Have your say on Motorway Service Areas

Rowena

I agree entirely with others who have commended your initiiative but as a "caravanner" of the motor-caravan species it seems that I am excluded from contributing to this survey. That is a shame because I do have some of the same issues with motorway service areas as caravanners of the towing species.

When I stop at a MSA (and I try to avoid that wherever possible ) I have never ever seem an area designated and/ or signposted for motor-caravans. My vehicle is not a car it is not a caravan unless "caravan" includes "motor-caravan" but clearly as a matter of fact and law a caravan and a motor caravan are not the same thing. 

If I park in the car bit I run an increased risk of impact damage and maybe a "fine or penalty" under the entirely revenue driven "rules" which I cannot negotiate. If I park in a caravan space I may be OK but I may incur the wroth of a "towing caravanner" and if I park in a bus or a truck space I will probably incur the wroth of others AND incur a penalty. 

It might be tempting to imagine that MSAs exist only to derive revenue from overpriced food and fuel and other retail activities. Provision for rest and relaxation is secondary and is not assisted by the initial setup and stress even before you have left your vehicle.

I regularly drive in many other European Countries and find none of this nonsense. On "E routes" I can usually stop in pleasant  landscaped areas with toilets water and air provided free.

I don't expect the UK situation (England really because Scotland has very few motorway service areas and I don't need to use them) to change anytime soon because the arrangements are governed by vested interests and a structure set out 50+ years ago when vehicles traffic volumes trucks motor-caravans and caravans were different animals.

CAMC claims the credentials to be THE membership organisation for caravaners so it would be lovely to think that it would lobby vociferously with government and trade bodies to bring about change but the problems have been around for decades not months or years.

The road safety argument is a very good one. Towing a caravan is skilful and tiring arguably on a par with driving a truck and truckers have compulsory rest periods. How can caravaners impose rest periods on themselves if the infrastructure is not geared to encouraging them to stop ? 

BlueVanMan very well said, far my eloquent than my post on page one 😂.

+1, although I hadn't replied yet! But I agree with your post on page 1, Bakers2, I too decided to be honest and fell at the first hurdle.....We do use MSAs when we have to, and do sometimes wonder where exactly a motorhome should park, for all the reasons BlueVanMan has described very eloquently.

Brues point raises another interesting issue. If parking resources are presently tight for all road users at MSAs especially at peak times how is the position going to be impacted when (say 25%) of road users are electric cars needing recharging and thus need a stop of say 90 minutes compared with a "drive-through" for fuel. 

Massive redevelopment redesign and more land will all be needed. This is coming down the track the only question is the timescale but I don't know how prepared our road authorities will be and I would guess that licences and franchises for MSA areas probably granted for very long periods at a time will need complicated disentanglement.

Well I wouldn't worry about that yet, it only takes a few minutes to fast charge our EV. 

At present there is a huge pressure from increased haulage and lack of rest space on a lot of MSAs.

Having said that we have never had to drive out of a services without a break even if it means parking up round the edge somewhere both with previous caravans and our present M/H.

Has anyone had to drive through without finding a space due to no available spaces or poor signage?

"Has anyone had to drive through without finding a space due to no available spaces or poor signage?" asks Brue.

Yes, on more than one occasion. There is one MSA, but I can't remember which, where we followed the caravan signs and all it did was take us out of the area and back onto the motorway. Thinking we must have missed a turn we tried again later in the year, carefully following the signs and ended up back on the motorway yet again. They obviously didn't want caravans.

Signage does tend to be pretty rubbish.

"Has anyone had to drive through without finding a space due to no available spaces or poor signage?" asks Brue.

Absolutely Yes.  Amongst the worse are Bridgewater, IMHO where the main car park is a multi story from what I can remember.  It's been ages since of stopped here - I won't even try here any more.  Amongst the best is Gloucester - If a fact Gloucester is certainly the best I have stopped at.  I have had to drive on at various services before where I've been unable to find a space.  This is dangerous if you are tired, and the main reason why I bought the subject up with the Club.

David

BVM, terrific post....

DSB, I guess the reason the Gloucester services are so good (and appropriate) is that they are so new, with a blank canvas from the start.

the 'caravan' area is huge and can easily acommodate towers as MHs.

this is the sort of coherent design seen on many large autoroutes in France which put our feeble efforts to shame...

i dont see any change happening here other than on new builds, too many vested interests as mentioned above...

would,be nice to see CC really getting stuck in to this one.....

If parking resources are presently tight for all road users at MSAs especially at peak times how is the position going to be impacted when (say 25%) of road users are electric cars needing recharging and thus need a stop of say 90 minutes compared with a "drive-through" for fuel.

Good point indeed. Not sure how many drivers just drive through for fuel though. I say that because I doubt that I use motorway services more than twice a year and only ever for their (expensive) fuel. I don't see many at the pumps though. Maybe price puts them off?