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UETR WELCOMES THE CLARITY OF THE PROVIDED REGULATIONS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EU ALLOWING CROSS-BORDER TRAFFIC OF 44-TON COMBINATIONS THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE AND UNIFORM SYSTEM ACROSS EU MEMBER STATES FOR EQUAL CONDITIONS IN THE SECTOR.

The European Road Transport Union (UETR) has welcomed the revision of Directive 96/53/EC on the maximum weights and dimensions of heavy vehicles, which allows for longer and heavier vehicles and the development of European Modular Systems (EMS) in international road freight transport. The UETR interprets this revision of the weights and dimensions of heavy vehicles as an opportunity to provide efficiency and ecological transition to the transportation sector.

According to the association, “this initiative provides the opportunity to contribute to environmental sustainability with greater efficiency, increased capacity, and higher productivity, also helping to mitigate the growing labor shortage in the sector.” They add that “since hybrid or zero-emission vehicle technology adds additional weight to the vehicles, UETR welcomes the proposed approach to increase the payload of such vehicles.”

In any case, they say that a realistic approach is necessary, which includes “from robust scrappage schemes to the effective deployment of alternative fuel infrastructures, as well as widespread measures to address high energy prices.” UETR believes that any new framework should facilitate the authorization of 44 tons for any vehicle in the long term, regardless of the energy source used, with an energy mix and technological neutrality being the best approach to achieve decarbonization.

Regarding the challenges highlighted by the association, they mention the road infrastructure that needs to be overcome, and this will require efforts from both national and EU authorities. Among the measures would be the equality of conditions for transporters, which will prevent them from facing different operational environments. Another solution would be greater and more efficient investment by SMEs, “provided there is certainty that the heavier and longer vehicles they acquire can carry out transport activities within the territory of the EU.”