The Freight Transport Association has spoken out against plans by the European Commission to limit the height of UK trailers.
The EC’s proposal on masses and dimensions for type approval threatens to remove the existing derogation which allows vehicle and trailers in the UK to be set at over four metres.
The FTA has been asking operators for evidence to support its call to protect the current systems which gives UK operators the right to operate trailers above four metres.
Andy Mair, FTA’s head of engineering policy, said: “All the evidence points to the fact that many significant operators in the UK use trailers that would be outlawed if EC proposals went ahead; the cost-saving and carbon dioxide emissions benefits of higher trailers would be lost too.”
The EC announced it would consider lifting the height limit to 4.88m for double-deck trailers. However, this does not go far enough.
Mair said: “The truth is that there is a substantial chunk of our logistics sector that operate trailers over 4.88 metres. Ideally, we would like the height limit for all trailers, not just double-deck, to be set to at least 4.95 metres.”
