Proposal amending Directive 96/53/EC on weights and dimensions for certain road vehicles in national and international traffic

The Commission’s Proposal for amending Directive 96/53/EC on weights and dimensions for certain road vehicles in national and international traffic, published in April 2013, covers four main areas. These are:

• Provisions for the use of aerodynamic devices
• Allowing the use of 45-foot containers
• Improved procedures for checking the weight of vehicles
• Cross-border use of longer and heavier vehicles (“megatrucks”) between ‘consenting countries’

CER is mainly concerned with three aspects in particular:

• Cross-border use of megatrucks and the negative impact this may have on rail freight
• The use of aerodynamic devices not compromising the ability of trucks to be used in combined road-rail transport journeys
• The distances allowed for the road sections of ‘intermodal’ journeys.