• Sauce for the Swiss
Page 41
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
What would you say to the idea of the RHA or the FTA being given the chance to take part in the opening ceremony of the Commercial Motor Show at Earls Court, as well as the organizer's (the SMMT) own choice of speaker? It is relevant, because at the opening of the Geneva Show on January 28 the secretary-general of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), Pieter Groenendijk, was invited to speak. And he made good use of the opportunity to plug freedom of choice in transport, the need for higher weights and sizes of vehicles, and the restrictive nature of the EEC rules for drivers' hours.
But perhaps his Swiss hosts got a little more than they bargained for. Brave man — he works in Geneva, after all —Mr Groenendijk had a crack at the Swiss limit of 28 tons gross. "They plead topography as a reason", he remarked wryly, "but it is only necessary to point out that neighbouring Austria, with very similar topography, permits vehicles to weight 38 tons gross." Touche