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Limits on fuel through tunnels
Page 11
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• by Keith Nuthall
Roadside checks to detect overheating and limits on the amount of fuel trucks can carry through long road tunnels are among controversial measures being put forward by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Work on new standards for road tunnels started at UNECE following the Mont Blanc and Tauern disasters in 1999. The proposals are to be released formally later this month—just weeks after the blaze at St Gotthard.
Other recommendations will include the need for advertising campaigns giving advice on tunnel driving; periodic testing of hauliers; safety officers for tunnels over 1km long; and heat sensitive cameras for tunnel fire-fighting crews.
A UNECE spokesman says: "When implemented these measures will significantly reduce the risk of tunnel accidents and will minimise the consequences of accidents." Unlike the safety proposals aired recently by EU transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio (CM 814 Nov) the UNECE recommendations will remain voluntary guidelines.
However, they have been drawn up by experts from Britain, Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as the International Road Transport Union, the World Road Association and the International Road Federation. This means the ideas clearly have widespread support so they must stand a good chance of being implemented.
The IRU is pushing for the implementation of two-tube tunnel systems to prevent head-on collisions; it claims the proposals "go some way towards this". However, it is less encouraged by the idea of a mandatory limit on fuel, arguing that more research is needed.
• For more on tunnel safety, see next week's issue of CM