Brussels, 18/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 16 April, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) gave its verdict of the review of Directive 96/53/EC relating to weights and dimensions of commercial vehicles. The IRU broadly welcomes the Commission's determination to make commercial vehicles greener and safer and appreciates the clarification provided by the Commission on the authorisation of mega truck traffic between countries that agree. This proposal, however, did not go down well with the railway industry and, without a shadow of a doubt, will create further debate at the European Parliament on the question (see EUROPE 10827 and 10827).
The IRU regrets, however, that the Commission has only increased the weight of two-axle buses and coaches by a tonne (from 18 to 19 tonnes for cross-border traffic) to counterbalance safety and environmental concerns but without increasing the carrying capacity of these vehicles. The industry advocated a 19.5 tonne maximum weight for two-axle buses and coaches.
The industry is also critical of the Commission's proposals to promote electronic weight sensors to communicate weight information in an effort to tackle fraud. IRU General Delegate to the EU Michael Nielsen stressed: “Before new weight sensor technology is used, it must undergo rigorous testing to demonstrate its accuracy. It is essential that additional controls do not increase the already heavy administrative burden on operators and that any new technology is used as a detection tool, rather than an automatic enforcement method”. (MD/transl.fl)