Tough talking on axle load limits
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• Britain intends to take a tough line in talks with the EEC on plans to increase axle loading limits for Continental lorries.
Mr John Peyton, Minister for Transport Industries, made this clear when he faced a battery of Commons questions from angry MPs on Wednesday, demanding a ban on lorries above the current British size and weight limit entering this country.
"I have told the EEC I am under heavy pressure in Parliament and that I am really not a robust enough person to stand up to it", said Mr Peyton.
"I am consulting with the EEC on the proposals they have put forward. I would like to see the 40-ton gross weight slightly down but the vital thing from our point of view is that the axle loadings should not be unconscionably raised because this would involve very considerable expenditure on strengthening roads and bridges, with the risk of damage to buildings."
Mr Peyton said the estimate of some ,E200m as the cost of such an operation had been arrived at after very careful studies by his experts.