Treble top for longer semis
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Well. Who would have thought it? The Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed the successful applicants of the 10-year trial of longer semi-trailers this week – a month ahead of schedule.
The DfT has told 180 operators of their success across the full allocation of 1m and 2.05m longer trailers. Practically unheard of in the wheels of bureaucracy.
And the DfT appears to have listened to the concerns of the industry: the Road Haulage Association (and CM for that matter) called for the trial to include as many hauliers as possible. There was no point in having a fait accompli with the likes of DHL, Stobart and Wincanton running the majority of the allocation because it would not have been a fair trial. But congratulations to the likes of B Taylor & Sons Transport, Stephen W Thornton Haulage and J Godfrey & Son. Their contribution to the effectiveness of longer semi-trailers – sorry, high-volume semi-trailers – will be vital to the overall success of the trial. We hope that assessor Risk Solutions pays as much notice to their data as it does to the big boys.
It’s time now for the DfT to be brave. Full transparency of the data produced every four months (unless it is commercially sensitive of course) is vital in making the case for improved efficiency to a sceptical public.
It’s up to the 180 operators involved to prove the industry right, then perhaps this time next year we could even talk about increasing the allocation.
Christopher Walton