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Drawbar limits cau
Page 6
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• A top scientist working on a study backed by the Department of Energy has told Commercial Motor that the Department of Transport is forcing hauliers to waste fuel.
Val Dare-Bryan, design director at Ricardo Consulting Engineers, was responsible for the DoE-backed studies which produced the aerodynamic Argos truck (see page 11). He says that the 32.5-tonne weight limit on drawbars in the UK is forcing hauliers to use more fuel than necessary.
Drawbars are more aerodynamically efficient than artics, he adds, and they do less road damage. They also offer larger load volumes and, when fitted with engines of sufficient capacity, are more fuelefficient.
Many hauliers would switch to drawbars if the weight restrictions did not apply, says Dare-Bryan. His views are
likely to dismay Transport Minister Peter Bottomley, who only two weeks ago (CM 6-12 July) accused hauliers of wasting £500 million a year through wasteful driving practices.
Dare-Bryan's studies appear to show that the drawbar offers the greatest potential of any CV for good aerodynamics. In the latest part of the Do} backed study into truck aerodynamics, he produced preliminary wind tunnel figui for a drawbar with a drag a efficient of 0.31.
Dare-Bryan says this figu compares with 0.325 for thc aerodynamic Argos rigid, an around 8.2 for a convention: