60 tonne, 82' 10" road trains outside your local store

[streaky]

Oh, joy. The EU Motor Vehicle Working Group has set out to 'harmonise' maximum vehicle lengths on EU roads. Currently, this means up to 60 tonnes and 25.25m (82' 10") in length, comprising two trailers.

Two or three of these pulling up outside your local 'convenience' store throughout the day will undoubtedly inconvenience other motorists ... not to mention the people who want(ed) to stop and shop.

This was heralded in late 2009, but new leaked documents (not via Wikileaks) show progress being made to this end, with the likelihood that member countries will not be able to ban the lorries.

And this might not be the end, the Swedes would like 90-tonne, three trailer lorries.

Jack Semple, Road Haulage Association, has suggested that, "Longer and heavier vehicles are more sensible."

What country does he live in? Longer? Heavier? The man's deluded.

He went on to say that, "The safety-conscious Swedes have been using 60 tonners for five decades."

I can't wait to see what BRAKE (et al) make of that ... who knows, I might even find myself agreeing with them.

Once this comes in - and it will - cue additional spending to upgrade bridges to cope with the extra weight and other road works to cope with the extra length. Kent Police's 'Operation Stack' will probably have to be re-worked to include the M25.

Streaky

[streaky]

A lex said:

Had them here in NL for ages - infact the haulage company based in the village uses them. They are fine and hardly different to any other truck - stop being so sensationalist OP.

When Tesco took over a local general store, they promised that no articulated vehicles would be used for deliveries, and that only one delivery would be made each day. Now there are at least three deliveries by Tesco-liveried articulated vehicles and several deliveries by non-Tesco vehicles throughout the day.

Why?

Well, it's "more convenient".

For whom?

Well, Tesco ... of course.

There will be locations where large companies consider it more economical to deliver using ever-larger vehicles. So it is not unreasonable - and therefore not "sensationalist" - to predict that someone, somewhere, will have a 'road train' delivering to their local convenience store.

Those of us who have lived long enough to have seen that, done that, and worn out several batches of cynicism along the way, generally find that our predictions, based as they are on experience and the evidence of history, do come to pass. Those of the B'Liarite school who eschew the lessons of history, will be continue to be astounded when they creep up and bite them in the bum.

Streaky

PS - besides which, "Small earthquake in China, not many killed", is too many letters for a PH topic title - S

Edited by streaky on Tuesday 1st February 21:08

[streaky]

heebeegeetee said:

Super Slo Mo said:

OP, you should write for the daily mail, with that sensationalist claptrap as your opening gambit.

That OP could not have come from anywhere other than the DM, i refuse to believe that anyone else could publish such alarmist claptrap.

I've been saying for years that PH expresses the same opinions as the DM but that OP is completely ridiculous.

2005 - The 'Grauniad', and other papers;
2007 - The Daily Telegraph, and other papers;
2009 - The Times, and other papers;
2011 - email feed regarding EU proposals.

I don't take the Daily Mail.

A shame that the rest of you are not as widely read; it rather makes my point about history.

Streaky

[streaky]

Scuffers said:

Bet that's not got a single drive axle!

How does it go then? It must have at least one, I'd hate to have to push it.



Streaky