1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
Night bans may be cut
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A reduction in the number of night-time urban truck bans is being examined by a government commission fallowing huge falls in engine noise levels.
The Commission for Integrated Transport ICflT) says one of the main benefits of encouraging more night-time deliveries would be a reduction in day-time congestion. But spokesman Martin Helm says a report on the curfew issue is not due until the summer and no firm conclusions have been reached yet. "There is a lot of work to be done between now and then," he warns.
Any relaxation will face criticism from environmental lobby groups. Transport 2000 spokesman Steve Hounsham argues that putting more freight onto rail is the best way of reducing the number of trucks travelling during the day.
He adds: "Projected increases in traffic will counteract or even outweigh any individual improvements in engine technology.
However, with the current state of Britain's railways sending freight along the tracks is not seen as a viable alternative by many firms.
Freight Transport Association spokesman David Russell says relaxing the curfews is a sensible way of improving efficiency while, at the same time, minimising the environmental impact of haulage.
"Under regulations introduced since 1990, noise levels created by new trucks have dropped by 40%. The crucial issue is that lorries need to travel at the least peak times of the day," he says.