Industry to celebrate National Lorry Week

12th October 2015

The Road Haulage Association will be staging a national awareness campaign, National Lorry Week, from 26 to 31 October.

It has been created to demonstrate to the vital role that lorries and road freight play in moving the economy and daily life. The theme of the week is ‘Love The Lorry’.

“The British public should be proud of its road haulage industry”, RHA Chief Executive Richard Burnett said. “It’s an industry that works hard, is efficient and is innovative. It is currently also suffering from a massive driver shortage. What better way to highlight the industry as a great career opportunity?

“Through National Lorry Week, the RHA will ensure the industry and its drivers get recognition for the essential service they provide. 85% of everything we eat, wear and buy and use is moved, at some point, on the back of a UK-registered lorry.

Hauliers across the UK will be opening their doors and inviting the public to:

• Get up close and personal with a lorry.
• Meet operators/drivers to hear about the important role the road freight industry plays.
• Find out how the industry keeps them supplied with all the things their lives depend on.
• Hear about careers in driving and other industry-related jobs.
• Listen to what the industry is doing to reduce its impact on the environment.

The RHA will be inviting high profile media figures to try their hand at the wheel and to spend a shift working with a driver. In addition, there will be a nationwide radio campaign throughout the week, and a TV documentary featuring BTCC and RHA-sponsored racing driver Tom Ingram who has gone through the process of training to become a professional HGV driver. The documentary clearly shows it requires an equally high level of driving skill.

Hauliers will be asked to display a ‘Love The Lorry’ sticker on their vehicles to coincide with a nationwide ‘spot the sticker’ competition, the winner of which will win a prize worth £1,000.

The RHA will also be hosting a reception in Parliament for MPs and Ministers to hear first-hand about the vital role the industry plays in their constituencies and give them a chance to see if they have what it takes to be an HGV driver in a state-of-the-art HGV driving simulator.