Several states now want longer, heavier vehicles on truck roads

Berlin. The trials of longer, heavier vehicles (LHVs) planned for this year will not only take place on motorways, but also on trunk roads and district roads. This is made clear in a letter from the Federal Ministry of Transport to the SPD’s parliamentary faction, which the German Pro-Rail Alliance has seen. “Before the legal framework for the tests has even been finalised, the states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig Holstein have already put into perspective the Federal Ministry’s promise of tight restrictions on routes,” said Dirk Flege, managing director of the Pro-Rail Alliance on Friday in Berlin.

Both federal states have registered numerous trunk and district roads in their areas for the planned trials. “The statement that the trials would be restricted only to motorways was just window-dressing from the very beginning,” said Flege. “Once the genie has been let out of the bottle, nobody will be able to catch it again. The so-called gigaliners will begin to spread like the plague”. Flege voiced fears that the expansion of LHVs will not be confined the routes.  An increase in the maximum permissible weight is also a certainty. “They are saying today that these mega trucks will not weigh more than 44 tonnes. But the vehicles are designed for a maximum weight of 60 tonnes. The Netherlands is a good example of how available scope will eventually be swallowed up.”

At a summit of transport ministers last October, the majority voted against allowing trials of LHVs. Seven federal states did not rule out participating in the LHV trials: Hesse, Saxony, Thuringia, Lower Saxony, Schleswig Holstein, Bavaria and Baden Württemberg. Two of those states are doubtful: Thuringia’s CDU transport minister is bound by a coalition contract to vote against the trials, and in Baden Württemberg, elections for the state assembly are due to be held on March 27.