Academics call for higher truck tax
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• Hauliers should pay up to 55% more on vehicle excise duty to cover the damage their trucks cause to the environment, say researchers at Leeds University.
In a report just published after a three-year research programme they attack the road tax system for not considering the impact trucks have on air and noise pollution, visual intrusion and delay to motorists and pedestrians.
The report's authors also condemn the Department of Transport for making a basic mistake in the way it calculates Vehicle Excise Duty levels.
The DTp charges for capital spending: the researchers say it should require all road users to pay depreciation and interest on the entire capital stock of roads.
The trucks which need most looking at are 30.49-tonne fouraxle rigids, says Tony Fowkes of the university's Institute of Transport Studies. They would need a tax increase of about 55% to cover the road and social damage they cause, he says.
Fowkes adds that a 30% increase is needed on 17.25 and 38-tonners, and says that 7.5tanners should pay 16% more road tax.
However, the report accepts that "the heavy lorry is essential for the well-being of the country". And the team is not opposed to the introduction of 44-tonners as long as they have the right number of axles.
The Freight Transport Association rejects the report as "another set of academics talking about an industry they quite possibly have very little knowledge in".
It believes that the current track cost allocation system is adequate in working out the wear and tear caused to Britain's roads.
But environmental pressure group Transport 2000 welcomes the findings and says it hopes the Government will act on them. Transport 2000 director Stephen Joseph is encouraged that the report accuses heavier trucks of causing most external damage, and believes that if such vehicles are taxed even higher operators will avoid buying them.