The figures are referred to in this report regarding Council Directive 96/53/EC, which concerns the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic.
On page 21 of the document, it is noted how Ireland conducted more than two million more checks in 2020 than the next highest EU nation, Poland.
The figures look even more eye-opening when you consider the size of Poland’s road network compared to Ireland’s, as well as the comparative amount of HGV traffic Ireland has compared to countries in the heart of Europe.
“The biennial implementation reports reveal that there are huge discrepancies between Member States as regards the number of controls of weight of HDVs carried out every year, ranging from 5.2 million and 3 million (in 2020, in Ireland and Poland, respectively) to 370 and 700 controls (in 2020, in Latvia and the Netherlands, respectively). The effectiveness of those controls of compliance (detection rate calculated as a percentage of detected overloaded vehicles in total number of vehicles controlled) also differs vastly, ranging from 73% and 45% (in 2020, in Estonia and in Belgium, respectively) to 0.2% and 1% (in 2020, in Poland and Sweden, respectively),” states the report.
Page 110 of the document contains a table based on 2020 data that shows weight checks/million vkm (vehicle kilometre).
When the data is put into a bar chart, the difference is so stark that the amount of weight checks in EU nations other than Ireland are pretty much impossible to make out.
For further clarity, the original table looks like this:
The release of the impact assessment report coincides with the European Commission’s proposals to increase weight limits for zero-emission HGVs in an effort to speed up the transition to electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The proposals should put an end to the wide disparity between the level of checks in different member states. According to the plans, a common minimum level of checks on compliance with weight limits will be introduced. The proposals also include mandatory installation of weighing devices in road infrastructure to help detect overloaded vehicles in motion.
The introduction of the latter is said to bring economic benefits as well as allowing road transport inspectors to focus on other areas.
The impact assessment report by the European Commission states that truck drivers typically have to stop for about one hour to perform the test. The economic cost associated with delaying the vehicle by that one hour is estimated at EUR 34.8.