We all hate traffic jams. They are the absolute worst and can waste hours of our precious day. They actually cost billions every year just due to the fuel they waste. However, this is probably the first time you’ve heard of a fake traffic jam that’s apparently serving no purpose. Yes, you read that right. These 89 trucks lined one after another aren’t there because they’re stuck, but due to the message that the people behind this stint wanted to deliver to all of the UK — that is, “do not exit the EU without a deal!”.
There are deep-seated reasons as to why they’re doing this which you’re about to find out below. What you need to know about Brexit is that the UK elected to withdraw from the EU. There’s a whole lot of detail behind that move, mainly economical. There’s also a whole lot of drama behind what’s known as Brexit, which could potentially take hours to fully breakdown. The basic gist is what we’ve mentioned. The United Kingdom is exiting the Europian Union, something they’ve been part of for many years. They decided that the best course of action would be to jump ship, and now they’re having difficulty with the consequences.
Why the Truckers Were Headed to Dover?
Dover is a port, and the truckers weren’t actually going to that destination. They just wanted to point out what a hassle it’d be if the UK exited the EU without a deal which could result in major repercussions. The port of Dover, where these trucks should have been headed (had this not been a demonstration), is where a huge chunk of the UK’s international trade takes place. While the UK was in the EU, trade could occur smoothly without any delays in customs and checking. Now, things could be very different since the deadline for a no-deal Brexit is approaching faster than ever.
What Happens With A No-Deal Brexit?
Short answer? Pure chaos. There is no way that trade can occur normally after a no-deal Brexit has taken place because then, the UK will be a foreign country to the EU and will be treated as such. This means there will be a great deal of checking at customs, and that means a whole lot of delay. By lining up their vehicles, these truckers wanted to show how jammed the traffic could get with such procedures in effect. It can take up to 45 minutes for a shipment to be checked if it doesn’t come from the EU, whereas ones that do take mere seconds. You can imagine the ensuing traffic problems yourself with this information. These trucks don’t do too well even with the short processing time, and if it goes up so drastically, billions upon billions of dollars could be lost in the process.
The Truckers Were Paid By The Department for Transport
They did get their fair share of money for showing up for the day. They received £550 each which made the total cost of the operation an enormous £50,000! However, it might be well worth the trouble if the members of parliament who are undecided whether they should take a no-deal Brexit or not can make up their minds on just how bad the idea is!
Without considering anything else, thousands of truckers are going to have a really bad time if things play out the way this demonstration did. Traffic lines would be obnoxious, and we’d never hear the end of it! What’s interesting is that they demonstrated the traffic even though there weren’t any goods on them which means there wasn’t any time lost in checking. Merely selecting alternate routes caused them to be delayed by several minutes, and if this isn’t a nightmare scenario, we don’t know what is! Keep in mind that 10,000 trucks are supposed to cross this point daily.
This situation might not affect you and might almost be a source of entertainment while you watch on as the Brexit drama gets increasingly convoluted. However, real people with real jobs are going to have a lot to pay for if things don’t go the right way. Regardless of whether they’re right or wrong, it’s for certain that their point is valid and demonstrable which gives them every right to be angry if a no-deal Brexit is allowed to proceed.