Crunch time for EU heavy transport reform

ESTA is the European association of abnormal road transport and mobile cranes

A European Parliament vote on 14 February will decide on proposed reforms and harmonisation of specialized transport rules.

The European Association of Abnormal Road Transport and Mobile Cranes (ESTA) has long-standing proposals to reform and harmonise the rules governing heavy transport and abnormal loads throughout the European Union.

These proposals are before the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee of the European Parliament. A vote on them is scheduled for 14 February.

Primarily the proposals include a long-awaited Europe-wide adoption of the standard SERT documentation for abnormal load vehicle registration – something ESTA has supported for many years.

SERT is the Special European Registration for Trucks and Trailers. Its intention is to reduce the paperwork and bureaucracy faced by the industry. Originally it was part of the European Best Practice Guidelines for Abnormal Road Transport, first published in a European Commission Transport Directive in 2005. Only a small number of member states adopted it.

In more detail the proposals before the TRAN committee are as follows:

• a ‘one stop shop’ per country for permits
• standardised permit application forms
• use of electronic permits
• harmonisation of escort rules and vehicle markings
• a ban on language requirements for drivers
• permitting systems to be available in all EU languages.

They are contained in proposed amendments to the EU Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD) currently under revision.

WDD sets maximum authorised dimensions for the heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) used for commercial transport, and the maximum authorised weights of HDVs used in international commercial transport. This is to ensure fair competition as member states cannot restrict circulation of vehicles that comply with these limits from performing international transport operations within their territories.

What will be required

Revising the directive also means EU member states will be required to have a single access point for all information regarding national maximum authorised dimensions and weights of vehicles, as well as any restrictions, including on height, in specified areas or on specific roads.

It also commits the European Commission to establish a web portal which will contain all the above information about heavy and abnormal transport regulations, along with details of routes that can be used by vehicles transporting indivisible loads.

Ton Klijn, ESTA director, commented, “There is a long way to go yet before our proposals are adopted but our arguments and our industry are being taken more seriously than at any time in the recent past.

“We are cautiously optimistic that there is broad agreement in the TRAN Committee across the political spectrum concerning the regulations on indivisible loads.

“But after that, however, the proposals go into a process of consultation between the European Council, Parliament and Commission, so there is a lot of work still to do.”

As a result, ESTA is asking its members to lobby their own national representatives to ensure they are fully aware of the issues and have all the information they need to support its proposals.

“With one final push, and a little luck, we could achieve something that will have huge benefits for our industry and our clients,” Klijn concluded.