Longer and heavier vehicles (LHVs) now feature prominently in the debate about Europe’s mobility crisis and its economic and environmental costs. The argument for LHVs essentially boils down to the simple proposition that, for a given volume of traffic, the number of truck trips is reduced, fuel consumption per tonne of freight moved is cut and overall emissions reduced accordingly. In addition, the extra axle lines reduce axle loads and hence road repair costs will go down.
On the other hand, LHVs raise road safety concerns and the generally poor enforcement of road regulations means there will be widespread abuse of time and route controls. It is also argued that they will generate road traffic, as freight migrates from rail. And it has been pointed out that none of the extra length of LHVs would be given over to providing the driver with a more spacious cab....
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This complete item is approximately 1500 words in length, and appeared in the January 2007 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 31.
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