IICOMMENT THE ENVIRONMENT • "For too long we have been
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inclined to apologise about road damage: we should be talking about road wear, which is what they are designed to do." Richard Turner, director of planning at the Freight Transport Association made that point at last week's Commercial Motor/Scania conference on Transport and the Environment. The point is part of a wider issue, which is the relationship between commercial vehicles and the environment.
All the debate and discussion on the matter seems to centre on somehow protecting the environment from the lorry instead working to integrate the lorry successfully with its environment. Road transport is inseparably a part of the environment of the country; its cities, towns and villages are built around and based on the network of some 350,000 kilometres of road.
Getting that over might be easier if the haulage industry were to be less defensive about its impact on the environment. In recent years the manufacturers have made enormous strides in making their vehicles quieter, more fuel-efficient and less noxious. Most operators have worked hard to not create a nuisance, and to be good neighbours. To get that across, there needs to be a positive frame of mind. Yes, roads do wear out: they are meant to, in a controlled way. Yes, there has to be heavy lorry traffic, but remember that this industry has reduced the numbers of vehicles it runs by nearly a quarter since 1968. That needs to be emphasised by all in the industry, not apologised for.