Longer trailer fight set to continue, say RHA & FTA
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By Patric Cunnane
THE ROAD HAULAGE Association (RHA) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA) are continuing to ight the European Commission (EC) for the UK’s right to run trailers up to 4.95m high rather than be limited to 4m as proposed a year ago (CM 23 September 2010).
Earlier this summer the industry and the Department for Transport (DfT) joined forces to lobby the EC at a meeting of the Motor Vehicles Working Group in Brussels. At that meeting the EC said it would consider lifting the proposed limit to 4.88m for double-deck trailers. However, FTA head of engineering Andy Mair says: “We believe 4.95m must apply for all trailers – that is the consolidated UK position.” Jack Semple, RHA director of policy, adds: “It’s important that there’s a common position. It potentially affects the majority of UK hauliers.” The UK campaign is supported by France and Ireland. Most other member states are unaffected because they already have 4m-height limits.
The matter must return to the European Parliament through the Internal Market Committee, but it is not scheduled to be discussed at the next meeting on 19 September.
The DfT has calculated that limiting double-deck trailers to 4m would add 260 million HGV km or 2.3% of current HGV trafic in the UK.
Double-deck trailers represent 3.5% of UK artic trafic.
Last October, John Lewis Central Transport leet engineer Ray Collington calculated that having to run 4m high trailers would cost his business an extra £6.2m, add another 3.2m miles to the retailer’s annual leet mileage, and create a further 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions (CM 14 October 2010).