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Dutch operators appear to be finding LHVs impractical
Page 20
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The Dutch have been trialing longer, heavier vehicles, but take-up has been limited according to new figures. Brian Weatherley reports.
HAULIERS LOOKING for greater efficiency through the use of bigger units on the UK's roads may be discouraged by news that Dutch operators have been slow to trial the longer vehicles.
Latest feedback from the trials in Holland of the longer and heavier vehicles (LHVs) shows that support from operators for LHVs has been significantly overstated.
The Dutch are running limited trials of 25.25m-long/60-tonne gross weight rigs, having run a pilot project for 100 combinations, since expanded to 300.
However, judging by the speech given last week by Ron Bonsen, chairman of the Amsterdam truck show exhibition committee, it appears that enthusiasm for the project is relatively limited.
While Bonsen says the "unique" Dutch project is attracting much international interest he cautions: "It's not yet possible to state whether the project will be a success. The technical aspects of the trial are going very well, but the very fact that only about 80 of the 300 licences issued are actively being used gives pause for thought.
"Undoubtedly, some road haulage firms applied for licences on the basis that once they had obtained them they could decide whether they would actually use them. But it is also possible that the limitations of the LHVs are an obstacle. Such vehicles may not, for example, be used on a railway crossing, or in mist, fog or icy weather," he adds.
Despite this, Bonsen insists that truck combinations operating between major European ports could boost vehicle efficiency and reduce the overall number of truck journeys.
In the UK, Department for Transport officials are examining bids from two operators — Denby Transport and Stan Robinson — to run limited trials with LHVs.