Grid Smarter Cities is pleased to announce that our Sales & Partnerships Director, Toby Hiles, has joined John Crosk, Chairman at the Brewery Logistics Group on The Highways News Podcast to discuss the Safe Stops Campaign, a new national initiative aimed at improving safety, efficiency and legal compliance for deliveries across urban high streets in the UK.
The Safe Stops campaign tackles a long-standing challenge faced by urban delivery drivers who often lack safe, legal kerbside access when making essential deliveries to pubs and hospitality venues. Without designated spaces, drivers are frequently forced to stop illegally or make deliveries from unsafe locations, creating risk for themselves and the public and contributing to congestion and kerbside conflict.
“The challenge for my members is that every day, they’re forced to make deliveries where there’s no safe or legal loading provisions, none exist at the curbside currently,” said BLG Chairman, John Crosk. “When you think about freight currently in London, for instance, the public expect freight operators to deliver around about 440,000 tons a day. You’ve got to have some kerbside space to manage that.”
This joint effort seeks to prioritise safe, bookable delivery access points, known as Safe Stops, through a data-led approach that identifies key hotspots where unsafe deliveries occur and collaborates with local authorities to implement sustainable solutions. Central to this initiative is the use of Grid’s Kerb® Delivery platform, which includes Virtual Loading Bays (VLBs), pre-approved loading spaces that drivers can reserve in advance, allowing deliveries to happen safely and legally without the stress of finding ad-hoc parking.
Key objectives of the Safe Stops campaign include:
- Improving safety for delivery drivers and road users by reducing the need for illegal or unsafe stopping at the kerbside.
- Supporting councils to identify and prioritise kerbside locations for safer deliveries through real-world data collection and interactive mapping.
- Enhancing delivery certainty and operational efficiency for logistics operators.
- Advancing environmental and community benefits by reducing congestion, emissions and conflicts between delivery vehicles and other road users.
The campaign aligns with broader UK road safety and decarbonisation efforts, aiming to bring measurable improvements both in delivery operations and street safety outcomes. It also provides resources for local councils to help accelerate the deployment of Safe Stops solutions.
During the podcast discussion, John and Toby will share insights into the problem faced by drivers at the kerbside and how the Safe Stops Campaign can make a difference, outlining opportunities for further partnerships with local authorities, logistics operators and industry stakeholders.
Toby Hiles of Grid Smarter Cities added: “We want every stop to be a safe stop, and we’d encourage as many operators and local authorities and towns and cities and businesses who have had a problem with access to their kerbside to go on to the safe stops campaign and let us know where those problems are”
Join the Safe Stops Campaign and help identify unsafe or inefficient pub delivery locations. Together, we can support safer streets, compliant kerbside access, and better outcomes for drivers, councils, and communities.
Safer Stops. Safer Deliveries. Safer Streets.
To learn more about the Safe Stops Campaign, visit:
👉 www.gridsmartercities.com/safestopscampaign
👉 www.brewerylogisticsgroup.co.uk/safestopscampaign
About Grid Smarter Cities:
We specialise in building sustainable digital products that enable the smarter management of kerbside and freight logistics. Our knowledge of the ecosystem at the kerbside enables us to work with clients such as local authorities and operators to solve their challenges and with a tech solution at the kerbside.
