This is what would happen if I ruled the haulage
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world I READ with great interest two articles (CM 18 April), which said what hauliers already know: larger, heavier, better-designed trucks are cheaper to run and that the reality of Euro-1 to -6 emission laws are a total rip-off for hauliers. It is the haulier who pays for the development, production and the cost of disasters while operating complex engines, which have not been fully proven and which do not seem to have had • any significant impact in improving the world climate.
The implication of engine manufacturers worldwide having to cheat to attempt to maintain acceptable • fuel consumption on these newer eco engines smacks of hypocrisy.
Call me a cynic, but the best way to run a green truck is to use every last drop of diesel and to squeeze the most out of it by having the most economical engine, built into a vehicle that moves freight at the best tonne per mile cost. Increasing the amount of diesel used to be more 'green' puts me on the same level as the little boy who realised that the king had no clothes on.
Obviously these observations have cost me a lot of time and money to discover, but as I am trying to stop my country joining the list of EU countries in crisis, I have a cunning plan to save us all: • allow 54-tonne aerodynamically designed vehicles, with engines built for economy rather than reduced emissions; • allow LGVs to run at 50mph on single carriageway unrestricted roads to help traffic flow and reduce accidents; • better road design with flyovers at major junctions, which reduces fuel consumption for all traffic due to improved traffic flow; • reduce fuel duty for LGVs, as an essential user, to help bring transport costs down, which in reality will help everybody; • increased flexibility within the Drivers' Hours & Work Time Regulations to reduce the pressure felt by drivers forever fighting congestion, factory deadlines and the fear of losing their vocational licence. Liam Quinn Woefully optimistic haulier