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Heavier...
Page 20
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longer... better?
rhe timing might be right for the ntroduction of heavier and longer
.rucks in the UK. Chris Tindall
Neighs up the arguments.
0 n the face of it. the news that the Road Haulage Association is to request dais for 60-tonne trucks on UK oads came at a curious time. The reight Transport Association says :'s been in discussion with the ,overnment for a couple of years bout this very issue.
One industry source comments: It's only 18 months late, but the .HA is now waking up."
The idea isn't some wild fantasy Sweden and Finland already iHow 60-tonners and the Netherands is in the middle of a trial to !stablish their pros and cons.
With our general election now wer and a new Cabinet in place, it eems the time might be right to wess the government into adopting i similar approach.
Dick Denby of Lincs-based 3enby Transport has been at the brefront of plans for 60-tonners. He has developed a prototype that's tailored to UK conditions and reports an encouraging lack of resistance from the Department for Transport. On the contrary: "They have been positive and helpful and have said very kind things about 'technical solutions'."
Denby adds that Transport Secretary Alistair Darling hasn't opposed the plan— in fact there are rumours that the DfT might make a decision on a trial within a matter of weeks. But Denby remains cautious: "The new minister. Steven Ladyman, has only been in the saddle a couple of weeks and it's unlikely to be his top priority."
Reasons for rumours He suggests that the rumours of an early trial might have resulted from the fact that there's only two months between the general election and the UK's accession to the presidency of the European Union on 1 July: "It's unlikely there will be time to focus on this... it involves a lot of preparation. But I do know discussions are revolving around 'if this is a success, where do we go from here?'.
"It may be rapid: it may be time consuming... we don't know."
A DfT spokesman confirms: "Officials are looking at the arguments put forward and working through the implications. We are not putting a time line on it because it's a complex issue."
The economic advantages of using heavier and longer vehicles to transport freight are obvious. Reduced pollution and fewer trucks on the roads should even go some way towards keeping environmental lobbyists happy.
Potential disadvantages are bound to weigh heavy on the government's mind — but the FTA's Geoff Day says: "There's only one I can think of; the idiot motorists who'll try and negotiate around one of these things."
The RHA is well aware of public prejudice against such large trucks. But chief executive Roger King says: "I think we need to be adult about this and say 'let's get the vehicles off the airfields and onto the roads and see how they perform'. I'm fairly confident the end result would be positive."
However, perhaps explaining why the association has sat on the fence on this issue, King adds: "Not all RHA members support these big trucks. It's the expense involved; some would say they couldn't use them."
Denby concludes: "If an experimental permit were to be granted that would be a start. Let's permit road users to get used to them." • christopher.lindall@rbixo.uk