Weight watchers fight 40 tonnes
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are launching an all-out campaign in a bid to stop the maximum weight limit being increased to 40 tonnes.
The Civic Trust has urged 1,300 local amenity societies to join it in opposing the truck weight increase, which was proposed by the EEC just before Christmas.
Together they will put pressure on William Rodgers, the Transport Minister, and demand that he come out against the plan for 40-tonne, five-axle lorries with a 10-tonne axle load limit.
At an EEC Council of Transport Ministers in December Mr Rodgers said he would not agree to any increase in the size or weight of heavy vehicles, until he was "satisfied that this was consistent with the needs of safety and the protection of the environment."
According to the Civic Trust, any raising of the limits could be resisted on road damage and vibration grounds alone.
But it also claims that an increase in gross weight would also cause more damage to deep foundations and bridges and cause worse accidents.
The Trust claims that a five-axle 40-tonner would do significantly more damage and might also make it more attractive to send goods by road that might otherwise have gone by rail.
In the Commons last week Mr Rodgers said that he was in favour of increased taxes on heavy lorries. "I entirely accept that heavy lorries are paying less than their fair share for wear and tear on roads," he said.