UK snow: why are there so many lorries on the roads?

Our Chief Correspondent, Alex Thomson, asks whether too many journeys are being made in the current severe winter weather.

A common aspect to people caught out on the roads in this weather is that, when they drove themselves into trouble, it was all somehow somebody else’s fault: the gritters were useless… the weather forecast was wrong… or the emergency services were not able to get to them for a long time.

Really? As the transport minister put it yesterday, we all knew this was coming. And mostly because the forecasting has been accurate about the time, place and duration of snowfalls, day in and day out.

Anybody caught out had only themselves to blame barring the very, very tiny number on genuinely life or livelihood-dependent journeys. All the rest are just selfish moaners who probably have wider issues accepting responsibility for their actions.

But there’s something else here too that bears looking at.

The worst motorway jams are invariably caused by large lorries unable to handle gradients or jack-knifing in the conditions.

So you have to ask – why are they there in the first place?

How essential are any of these deliveries in any case? Of course we need food but recalling trucks to the depot for 12 hours isn’t going to starve anybody.

And if food can wait then every lorry-load can wait too, can’t it? Surely with well-forecasted blizzards, almost all of the trucks causing havoc, should never be out on the roads in the first place.

The Road Haulage Association told Channel 4 News that companies negotiate each journey on a case-by-case basis with the client.

Haulage companies don’t want their vehicles damaged or their drivers’ safety compromised – though some contracts contain penalty clauses for missed deliveries.

It’s particularly difficult when it comes to perishable items, the association said, but sometimes it is agreed that it’s just not worth the risk of damage of thousands of pounds to a vehicle.