Don’t overstate benefits of longer trailers
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IN RESPONSE TO Andy Salter’s comments about Freight on Rail’s assertions (CM 15 September) about longer trailers, we agree road and rail complement each other. However, we also believe the economic beneits of longer trailers are overstated and would worsen the economic position of smaller hauliers, as well as producing more road casualties, environmental damage and costs for local authorities.
Longer HGVs could cost small and mediumsized hauliers up to £1.8bn over ive years in depreciation costs, something the government study into longer lorries did not calculate.
The Department for Transport (DfT)-sponsored research has not assessed the impact on tight junctions where the out-swing of the rear of the trailer will double to more than two metres – and in the driver’s increased blindspot. Longer trucks will have to enter the ‘wrong’ lanes or mount footways or trafic islands. Other road users may get side-swiped as it will not be obvious how far the back of the lorry will swing out.
Infrastructure costs are not calculated in the DfT research. The Technical Advisors Group (TAG) calculates that the additional costs for footways and kerbs based on generic asset costs will be around £410m per annum.
Certain big logistics operators and their customers will make good use of the extra volume and increase their eficiency, but most freight op erators and users are not big irms, and will lose out by having to buy new longer vehicles for general use, mostly not utilising the extra capacity. Government statistics show that almost 50% of loads are neither weight nor volume constrained, i.e. in partially loaded trucks. They also show that hauliers tend to buy the largest vehicle permitted and use it for large and small loads.
Once trials of longer vehicles are allowed, it is dificult to reverse their introduction, as trials can be extended for many years, without parliamentary scrutiny. Finally, I am not aware of making any detailed references to braking distances. Philippa Edmunds Freight on Rail