'ublic emotion high )n the heavyweights
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IE. MAN in the street could not tell a 44-tonne lorry apart from 32-tonner, Conservative MP Tom Normanton told the .mitage Inquiry when he gave verbal evidence last week.
Mr Normanton, who is also member of the European .rliament, agreed that the avier lorry could be seen as other EEC imposition on the itish way of life, but said it the general public would unable to spot the diff?nee between the two eateries of vehicle.
"The public's view of the avy lorry is based on pure lotion. It is fed on emotion d not on fact or reality," he d.
Vlr Normanton was giving Inquiry a European view of heavy lorry question, and said that it was inevitable that road haulage costs will rise. Heavier vehicles are essential if the industry is to remain competitive.
While construction and use regulations can be laid down by the European Commission, it is a matter for local governments to decide which routes lorries should follow. "You cannot do that on a European-wide basis," he said.
Mr Normanton added that it is essential for European laws to be harmonised in the interest of restructuring industry in Europe.