EC puts brakes on jack-knifes
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• Every artic plated at 26 tonnes GCW and above coming on to European roads after 1 October 1991 will have to be fitted with anti-lock breaking systems, when the latest EC directive comes into force. Under the directive member states will only grant type approval after that date to tractors plated at over 16 tonnes, semi-trailers over 10 tonnes, and PSVs over 12 tonnes if they have ABS systems.
EC countries will have the choice of introducing the ABS condition earlier than 1991, but the Department of Transport has told CM that is has no immediate plans to do so.
No country in the EC currently requires vehicles to be fitted with ABS.
The Freight Transport Association has welcomed the move as an improved safety measure and claims it would not be surprised if the directive was gradually extended to cover rigids, which are currently excluded from the Commission's proposals.
Manufacturers are already preparing for the change, but are unsure how far it would affect the cost of new vehicles. Many manufacturers already offer ABS options, but they can cost up to 2,000.
The DTp says the move is rooted in commercial vehicle safety concerns. It claims that since the advent of ABS the number of accidents involving HGVs has dropped by half. Only last week the directorgeneral of the British Safety Council, James Tye, expressed concern over the problems of jack-knifing in a letter to the Times.
He said: "I have heard of "accidental" jack-knife acci dents and "accidental" shedding of loads — both of which block our overcrowded highways. Frankly, an articulator jackknifing or load-shedding is preventable, and is therefore not an accident.
"Heavier financial penalties should somehow be levied on untrained or negligent drivers whose actions cost so much time and inconvenience, if not injury to other people."
'The idea of fines for jackknifing have angered many in the road transport industry, but the DTp says: "Once the EC proposals are in place, jack-knifing will become a thing of the past."