Introduction of longer, heavier trucks is imminent

19 Jan 2009. A new report, published by the EU Commission a few days ago, shows that “Europe is facing the threat of being over-rolled by mega trucks if the Commission gets its way”, said Michael Gehrmann, chairman of the German transport club VCD, on Monday in Berlin.

The negative effects on people and the environment will be significant. Allowing LHVs, which can measure up to 25 metres and weigh 60 tonnes, will increase safety risks and impact the environment because of the resulting modal transport shift from the railways to the roads. The related infrastructure costs are also being deliberately ignored by the Commission, according to Gehrmann.

In order to avoid a public debate on the controversial issue of allowing LHVs before the European elections in June 2009, the EU Commission quietly uploaded its report, which had already been completed in November 2008, to its website last Friday. The report on a possible EU-wide introduction of LHVs recommends allowing the vehicles right across the European Union, even though the report's authors do not deny the negative impacts, such as the high cost of infrastructure modifications and the increased risks to the safety of all road traffic users. “The EU Commission is obviously gambling on the fact that nobody will wonder at the blatant contradiction between the report's negative assessment of mega trucks and the resulting positive recommendation in their favour,” assumed Gehrmann.

The report, compiled by the private research company Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML), comes to the conclusion that permitting the oversized trucks on a European level is justified by lower road transport prices – irrespective of the negative effects on safety, the environment and costs that society will be burdened with.

“With its publication of the report, the EU Commission has clearly come out in favour of mega trucks,” said Martin Roggermann, coordinator of the pan-European 'No Mega Trucks' campaign, in which to date 125 organisations have joined forces to oppose LHVs. Roggermann warned against believing announcements that no decision on the issue of mega trucks will be taken before 2010. “In cooperation with the Swedish government, which intends to promote LHVs during its presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2009, the EU Commission could still push through the Europe-wide introduction of LHVs in this year.”

More on the Commissions report on the introduction of LHVs: