Brakes off 17 tonners
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• Two-axle rigid vehicles plated at 17 tonnes GVW will be allowed on British roads from 1 April next year, as forecast by CM last week. The Construction and Use Regulations Amendment which increases the current limit of 16,260kg was laid before Parliament by Roads and Traffic Minister Peter Bottomley last week.
This amendment also revises brake performance standards, in line with an EEC Directive which comes into effect in 1989; introduces antilock brake performance standards; legalises a new type of EEC vehicle plate: and allows for the further development ofd vehicles such as those from Multidrive of County Durham (CM 24 May 1986) on which the semi-trailer wheels are driven.
As expected, the gross weight increase results from an uplift only in the drive axle weight limit, up to 10,500kg from the current 10,170kg. The minimum wheelbase for a 17-totmer will be three metres.
D New service brake performance standards will apply to heavy lorries registered from 1 April 1989.
Minimum service brake performance, measured in %G, will rise from 45% to 50%.
The new vehicle plate introduced by the C&U amendment will, for the first time, include vehicle dimensions, called for by EEC Directives 85/3 and 86/36 to prove compliance with EEC weight and dimension limits at borders.
International operators can order the plates, free of charge, from DTp goods vehicle testing stations or from the Goods Vehicle Centre at Swansea.
FTA director of planning, Richard Turner, welcomes the rigid weight rise to 17 tonnes: "This represents a gain of 75 million tonne/kms and is definitely a step in the right direction."