Belgium up
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THE BELGIAN Government has introduced regulations which allow maximum vehicle length, weight and width to be increased from July.
The major effect of the regulations, which were published just days before this week's Brussels Show, is to increase the maximum permissible gross weight of a five axle tractive unit/semi-trailer combination from 38 to 44 tonnes. Four axle Belgian vehicles may now gross 32 tonnes.
The maximum weight for drawbar combinations has also been increased to 44 tonnes, from 40 tonnes.
Maximum legal wheel, axle and bogie weights have been modified.
The Belgians have followed the Dutch example in aiming to reduce road wear by making the heaviest tandem or tri-axle bogies allowable only if air suspension is used.
For example, a tri-axle air suspended bogie with a total axle spread of 3m may now carry 27,000kg whereas a mechanically suspended equivalent is limited to 24,000kg. Hitherto the single axle weight limit was 13 tonnes. The new regulations lower that to 12 tonnes for a driven and 10 tonnes for a non-driven axle.
The maximum allowable length of rigid vehicles has gone up from 11 to 12m, as has the legal length limit for multiaxle drawbar trailers but the overall drawbar length limit remains at 18m.
While the maximum width limit remains at 2.5m, an increase in the tolerance allowed over this figure effectively means that vehicles .close to 2.6m wide will now be legal.