Will giant trucks one day roll on French roads? These road monsters can weigh up to 60 tonnes and reach a length of 25.25 meters, or even 32 meters – compared to 40 tonnes and 18.75 meters, according to usual standards. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the threat of their deployment has loomed and drawn ever closer to France.
Tuesday March 12, the European Parliament validated the revision of a directive on the dimensions of heavy goods vehicles, initially planned to promote the development of electric or hydrogen trucks, technologies heavier and bulkier than diesel, by increasing from 40 to 44 tonnes the maximum weight of zero-emission trucks traveling between European Union (EU) countries.
The directive also facilitates the development of non-standard diesel vehicles, at least until 2035. The two amendments carried by French MEPs from all political stripes, from the far left to the far right, who wanted to ban these behemoths from the roads , were rejected by five and six votes.
“A real incentive”
“They will be able to travel in countries which authorize it, it will be on a voluntary basis”insists Isabel Garcia Muñoz, the Spanish rapporteur (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) of the text in Parliament. “This vote is a real incentive to develop these megatrucks”plague Alberto Mazzola, the director of the European Rail Community, the lobby of the railway sector.
Even before joining the European Union, Sweden and Finland authorized these extendable vehicles on their respective territories. Since then, several European countries have decided to also test these road titans on certain routes, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Spain. The countries of Central Europe, which have many truck drivers, are also pushing for their development, which would allow them to further gain in competitiveness. They are supported both by the lobbies of shippers and heavy goods vehicle manufacturers, Volvo and MAN in the lead.
According to Mme Garcia Muñoz, taking up an argument from industrialists, “by transporting the same load with fewer vehicles and fewer trips, we can achieve significant reductions in emissions” of CO2. The analysis is not shared at all in France.
“Against rail freight, decarbonization”
“This vote opens a breach, we do not know what other governments could do in the face of legislation which is considered to go against rail freight, road decarbonization and road safety”we judge from the Renew Europe group.
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