The Government has given road hauliers an immediate £33
million Christmas present, with the promise of more millions to come.
Defying public opinion and warnings from road safety campaigners, the Government has chosen to allow articulated lorries to become even longer in a trial which will go on for 10 years!
As well as making our roads more dangerous, the coalition government’s gift to the road lobby is likely to undermine rail freight and seriously damage roads.
"The reality is that these longer HGVs are more dangerous than existing ones and will result in increased congestion and more injuries and even deaths for pedestrians and cyclists,” said Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport.
“The claimed economic benefits are exaggerated and the impacts on rail freight and on other road users are underestimated. We hope the Government will monitor these trials closely and be prepared to reverse its decision if the original report is wrong."
The Government has ignored protests from 1,400 cyclists who wrote to their MPs to complain about the plan.
"About 50% of cyclists' deaths in London involve lorries," said Roger Geffen of the cyclists group CTC..
Ironically the decision was made by Mike Penning, one of whose titles is road safety minister. He claims the lorries constitute no extra risk although CTC says he has failed to produce any evidence to back up this obviously empty claim.
“Many streets in my constituency are already unsuitable for long heavy goods vehicles, and the thought of even longer vehicles trying to get down narrow city streets will horrify many people,” said Mark Lazarowicz, Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith.
Another Labour MP, Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse), said: “Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are frightened by heavy goods vehicles, and longer vehicles will cause even greater anxiety.”
Tory MP Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) said: “Surely the best way of improving road safety is to put all transport on to rail.”
Labour MP Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) has written to Mr Penning to "raise the issue".
The Rail Freight Group said the Government’s decision was deeply disappointing.
Research undertaken by the Department for Transport has demonstrated that full introduction of longer lorries would have a devastating impact on the prospects for rail freight growth in the retail sector.
RFG’s Maggie Simpson said the decision raises questions about this Government’s commitment to greener transport.
European rail freight would suffer from substantial losses following a possible admission of mega trucks in the European Union, according to a study by K+P Transport Consultants and Fraunhofer ISI on behalf of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies.
The consultants concluded that an EU-wide allowance of longer and heavier trucks would lead to extensive modal shift from the railways back to road transport.