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Overtaking ban threatened on M42
Page 14
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CONTROVERSIAL PLANS to stop trucks from overtaking on a two-lane stretch of the M42 could be in force as early as next month, according to the Freight Transport Association.
The experimental ban between Junctions 10 and 11 nearTarriworth is designed to stop other traffic being slowed up by trucks overtaking each other slowly (CM 9 December 2004).
But the FTA fears that forcing truck drivers to stay in the inside lane will sim ply create a freight bottleneck by forcing all trucks to travel at the speed of the slowest vehicle. ETA policy manager Colin Hagan explains: "It also flies in the face of what they are doing elsewhere [on the M421 — planning to use the hard shoulder to create more space through the active traffic manage ment scheme which we approve of."
Hagan predicts that the overtaking ban would be very difficult to enforce because it would rely on a police presence at all times, — something that he says is unlikely to happen.
The Highways Agency, which proposed the ban, is sticking to its position that it could be useful for freeing up non-freight traffic. However, the agency says it is not yet sure when the ban will begin.
The FTA's suggestion that it could start by April is based on recent discussions it has held with the agency and the central motorway police group.
Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Highways Agency says: "We haven't yet decided on a start date for certain as we are still consulting about this. But we should know within a few weeks."