Dip breaks length law
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• Britain is in breach of its European Community obligation to enforce an agreed increase in the overall length of drawbar units to 18.35m.
The rules should have been implemented for inter-state operations by 1 October but delays caused by the statutory consultation process and drafting the rules means that UK hauliers will have to wait until 17 October before they can take advantage of the new length.
"Basically, we could not get the regulations signed in time to lay them before Parliament for 1 October," says a Department of Transport spokesman.
"The breach will only last for a little while," he says.
Many UK operators have opposed the length changes, saying that effective load space is being cut. Under current Construction & Use rules, some have been managing 16.5m of load bed within an 18m overall limit by shortening the cab. The EC rules lay down a minimum coupling of 0.35m, with a minimum cab length of 2.35m.
The Freight Transport Association has warned that the EC system is over-complicated but the Dip says it will allow UK hauliers to use the same vehicles for domestic and international trips.
Requirements to fit marker boards on certain wide loads, and the increase in load length from 18.3 to 18.6m, will also be delayed until 17 October.