– Very challenging. This is how Jill Sivertsen answers questions about what it’s like to go to the toilet as a female professional driver. For her, the forest is often the alternative. – And it is less attractive, so to speak. I’m happy to handle that, so you sit and hold on until it hurts. Then he gets creative. – I dance a little, lighten my pants a little, sing loudly and try to get my mind on something else. Petrol stations will be the solution And she is by no means alone in feeling this way. – It’s no fun squatting in the ditch. Then you will have the opportunity to get it planned in the city, says Malin Blekkan. – We get used to it, but it can be experienced as frustrating. You don’t know if it will be half an hour or four. Even if the coffee cup is there, you may have to leave it alone even if you feel like it. It is not certain that the drivers will have a chance to go to the bathroom before they go to bed and sleep. – Then you have to wait until the next morning, says Malin Blekkan. Photo: Morten Karlsen / news It is often the petrol stations that are the solution. Here there is not always room for them, and the drivers feel that they take up a lot of space. – And it might lead to you taking your wallet with you and buying something or other. It’s like thanking you for letting me borrow the doe. You don’t have many other options, says Sivertsen. Calls for more stopping places The problem is too few rest areas, according to the professional drivers. In addition, those that exist are filled with tourists in the summer, and many are closed in the winter. – Some of them are quite dirty and unhygienic, says Sivertsen. – I understand that there can’t be one door at every road junction, but there could well have been more, and they should have been open all year round, says Blekkan. Sivertsen says that she and the other female drivers are getting very good at holding their own. Photo: Morten Karlsen / news – Is this a topic among professional drivers? – It is being talked about, but perhaps not so clearly defined. It’s not exactly what everyone wants to talk about. But the casual comment that it’s easiest for the men comes from time to time. – How does it harmonize that there is a desire for more women to enter the transport industry at the same time that they have poor toilet facilities? – It actually harmonizes very badly. And it’s not just us who want the facilities, men also appreciate them, says Sivertsen. The Truck Owners’ Association: Strongly provoked – I think this is a disaster for our industry. Neither more nor less. It is a disaster for those who are at work, and for recruitment. That’s according to Kjell Olafsrud, marketing director of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association. In March, he and several female professional drivers went to the office of the Minister of Transport. Here they talked about how important it is to make things right for the transport industry. – But there are no signs of improvement in the state budget. We are simply strongly provoked that nothing is being done in that area here. Kjell Olafsrud, marketing director of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association, says that they have come up with proposals for places where overnight rest and rest areas should be built. Photo: André Kjernsli / NLF – This is a professional group that is subject to the strictest control regime. They are forced to break rules every single day to get their job done. Either by driving over the permitted time, because unexpected things occur along the road, or that they have to stop in places where it is not allowed to stand. The feedback the association receives from women is that they feel good, but that this is by far the biggest challenge. – We have worked extremely hard with recruitment – and we have an increase in the number of female drivers. But it is clear that when they see what meets them along the way, this stops. Has been fighting for a long time The Swedish Transport Association, like the Truck Owners’ Association, has been fighting for a long time to put the team on the agenda. – In working life, strict requirements are placed on employees’ access to toilets, and we are aware of no other profession that does not have access to toilets during working hours. This is what deputy manager Trude Christin Sande wrote in an e-mail to news. Trude Christin Sande is the deputy head of the Swedish Transport Association. She is also a bus driver and chief trustee for Tide. Photo: Yrkestrafikkforbundet She believes that it is surprisingly easy for the Swedish Road Administration to close toilets when it becomes too expensive to keep them in operation in the winter. – It happens to women in particular that there are so few functioning toilets along the road. – For the male drivers, the solution may be simple, but we have to ask ourselves whether it is acceptable to have to move along the roadside during working hours in 2023. rest areas with toilet facilities along the national and European road network. The Swedish Road Administration states that there are 55 24-hour rest areas along the national roads. There are approximately 450 rest areas. Not everyone has a toilet, and some are open all year round, they write in an e-mail to news. – When toilets are closed in the winter, this is out of consideration for sanitary conditions. These are places where it is not relevant to use municipal water and sewage, but which nevertheless provide an important offer for road users in the summer months, writes the Swedish Road Administration. – Does the Swedish Road Administration think that it is acceptable that drivers of both sexes have to pull over along the side of the road during working hours? – It will probably be difficult to establish toilet facilities with a distance between them that will meet all urgent situations that road users may experience. Visits to the toilet must