'Heavier trucks are lighter on fuel'
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INCREASES in permitted truck weights would bring big savings in fuel, while the raising of axle limits from 10 tons to 13 tonnes could cut overall consumption of fuel by heavy trucks by between 11 and 17 per cent, an international conference was told last week.
The president of the road haulage section of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) was speaking at the transport economics symposium of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport. He said the fuel situation had given new relevance to the IRU's campaign (long dormant) for a 13-tonne axle weight limit. By the same token, he said, there was an economy case for 21-tonne tandem bogies and 45-tonne train weights.
However, the IRU realised the environmental objections to such a big increase and so would propose, as an interim measure, a 40-tonne train weight.
The IRU section president, M Mateau-Casadevall, said that economy considerations also applied to power-to-weight ratios.