Wasted opportunity A 7.5-tonne rigid is not the best compromise
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for many operators. A change in the HGV driver licensing system could stimulate more choice, but the move remains some years away.
Those who currently drive 7.5-tonne trucks on a car licence are breathing easier than they were a year ago. At that time there were widespread fears that the HGV drivers' licensing threshold was about to be lowered from 7.5 tonnes gross to 33 tonnes.
It now appears, however, that the move has been delayed, with no change likely for a few years yet.
Reactions to the delay differ: some see the postponement as a triumph of operating flexibility, while vehicle manufacturers see it as a wasted opportunity.
Gone are the hopes of an early boost to previously unfashionable vehicle sizes; the polarisation at 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, in Britain at least.
The argument manufacturers put forward is that if there was no artificial break point at 7.5 tonnes, operators would have more freedom to pick the vehicles that really suited them. Some would opt for weights higher than 7.5 tonnes, others would move down the weight range instead.
There are two strong reasons for the fairly sanguine approach now adopted by the UK transport community. One is that the change, which is contained in the second EC directive on driver licensing, will probably not come into force in the UK for at least three and perhaps as many as five years. That means many vehicles being bought today for operation at 7.5 tonnes gross could be ready for renewal by the time there is a change in the rules.
The other, more powerful reason for the industry's relaxed approach is that even when the HGV threshold eventually does come down, generous "grandfather rights" will apply to existing licence holders. In effect, anyone who has a car driving licence prior to the change will still be allowed to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes after the law changes, This arrangement differs from the one that applied when Britain's HGV licensing threshold was last altered in the 1970s. Then, the limit was changed from 3 tonnes unladen to 7.5 tonnes gross; but to cater for existing drivers operating at higher weights, a new category of licence was introduced for goods vehicles of up to 10 tonnes gross.
The catch was that to qualify for this, claimants had to be able to show that they had been driving such vehicles regularly during a period prior to the change. Under the EC proposals, no such qualification will be required. Simply holding a car licence will be enough.
This means that for many years to come, operators will continue to be able to draw on a vast pool of drivers who are qualified for 7.5-tonne vehicles. Some truck manufacturers are now talking of the turn of the century as the earliest date for any real concern about their model line-up — and of 30 years hence before 3.5 tonnes is a universal threshold.
Registration figures tend to support the view that 7.5 tonnes is an arbitrary weight. Department of Transport statistics show that while around 17,500 general goods vehicles were registered at that weight in 1 989, a paltry 60-odd were registered in the 8.5 to 9 tonnes class; 700 at 9 to 10 tonnes; 700 at 10 to 11 tonnes and a modest 400 at 11 to 12 tonnes. On the face of it the heavy concentration at a single weight seems inconsistent with varying payloads, volume and route patterns experienced by operators.
On the other hand, the typical 3.5 to 4.5 tonnes of payload at 7.5 tonnes gross has a kind of intrinsic logic for many operators. Besides, the physical size, this type of vehicle is ideal for many urban environments.
Even given the freedom, many operators would probably stick at something near this figure, taking their cue about precise weights from the excise tax rather than anything else. If the change was to come tomorrow, the truck makers benefiting most would be those with the widest range of models between 3.5 and around 13 tonnes gross. The importers would be the biggest winners, since they already build for markets where the 7.5-tonne figure has no special meaning. Mercedes-Benz is particularly well equipped with models in this category, and so are MAN and the Iveco part of Iveco Ford.
Traditional UK-based makers such as Leyland Daf and Bedford successor, AWD, do not have such an extensive range under 7.5 tonnes at the moment, unlike Renault with its redoubtable 50series and derivatives currently offered at 3.5, 4.6, 5.5, 5.6 and 7.5 tonnes gross.
But the situation will certainly change. For instance, Daf, in its 400-series van replacement, will be considering these intermediate weights and keeping an eye on the whole European market. Meanwhile Renault will probably have dropped the 50-series well before the new HGV threshold becomes significant. Crumbling trade barriers could mean that some of the multi-model Japanese makes offer a viable option, too.
In a sense it is difficult to speculate on changes in manufacturing policy of this kind when the driving force behind them is so remote. What can be said for sure is that since the move towards harmonisation of HGV licensing at 3.5 tonnes is EC-wide, manufacturers with any kind of international aspiration are already addressing themselves to it. When the time comes, their task in the UK will simply be to gauge the market correctly, and include in their ranges the most appropriate models for the demand.
Meanwhile, the UK transport industry seems relieved to have some breathing space. A good gauge of attitudes can be seen from the buying patterns of the rental companies, which are reckoned to be the most vulnerable to a change of this kind. Brian Kirkwood of BRS says there has been no change so far. "Even when it does come, it will be very gradual," he says.
The Freight Transport Association's David Green, a specialist in licensing matters, probably speaks for much of the industry when he adds: "We're very pleased that the change in the threshold is taking time to be felt. The longer the transitional period the better as far as we are concerned."
He does not doubt that the new threshold will come.
"The British Government maintains that EC arguments for a uniform figure of 3.5 tonnes are not well founded," he says. "It is pointing out that there is no real evidence of accidents resulting from the lack of formal HGV training, But the odds are that the arguments will not be a success."
It means the day is drawing inexorably closer when anyone in Britain wanting to drive a vehicle grossing more than 3.5 tonnes will need an HGV licence.