##### 2.5.11. EU weight limits

The current EU rules on weights and dimensions is a patchwork dating back to 1985. It is an important regulatory issue as it has direct implications for operating costs and so profitability. The UK is in conflict with the EU which wants to raise the general limit to 44 tonnes, which the UK only permits in the specific circumstances described below. The Government's proposals were outlined in a consultation document Heavier lorries for combined road/rail transport which was published in February 1993. The subsequent legislation permitting the use of 44 tonnes for combined road transport came into force on 24 March 1994. The combined freight network means that freight can be taken to special rail terminals without break of bulk problem of having to reload. Special transhipment points have been set up e.g. Manchester, Birmingham, West and South Yorks. These are connected by designated motorway networks.

There is no specific legislation labelled The Combined Transport Act or the 44 Tonne Regulations or whatever. The laws which permit the use of 44 tonnes are contained in two statutory instruments which amend regulations already in existence, namely the Plating and Testing Regulations 1988 and the Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. The amendments to the former are covered by SI 328 1994 which, for example, provides for additional information to be shown on the Ministry plate, in particular, separate maximum permitted weights for 'normal' and 'combined transport' operations. Similarly, SI 329 amends the construction and use regulations by including the requirements which govern the operation of vehicles over 38 tonnes and up to 44 tonnes. The statutory instrument merely amends the regulations, it does not replace them, so the vehicles will still have to comply with all the other requirements of the 1986 regulations in such areas as braking, lighting and so on. The 44 tonne trucks would need extra axles, (6 in all) to spread the load on the road; the 38 tonne lorries use five axles.

The FTA questions whether there would have been any greater opposition if the government had had the courage to go for 44 tonnes across the board. FTA estimates that a move to 44 tonnes without the road/rail restrictions would result in 9,000 fewer lorries, 480 million fewer lorry miles a year, a saving of over 300 million litres of fuel a year and annual savings to industry of around £300 million. In late 1994, it was announced that the House of Lords' Select Committee had recommended the introduction of legislation permitting the general use of 44 tonnes on six axles on the grounds that “the twin arguments of reduced road wear and reduced fleet size are sufficient justification for the Committee’s recommendation”. The European Commission in Brussels has launched technical studies to see whether a new generation of tachographs could be designed to record lorry weights (Surveyor 24 November 1994, 13). If this was feasible, it would resolve major problems that arise when trucks circulate through the EU. Current cabotage rights currently make it very difficult to monitor trucks and verify their loads.

The argument was not accepted by the Assembly, however, which voted a first reading amendment to maintain the present 40-tonne limit for intra-EU haulage (November 1994). However, if the Council of Ministers backs the Commission's idea, the Parliament might be forced into retreat when the legislation returns to Strasbourg for the second reading. The European