown.

 

“There are currently more children, pedestrians and cyclists out and about for their daily exercise, all throughout the day,” he said.

 

“Additionally, if you cause a crash, you will be putting frontline resources and health professionals under needless strain at a time when they should be dealing with getting the pandemic under control.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Roads Policing has suspended classroom-based speed awareness courses for 12 weeks, due to the Coronavirus lockdown.

 

In a statement, it said: “It is no longer appropriate nor proportionate for police forces to offer classroom based education courses.”

 

The UK Road Offender Education (UKROEd), which operates, manages, administers and develops the scheme on behalf of the Police Service, said it is working with forces and course providers to establish options to deal with drivers who have already been offered a course.

 

A Digital Classroom option has been approved for the National Speed Awareness Course, to be able to cater for members of the public who already had a course booked.

 

Some Police Forces and Course Providers are now taking steps to use this as an option and will be contacting offenders to explain what is going to happen next.

 

Drivers who have received a course offer, but not booked a course yet are being offered dates after the 12-week suspension period ends.

 

Motoring lawyer Nick Freeman has warned the suspension may cause many motorists who get caught speeding during the lockdown period to be issued with fixed penalty notices instead.

 

He told express.co.uk: “Motorists should be aware that minor transgressions which may have previously resulted in a speed awareness course may now result in a penalty points and fines.

 

“These speed awareness courses have always been discretionary – there is no automatic entitlement.

 

“But most constabularies offer them. However, as they are currently not an option, drivers convicted of speeding in these circumstances will get points and a fine.”

 

DriveTech, one of the UK’s largest course providers, has been working quickly to re-arrange and restructure its current venue-based courses to allow equivalents to be offered to delegates online.

 

The business, which is part of The AA, said it is planning to run 400 courses this week, and more the following week.

 

It also claimed most police forces were helpful in granting extensions beyond the cut-off date.

 

Edmund King, AA president, said: “We have always argued that driver education is preferable to simply giving fines and penalty points as drivers can learn from the errors of their ways.”

 

Speaking to Fleet News about the suspension of speed awareness courses, Peter Millichap, marketing director at Teletrac Navman, said: “Delivery drivers are among the key workers playing a pivotal role in keeping the UK supply chain moving during this epidemic, and fleet managers will be doing all they can to ensure that the transport of goods continues to run as smoothly as possible. “

 

“However, it’s likely that operators will be feeling overwhelmed and maintaining driving behaviour may become a secondary priority, but it’s so important that the increased pressure doesn’t cause drivers to speed.

 

“The roads might be quieter but this shouldn’t be exploited and now more than ever it’s important that operators remind their drivers to take care on their journeys, continue to comply with the law and keep other road users safe.

 

“Technology can play a key role during this unprecedented time, by providing fleet managers with reassurance that they have complete visibility, ensuring their drivers are maintaining best practice.”

 

More than 1.2 million drivers attended a speed awareness course last year. The courses usually cost between £80 and £100, but motorists will not be required to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice or pick up penalty points on their driving licence. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A record number of people avoided penalty points on their licence last year, after taking driver awareness courses.

 

The figures, from the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme, show almost 1.5 million people, including company car and van drivers, chose to take a course, rather than add points and face a possible ban.

 

That equates a threefold increase in the past nine years, when a little more than 467,000 drivers attended a course.

 

In 2019, the vast majority – some 86% (1.28m) of drivers – avoided points by taking a speed awareness course, up 8.1% (96,000) on the previous year.

 

This was followed by almost 107,000 drivers, who were sent on the ‘national motorway awareness course’ for offences committed on smart motorways, including breaking variable speed limits, ignoring red ‘X’ signs and wrongly stopping in emergency lay-bys.

 

The course was introduced three years ago.

 

A further 76,000-plus drivers took the ‘what’s driving us?’ course aimed at drivers caught tailgating or using a mobile phone at the wheel.

 

The classroom-based courses can cost up to £100 and take about four hours to complete.

 

Research by the RAC Foundation – based on Home Office data for 2018-19 – suggests that 44% of all speeding offences detected in England and Wales result in someone being sent on a course.

