Dispute on lorry sizes blocks new safety rules

Agreement on safer and greener lorries may be put off to next Parliament because MEPs cannot agree on whether to allow megalorries.

The European Parliament’s transport committee has put off a vote that had been scheduled for tomorrow (11 February) on revising European Union rules on the weights and dimensions of lorries.

Safety and environmental campaigners had backed the European Commission’s proposal because the revised lorry designs would improve the sight-lines for lorry-drivers and reduce fuel consumption. But the changes have been delayed because of a dispute over whether to authorise extra-large lorries undertaking cross-border journeys.

Because of that dispute, the leaders of the political groups on the committee decided tonight to delay a vote in the committee to 18 March. That would leave little time for a full Parliament plenary vote before the end of this term in April. If the committee’s position is not confirmed by a plenary vote in April, it could mean that the next Parliament has to start the process over again. This would mean no agreement until 2015 at the earliest.

“This delay is tragic because it could postpone lorry design changes that will save hundreds of lives and make lorries cleaner,” said William Todts of green transport group T&E. “With 4,200 people dying in lorry crashes every year, we just can’t afford wasting time.”

For cross-border journeys, EU law currently limits lorries to a maximum of 18.75 metres in length and a maximum of 40 tonnes. (The limit is 44 tonnes when the lorry is travelling to or from a rail freight terminal.) A member state can, however, allow larger lorries as part of trials – because the wear and tear caused by larger lorries with more axles may be less than that by smaller lorries with fewer axles.

The Commission attempted last year to permit these megalorries for international transport with a revised interpretation of the existing EU law that would allow megalorries to travel between two neighbouring countries conducting such trials.  But MEPs insisted that this interpretation was inadequate and that the controversial subject should be introduced into the revision of the weights and dimensions legislation.

The controversy has now proved sufficient to delay the entire proposal. Jörg Leichtfried, the centre-left Austrian MEP who is drafting the Parliament’s response to the weights and measures proposal, wants to scrap the provision allowing megalorries to cross borders, but the centre-right and liberal MEPs support it.

Last month a coalition of 130 mayors sent a letter to MEPs asking them to approve the new rules, saying the measurements would improve drivers’ range of vision and save many lives.