Tighter border controls and increased security measures post-Brexit will mean that Britain's roads will be gridlocked every day.
That's the warning fired by the Freight Transport Association (FTA), which says that if the needs of the freight industry are ignored in the melee to leave Europe, our roads could be in permanent chaos.
Bank holiday gridlock could occur everyday post-Brexit warns FTA
“The nation’s existing supply chains rely on swift, simple transits across borders, and the introduction of more checks at the borders will cause delays in ports, which will have huge ramifications for traffic across the country, not just those in the immediate vicinity of our ports and airports," says Pauline Bastidon, FTA's head of European policy.
To safeguard the £1 trillion annual UK freight business, and ensure our roads don't descend into chaos, Bastidon says that government negotiators must pay special attention to any decisions which will impact the industry.
“Take the port of Dover as an example. More than 2.5 million lorries travel through the terminal every year – up to 10,000 every day, and currently there is minimal disruption to vehicle users in the immediate vicinity of the port. However, if the implementation of additional customs checks at the UK’s border cause unforeseen delays, the port estimates that tailbacks through the town, and onto the UK’s motorway network could grow at a rate of 10km per hour."