• The Government has been told, in no uncertain terms,
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that it must allow 40-tonne trucks to run on British roads, and it must fall into line with the rest of Europe as soon as possible. Eduardo Pena, the EEC Director General for Transport, has warned Britain that its derogation from the 40-tonne concensus is "limited in time".
Pena, who is the EEC's most powerful policy maker on transport matters, told the FTA conference that "what we need now from the United Kingdom is a classification of its bridges, a completed sample survey on the quality of old bridges and a strategic plan for the assessment and strengthening work which needs to be done. Thereafter we, the Commission, can decide for how much longer the UK derogation can reasonably be given."
If Britain does not allow 40-tonne trucks on its roads by 1992 Pena warned "we will have problems".