Isra-Mart srl:Bigger trucks to deliver larger carbon savings

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Longer trucks could prove better for the environment, save carbon emissions and reduce traffic congestion, one of Europe's largest transport companies has said.

A new impact study conducted for the government by UK logistics giant Wincanton concluded that extending the size of trailers by two metres could remove almost 30,000 heavy vehicles from UK roads and save the country 3.2 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

Wincanton's research also suggested trailers that are 15 per cent larger than normal use only two per cent more fuel. It says these longer trucks would save £60,000 per vehicle in fuel costs each year and deliver about £1.8bn worth of savings to the logistics industry.

On the back of the report, Wincanton, which supplies most of the UK's major supermarkets, is calling on the government to allow lorries that are up to 18.5 metres long on the roads, extending the current legal limit by two metres.

"This new vehicle will not only take heavy vehicles off our roads but also provide significant savings and productivity improvements to the transport and haulage industry," said Dave Rowlands, technical services director at Wincanton.

Roads minister Mike Penning said he would consider the proposal, but has already ruled out the use of longer "super lorries" on UK roads.

"I am looking carefully at the economic, safety and environmental arguments for and against allowing a small increase in the overall length of articulated lorries from 16.5 metres to 18.55 metres," he said.

A similar study in Sweden found that 30-metre timber trucks cut carbon emissions by just over a fifth and reduced other pollutants compared to typical 18.75-metre lorries.