Road safety experts hit out at EU parliament vote

Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), Campaigners say the European Parliament is supporting the expansion in the number of extra-long and extra-heavy lorries on EU roads.

They say this poses “serious potential consequences for road safety.”

The parliament this week voted on a proposal published in July last year by the European Commission to update EU rules on weights and dimensions of lorries. The updated new rules will simplify the legal framework for longer and heavier vehicles, which are currently allowed only under certain conditions as part of trials.

But the vote has angered Graziella Jost, Project Director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC).

He commented: “Big lorries are a big mistake for Europe. While mega-trucks may have a place under very specific circumstances in some countries, these legal changes will lead to a mass roll-out with the potential for very grave impacts on road safety.

“Almost half of MEPs wanted to remove the new provisions to expand the use of megatrucks but an amendment to do that failed to pass by just six votes. We strongly urge the EU to reconsider these proposed changes and instead maintain the current practice of limited trials where the impacts can be more closely monitored.”

Typical longer and heavier lorries (LHVs) are lorry and trailer combinations 25.25 meters long, nearly 9 meters longer than standard lorries in Europe, and weighing 60 tonnes. To put that into perspective, these vehicles are as long as six passenger cars and weigh as much as a fully loaded Boeing 737 300. In Finland, 34.5m, 76-tonne configurations are permitted.

ETSC says it has serious concerns about LHVs’ impact on road safety and says all the impacts of wider adoption haven’t been fully assessed.

The potential risks that ETSC alleges have not been fully investigated include:

• LHVs may accelerate road infrastructure degradation, leading to more frequent maintenance and safety issues;
• LHVs require adapted infrastructure, posing challenges in work zones, parking, resting areas, and more;
• the impact resistance of barriers on bridges crossing above railways may not be sufficient to prevent a crash between an LHV and a train;
• LHVs can struggle with intersections. They might use space for vulnerable users during turns, potentially encroaching on pavements or cycle paths.

The proposal, it is alleged, also contains no specific legal safeguards regarding who drives longer and heavier vehicles. That means that in several EU countries, 18-year-olds could drive them without requiring any additional training compared to what is required for a standard lorry. In a separate legal proposal on driving licences, the Commission also wants to require all EU Member States to introduce an accompanied lorry driving scheme for 17-year-olds. Data show that younger lorry drivers are at a much higher risk of crashing.

A recent study also shows that the expansion of longer and heavier road freight transport will have substantial negative effects on the rail freight sector, which has a considerably better safety record.

A final deal on the revised rules will only be agreed upon following so-called ‘trialogue’ talks between representatives of the Commission, EU Member States, and the Parliament, due to take place after the European Parliamentary elections in June.