100 organisations now support the NO MEGA TRUCKS campaign

8 Sep 2008. Barely two month after the launch of the NO MEGA TRUCKS campaign, 100 organisations from 18 European countries have already signed up to protest against the Europe- wide introduction of longer and heavier vehicles (LHVs). In a statement, the campaign's initiators said: “Europe's citizens are opposed to mega trucks because they are dangerous, environmentally damaging and expensive. Anyone who supports mega trucks is acting against the public's will.” The NO MEGA TRUCKS campaign was launched by the German Pro-Rail Alliance (Allianz pro Schiene), the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth, the European Automobile Clubs (EAC) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF).

The campaign's success will be particularly controversial when viewed against the background of a recent report, ordered by the European Commission, that will be used to help EU politicians decide on how to proceed with LHVs. In a draft version, the report's authors conclude that allowing longer and heavier vehicles would be “overall beneficial for the European society”. Speaking on behalf of the NO MEGA TRUCKS alliance, Lothar Fendrich said “That is obviously not how the public sees the issue.” Fendrich is a member of the Pro-Rail Alliance board and the president of the Organisation of German Railway Engineers (VDEI). He added: “We demand that the European Commission takes the public's opposition seriously.”

Remarkably, the positive conclusion reached by the experts strongly contradicts the individual findings in the EU report, which has still not been finalised. According to the report, allowing the 25 metre long trucks would mean enormous costs for taxpayers. Just the construction costs for making Europe's bridges fit for LHVs would amount to 46 billion euros. The European Commission's report also finds that mega trucks are more dangerous than conventional heavy goods vehicles. In addition, the report explicitly admits that allowing LHVs would lead to a modal transport shift away from the environmentally friendly railways and on to the roads. “The experts' positive overall conclusions are baffling. They are distorting their own report by failing to mention the dangers in their conclusion, even though the report specifically states just what allowing LHVs will mean for taxpayers, other transport users and for the environment,” said Fendrich.

The 100 groups and organisations from 18 countries that now support the campaign against allowing mega trucks cover a broad spectrum of society. The largest group of mega truck opponents is made up of environmental organisations, followed by transport clubs, trade unions, trade associations and consumer groups. A list of the mega truck opponents can be found at www.nomegatrucks.eu/mega-truck-opponents/.

Allianz pro Schiene is the German alliance for the promotion of environmentally friendly and safe rail transport. It unites 16 non-profit organisations that represent more than 2 million individual members, including environmental groups, transport clubs, consumer organisations and trade unions. The rail alliance is supported and financed by 79 companies that operate in the rail sector.
www.allianz-pro-schiene.de/english

Friends of the Earth Europe is the largest European environmental umbrella organisation. It campaigns for sustainable and just societies and for the protection of the environment, unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups and is part of the world's largest grass-roots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.
www.foeeurope.org

European Automobile Clubs is an alliance of five German and Austrian automobile clubs. The EAC campaigns for balanced transport policies that include all modes of transport, and for greater safety and more sustainability in road traffic. The alliance represents the concerns of around 2.5 million people.
www.eac-web.eu

The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) is a pan-European trade union organisation which embraces 222 transport trade unions from 40 European countries. The ETF represents more than 2.5 million workers in railways, road transport, maritime transport, ports and docks, inland navigation, civil aviation, fisheries and tourism services.
www.itfglobal.org/etf