Business, Freight News, Logistics, Road

Cut trailer height rules down to size, urges FTA

[ November 3, 2011   //   Chris ]

The Freight Transport Association is calling on EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas to step in and halt legislation that could limit the height of future semi-trailers to four metres. FTA has written to the Commissioner urging him to iwithdraw the proposals before they pass beyond his control in the Brussels process.

Although negotiations are continuing, FTA said it was concerned that “political horse-trading will end up with a messy compromise that wrecks the efficiencies achieved through use of high cube trailers in the UK.”
“A four metre height limit will have a catastrophic impact on many logistics contracts, said FTA’s managing director of policy and communications, James Hookham. “This proposal started life as one of those Brussels ideas that everybody assured us would go nowhere, but nine months later and there is still a piece of paper with ‘4 metres’ written on it,”  he said.
He added: “We have supplied countless briefings to the Department for Transport, supported academic research into the impacts and FTA’s Brussels office has been working overtime making MEPs and Commission officials aware of the efficiencies and carbon savings achieved in the UK through the use of ‘high-cube’ and double deck trailers. Whilst we think double-deck trailers are safe we are now focussed on getting the four metre limit for single decks removed. The best way we can see to do that is to kill the proposal. The Transport Commissioner needs to pick up the phone to his colleagues in Brussels and end this now.”