16.5m artics
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weight on the drive axle will be 11.5 tonnes from 1 January 1992. No other truck category has been recommended for an increase by Brussels, despite German pressure for threeaxle rigids going up to 25 tonnes, four-axle rigids to 32 tonnes and four axle artics to 46 tonnes. The German proposals were expected to win more favourable response because Germany currently holds the presidency of Europe.
The British two-axle rigid limit is 17 tonnes, and the Commission expects the Department of Transport to attempt to negotiate a deroga tion from the new law in the same way that it avoided going to 40 tonnes.
The Freight Transport Association likes the idea of the increases but fears that European harmonisation would move further away as a result. The current FTA campaign to increase top British truck weights to 40 tonnes is still trying hard to get to the same starting line as the rest of Europe.
However, if increases such as these take place on the Continent but not in the UK, the starting moves forward again without us.