Hauliers praise clarity new NI trade deal should deliver

In a campaign video supported by the RHA and Logistics UK, drivers are urged to ‘know the zones’ where HGV drivers have limited visibility.

Jeremy Phillips, NH head of road safety, said: “Our advice to motorists overtaking a HGV is simple; avoid tailgating the HGV when considering an overtaking manoeuvre and as the Highway Code states, do so quickly and safely to avoid staying in an area of limited visibility.”

Hauliers trading between GB and Northern Ireland have shown “strong support” for the deal struck between the UK and EU – the Windsor Framework – according to Logistics UK.

The trading agreement, reforming the Protocol, is intended to end checks and bureaucracy on goods destined for NI.

Goods will travel through a ‘green lane’, with a separate ‘red lane’ for goods moving on to the EU and these will be subject to normal checks.

Logistics UK said its research found 79% of those surveyed welcomed the certainty the new deal brought. However, it added that the sector still had a number of questions about the shape of the final proposals. n Latest figures from Brittany Ferries show freight volumes reached 167,711 units last year, 17% down on pre-Brexit and pre-Covid levels in 2018/19, which came in at 201, 554. However, freight volume between Ireland and France and Spain rose by a staggering 272%, up from 6,377 in 2018/19 to 23,717 in 2021/22.