A new four-metre height restriction on trucks would add 740,000 additional road miles in fresh produce border crossings between the UK and Ireland, according to the FTA.
Several trade associations from the UK and Ireland have written to the European Parliament’s Transport Committee asking it not to damage highly efficient trade flows by a four-metre height restriction on goods vehicles.
The letter was signed by the Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage Association and the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, among others.
It expressed extreme concern about a report by Austrian MEP Jörg Leichtfried, which called for the new height regulations for all cross-border movements of vehicles.
FTA chief executive Theo de Pencier, said: “We are extremely concerned about the adverse effect this would have on trade and the environment. One major UK retailer, with operations in the UK and Ireland, has estimated that a four-metre height restriction would result in 3,000 extra trailer movements, adding 740,000 additional road miles and generate an extra one million kgs of carbon dioxide per year.
“While it is common practice in most EU Member States to impose a national height requirement of four metres, both the UK and Ireland apply a derogation as permitted under EU law and have never imposed such a requirement on their domestic operators. Using this flexibility, valuable trade flows have developed with vehicles that exceed the four-metre limit – which are often known as ‘high cube trailers’.”
The FTA has estimated that up to 90 per cent of the Irish fleet would be affected by the proposed height restriction, with serious cost increases.
The letter appealed to the Transport Committee to accept the European Commission’s proposal to allow vehicles to exceed the maximum dimensions, if they are already permitted in neighbouring member states.
Ireland has a national height limit of 4.65 metres and the UK imposes no national height restriction.
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