DOT looks at move to 44-tonne ado
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• The Department of Transport is considering an increase in the UK artic weight limit to 44 tonnes. Adopting 44 tonnes on six axles was suggested in EC directive 853 for vehicles used in combined transport operations, and this is thought to be the favoured option. However, no time scale has been set for such a move.
The economic and environmental justifications for a 44tonne limit have been well publicised but the issue is politically sensitive for the UK Government, not least in light of the difficulties surrounding the privatisation of British Rail.
The EC adopted a harmonised 40-tonne weight limit for topweight artics operating on international journeys in 1986. Britain won a derogation, however, allowing it to keep a 38-tonne limit. The DOT does not have to accept 40-tonne artics, or 11.5-tonne drive axles, until the end of the decade.
Nonetheless some truck manufacturers have been talking openly about the technical options for 44 tonnes, particularly with regard to axle configurations and air suspension, giving the impression that an earlier change could be on the cards.
In March the then Roads and Traffic Minister Christopher Chope would only say: "It is not the intention to raise the weight in the immediate future."
The Freight Transport Association has run a long-standing campaign for 44-tonnes in the UK. Such a change would require Parliamentary approval and would undoubtedly attract fierce opposition from environmentalists and back-bench MPs.