Magazine - 15/10/04

Motorway service areas (MSAs) are no longer just places to fill your tank. Whether you stop there alone or with your family, they have become part of everyday life. You can change your baby there, have a meal, a coffee, buy a few groceries, or even have a shower...
 
Therefore, EuroTest rating categories included: road safety and parking, outdoor facilities, access/indoor facilities, catering, shop/kiosk, customer service, communication, hygiene, and prices. The study took place in 10 countries and involved 62 MSAs: 6 in Austria, 2 in Belgium, 4 in Switzerland, 15 (including 6 truck stops) in Germany, 8 in Spain, 8 in France, 8 in the United Kingdom, 8 in Italy, 2 in the Netherlands, and finally, 1 in Slovenia.
 
While no MSA was rated "very good", Germany nevertheless stands out with 4 service areas rated "good", 4 "acceptable" and 1 "poor". As for the truck stops, 3 were "good" and 3 "acceptable". With such results, Germany leads the European league table. The best rated MSA in Europe is Vogtland South, situated on the A72 between Pirk and Plauen South, with its outdoor facilities, excellent catering, friendly staff and well looked-after sanitary facilities. It was also a German MSA, Wörnitz, which was rated as having the best hygiene standards.
 
EuroTest 2004 however slams the British motorway network which is rated as having only 2 "acceptable" MSAs, 5 "poor" ones, and 1 "very poor"—the worst rated of the 62 tested. But this verdict deserves a closer look.... Most of these MSAs were deemed fair in respect to the safety of their road access, car parks, family friendliness, choice of goods available at the shops, and staff friendliness. On the other hand, the following points are rated deplorable in the UK: low toilet hygiene standards, and mediocre quality food, served most often in unpleasant surroundings at very high prices. In 8 UK MSAs, the cost of a standard meal was on average twice as high as in Italy and Germany. Mention should however be made of the Cardiff West MSA, who were second in Europe for its excellent hygiene standards, and of the Oxford MSA, the only British one to offer a pleasant environment and a meal worthy of its name.
 
Spain, which sees millions of tourists on its motorways, fares well with 1 MSA rated "good": Les Garrigues South. Six others were deemed "acceptable" and only one was rated "poor".
 
French motorways, rated as having the best MSAs in the 2001 and 2002 tests, have fallen this year, as in 2003, with 7 "acceptable" and 1 "poor". France is the county with the MSA rated as having the worst hygiene among the 62 rated. One MSA, Beaune Tailly, was rated "acceptable" because of its country path leading to an archaeological museum, its keep-fit trail and climbing tower for children.
 
Italy had mixed results: 4 "acceptable" and 4 "poor" as there were no outdoor children's playgrounds or leisure facilities, and the sanitary facilities and hygiene were also criticised. Italy's good points were very good quality coffee and sandwiches served at very reasonable prices...