also be planned by each individual as far as possible. Furthermore, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration writes that they annually upgrade rest areas. – Otherwise, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has great respect for the important work carried out by the transport industry, and appreciates feedback related to how we can make the best possible way for employees in the industry to carry out their tasks. Read the full response to the Swedish Road Administration – The Swedish Road Administration is responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of rest areas with associated toilet facilities located along the national and European road network in the country, and our answers/comments below therefore only deal with this road network. For similar facilities along county roads, this is the responsibility of the individual county municipality. – What is the situation with rest and overnight rest areas around Norway? – There is an overview of 24-hour rest places on the website 24-hour rest places | State Highways Authority. The overview shows 55 24-hour rest areas along the national highway. In addition, some private operators have other similar offers for HGV drivers. There are approximately 450 rest areas along the national highway network. Most can be described as “other” rest areas, with differences in standard, level of equipment and distance between the rest areas. We will soon have an overview of how many (more than 50) satisfy what we consider a main rest area. The majority of these are available for large vehicles. An overview of the rest areas and information on whether they have a toilet can be found on Vegvesen traffic by selecting rest areas under map content. – Is it true that there are approximately 700 rest areas, that not all of them have toilets and that more than half are closed in winter? – There are approximately 450 rest areas along the national highway network, and we are in the process of quality-assuring the information about these. Approximately 700 rest areas is a figure left over from the work on a new strategy for rest areas in 2019. There has been a review of the national highway routes where several pockets along the road have been changed from rest areas to stop pockets, more in accordance with the design on the spot. – Not all rest areas have a toilet. Some rest areas are open all year round. Some rest areas are closed in winter. In other places, the driving area is plowed, so that you can stop and take a break, even if the service building with toilets is closed. When toilets are closed in the winter, this is for reasons of sanitary conditions. These are places where it is not relevant to have municipal water and sewage, but which nevertheless provide an important offer to road users in the summer months. – In places where water and electricity supply have been a challenge, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has in recent years established several sanitation facilities with alternative energy sources as well as water supply. The experiences with these have so far been positive, and there are currently several of these being established at rest areas along the national road network in the country. – What comment do you have to the fact that the Norwegian Road Transport Association believes that it is too easy for the Norwegian Road Administration to close toilets? – Rest areas are a measure for traffic safety. Along with other side facilities to the national highway, there must be opportunities to turn off the road and take a break at regular intervals. Some rest areas have also been set up where tourists stop along the road anyway. A number of rest areas are located in such a way that municipal water and sewage is of little use. It will be difficult to achieve satisfactory sanitary conditions in these places in winter, when the water supply freezes. We work in line with the strategy for rest areas, with a target of 150 main rest areas along the national roads, with about 1 hour’s drive between them. – Does the Swedish Road Administration think that it is acceptable that drivers of both sexes have to stop along the side of the road during working hours? – It will probably be difficult to establish toilet facilities with a distance between them that accommodates any urgent situation that road users may experience. Toilet visits must also be planned by the individual as far as possible. So far, fortunately, we have seen very few cases where the needy have had to do their bit in the nature surrounding our rest areas or along the roadside. – What responsibility does the Norwegian Road Administration have? – Look over. Otherwise, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has great respect for the important work carried out by the transport industry and appreciates feedback relating to how we can facilitate in the best possible way that employees in the industry can carry out their tasks. The operation and maintenance of rest areas, 24-hour rest areas and toilet facilities along the country’s national roads has had, and will continue to have, a major focus in the Norwegian Road Administration. – Is something being done/what is being done about the situation from your side? – The Swedish Road Administration upgrades rest areas annually. So far in 2023, at least five rest areas have been upgraded with new service buildings. Our operating contractors also do a big and important job every day with cleaning our places, both cleaning toilets, service buildings and outdoor areas. On the rare occasion that they find that someone has done what is necessary on the side of the road or in the surrounding nature of our rest areas, or littered in some other way, they also clean this up.
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– Disaster, says the Truck Owners Association – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