 

“It would be good to think that as more and more people pass through the doors of these courses, so our roads are getting safer,” said Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation. “For some, at least, that appears to be true. The challenge is in making the lessons stick once the motorists attending them are back out in the often all-too-aggressive world of modern traffic.”

 

Analysis of 5,000 UK business drivers over a 12-month period revealed that they exceeded speed limits by 19.4%, on average (48mph on a 40mph stretch and so on).

 

The data, from telematics firm Airmax Remote, also showed that there were, on average, eight speeding events per mile.

 

Richard Perham, managing director of Airmax Remote, said: “Speeding is a major issue, especially for businesses that rely on fleets – not only from a safety point of view, but also the impact on fuel economy and poor mpg.

 

“It is imperative that drivers who are guilty of speeding are given the appropriate training to ensure that they comply with road speed limits.

 

“Not only can businesses suffer from a poor profile resulting from speeding (as company branding can appear on a vehicle), the extreme of this is a corporate manslaughter case and if the driver responsible for a fatal accident is known to have a long history of speeding, then blame can be placed on the business.”

 

Home Office figures show there were 2,386,780 speeding offences detected in England and Wales in 2018-19 – a 37% rise on the 1,740,217 detected in 2011-12.

 

It was also 4% higher than the 2,292,534 speeding offences recorded in 2017-18.

 

The total number of all motoring offences detected across the two countries in 2018-19 was 2,837,661, meaning speeding accounted for 84% of them.

 

Of the 2,386,780 speeding offences detected in 2018-19: 44% resulted in the offender being sent on a speed awareness course; 34% attracted fixed penalty notices (FPNs); 12% were later cancelled; and 10% resulted in court action.

 

The analysis – based on Home Office data and carried out by Dr Adam Snow of Liverpool John Moores University and Doreen Lam of the RAC Foundation – reveals the headline figure for those caught speeding hides large variations between constabularies.

 

West Yorkshire topped the list with 181,867 people caught speeding in 2018-19; second was Avon and Somerset (159,210) followed by the Metropolitan Police, including City of London (157,494).

 

At the other end of the scale Wiltshire Constabulary caught only 807 people speeding, Cleveland caught 11,937 and Derbyshire 12,256. Wiltshire turned off its speed cameras in 2010.

 

Across the 43 constabularies of England and Wales, the vast majority (97%) of offences were detected by speed cameras.

 

The variations across police forces will, in part, be down to geographical area, road type and traffic volume. They will also be created by local policing priorities.

 

Gooding concluded: “The simple rule for drivers who don’t want to risk ending up with a speeding ticket is not to break the limit in the first place.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News.

Highways England will have a new type of barrier at its disposal that can be deployed within hours to manage traffic on the M20 during periods of cross-channel disruption.

 

The technology will be designed to ensure that the M20 is kept open at times of disruption, whilst also allowing the motorway to retain three lanes, a hard shoulder and 70mph speed limits in both directions during normal traffic conditions.

 

This will be a marked improvement in comparison to Operation Brock which required a month of overnight closures to deploy the metal barrier required for the contraflow system previously used. The new system should be in operation by the end of the year.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “After listening to frustrated residents and businesses affected by Operations Brock and Stack, we’ve invested in a new solution to boost Kent’s resilience and keep its vital road network moving, even at times of disruption.

 

“This state-of-the-art technology can be deployed quickly, simply and safely, ensuring motorists across the county can get to where they need to be with minimum fuss, whatever the circumstances.”

 

Moveable barriers are already used in cities around the world, including Auckland, Sydney, San Francisco and Vancouver.

 

The technology has been chosen by the Department for Transport and Highways England as a long-term solution to Operation Brock and Stack and will ensure Kent is prepared for any disruption on the Short Strait, such as from industrial action or bad weather.

 

The new solution also means that Highways England’s work on an ‘off road’ replacement for Operation Stack has been stopped. As part of this, previous Highways England plans for a new large lorry holding area in Kent are no longer being pursued.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News