Law Lords support lorry ban hush kits
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Every truck of 16.5 tonnes or more using London streets at night or at weekends will have to have air brake silencers.
Last Wednesday the House of Lords, which is the final court of appeal, backed a bid by the London Boroughs Transport Committee to overturn earlier judgements by the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
They had both branded Condition 11 of the London Lorry Ban unlawful, because they said it exceeded Construction and Use regs and local authority powers (CM 2-8 Aug 1990).
"In my opinion Condition 11 does not infringe on any directive. Condition 11 only provides that a class of unnecessarily loud vehicles which are not equipped with noise suppressors shall not operate in residential areas of Greater London at night," said Lord TempLeman, one of the five Law Lords who unanimously found in favour of the LBTC.
By the end of the year operators of trucks of 16.5 tonnes and above will be forced to fit the hush kits as a condition of being granted exemption plates under the terms of the five-year-old scheme.
The FTA, which spearheaded the campaign against Condition 11 with the RHA and SMMT, says it is now doubling its efforts to get the Department of Transport to change the law to redefine local authority powers.
"We are continuing the fight, albeit out of court," says FTA director-general Garry Turvey. He expects costs of the case to exceed the £100,000 fighting fund, which he says will be ''a significant blow" to the three associations involved.