Denmark Netherlands mega trucks Europe-wide

12 Aug 2010. In Denmark and the Netherlands supporters of mega trucks are urging to extend the use of longer, heavier trucks to other European countries. Kristian Pihl Lorentzen, a member of the Danish parliament, recently demanded of his fellow party member and Danish Minister of Transport Hans Christian Schmidt to lobby for an extension of the mega truck trials to Germany and other European countries.

According to the Danish transport magazine Transportnyhederne Pihl said: „It is not acceptable if Germany is prohibiting transit traffic with mega trucks through Germany (...) We from Venstre emphasize that we have the possibility to make full use of the potential of mega trucks (aka environmental truck). Therefore it should be allowed to drive through Germany and further on through Europe.”

The reason for the demand is apparently the concern of Danish road hauliers to be excluded from the planned nationwide trial in Germany. The logistics commissioner of the German government, Andreas Scheuer (CSU), recently said in reference to the trial: “There won’t be any cross-border use.”

The announcement of the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia, not to participate in a nationwide trial, was also regarded by Dutch mega truck supporters with incomprehension. Godfried Smit of the Dutch transport association Evo pointed out that there are already 500 oversized trucks with up to 60 tonnes of weight driving in the Netherlands at present time. According to the German transport journal DVZ the withdrawal of North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia puts a spoke in the wheel of many Dutch road hauliers who planned to deliver to German customers.

In Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands 25 metre long and 60 tonne heavy trucks are allowed for years already. These trucks will first be real profitable when road transport companies are allowed to use them on long distances across Europe – just the distances where railways and inland waterways are often used at present.