STUDY OF THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES’ EXPERIENCE REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARKING AND REST AREAS FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

In the context of the creation of a safely functioning and efficient transport complex of Ukraine integrated into the world transport network, the issue of increasing the level of road transport safety arises. In this regard, there is a need to develop the transport infrastructures’ elements. Parking and rest areas for commercial vehicles require a special attention. The analysis of the situation in Ukraine regarding the development of the specified element of the infrastructure shows that most of the parking and rest areas for commercial vehicles available in the country do not meet even the lowest rating in terms of comfort and safety. However, the general lack of the specially equipped places for parking vehicles for the period of the breaks/rests is the most acute issue. To determine the vector of this element of transport infrastruc-ture’s development, the experience of European countries is studied. The studies show that an extensive network of parking and rest areas for commercial vehicles operates on the Trans-European Road Network (TERN). All of them differ in the estimated number of parking spaces, the level of service, com-fort and security. Even the simplest parking and rest areas for drivers are equipped with a toilet and a water tap. However, even if the conditions for the level of service are created in the parking and rest area, which ensure normal social well-being of the human, there is a need to increase the level of safety and security in the parking itself. In this regard, the European Commission conducted a study on Safe and Secure truck Parking Areas (SSTPAs) and proposed a new parking standard called the EU-Parking Standard. In accordance with the European legislation, EU Member States shall ensure that by 31 December 2050 safe and secure parking and rest areas are available on the comprehensive network at a maximum distance of 100 km from each other. Keywords: transport infrastructure, parking and rest areas for commercial vehicles, road haulage safety, mode of work and rest of the driver, rest period, break, Trans-European Road Network (TERN), Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).