The legislation will mean longer semi-trailers (LST) that measure up to 2.05 metres longer than a standard semi-trailer can be towed by a lorry. The longer lorries will be able to transport fast-moving consumer goods and retail products, as well as waste packaging, parcels and pallets.
Vehicles which use LSTs will nonetheless still be subject to the same 44 tonne weight limit as those using standard trailers.
Greggs, Morrisons, Stobart, Royal Mail and Argos are among those who will use the longer trailers.
The government stresses that the new lorries will move the same volume of goods, but will use 8% fewer journeys than current trailers. This, it is said, will generate an expected £1.4 billion in economic benefits and take one standard-size trailer off the road for every 12 trips.
Moreover, the government estimates that the change will save 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. On top of this, the longer vehicles are also expected to cause less wear on the roads than conventional lorries due to the type of steering axle used.
The move follows an 11-year trial to ensure LSTs are used safely on roads. The government says that operators will be encouraged to put extra safety checks and training in place, and adds that the trial showed LSTs were involved in around 61% fewer personal injury collisions than conventional lorries.
Commenting on the legislation, Roads Minister Richard Holden said:
“Everyone around the country depends on our haulage sector for their everyday needs – from loo rolls to sausage rolls – and a strong, resilient supply chain is key to the government’s priority to grow the economy. These new longer lorries will make a big difference for British businesses like Greggs, who will see 15% more baked goods delivered, from tasty pastries to the nation’s much-loved sausage rolls. It’s fantastic to see this change for our supply chain come into law, resulting in a near £1.4 billion boost to the haulage industry and driving economic growth. Let the good times roll as we reduce congestion, lower emissions and enhance the safety of British roads.”
Chris Yarsley, Senior Policy Manager at Logistics UK, added:
“The introduction of longer semi-trailers (LSTs) into general service will increase the scope and scale of the goods which our industry is able to transport, increasing efficiencies and reducing the environmental impact of delivering for the UK’s economy. Over the past few years of the trial, our members have proved that LSTs provide operators with a cost-efficient, environmentally prudent alternative to conventional vehicles and our members remain committed to rolling them out across the wider industry as soon as possible.”
However, a representative of Cycling UK has slammed the plans. Despite the fact that the longer lorries were trialled for over a decade and are used in cycle-friendly Scandinavian countries, campaigns manager Keir Gallagher called for more testing in “real-life scenarios”.
“At a time when funding for infrastructure to keep people cycling and walking safer has been cut, it’s alarming that longer and more hazardous lorries could now be allowed to share the road with people cycling and walking. Before opening the floodgates to longer lorries rolling into our busy town centres and narrow rural lanes, further testing in real-life scenarios should have been done to assess and address the risks,” Gallagher told Sky News.
Photo: Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (illustrative image)