The Freight Transport Association says it has had concerns on the resilience of transport networks for some time, given the changing climate and increased trend of severe weather events and that keeping transport and logistics operators informed is vital.
Responding to the ‘Transport Resilience Review’ published by the Department for Transport, the FTA said: “Information is key to keep the freight and logistics industry on the move during extreme weather conditions.”
The review suggested measures should be taken to ensure that transport networks are as well prepared as they can be to minimise the impact of extreme weather events. It also recognised that local highway authorities need to identify a resilient network which they give a high priority to during dangerous weather and need to ensure that they respond to formal reviews on how their network and key services respond to extreme events.
Malcolm Bingham, head of road network management policy said: “The FTA has been involved with the Highways Agency for a number of years looking at how information can be fed to the logistics industry to ensure there is an awareness of what may be rapidly developing situations which affect the networks and particularly vulnerable vehicles in these circumstances. The Association looks forward to continuing that and developing work with the Agency and others, and welcomes the recommendations made in the Transport Resilience review.”
