Longer lorries plan could help to ease HGV driver shortage

EXTRA long “eco-friendly” lorries that cut the number of freight journeys could be on the roads next year, the Government has announced, as it grapples with a shortage of long-haul drivers.

Longer-semi trailers (LSTS), which are up to 2.05 metres (6.5ft) longer than the current limit for lorries of 13.6 metres, could save up to one in eight journeys by carrying more freight, according to a nine-year trial by the Department for Transport (DFT).

The Government had initially planned to conduct a 15-year trial until 2027, but last year consulted on ending the scheme early after concluding that the experiment had yielded enough data. Responses to the consultation were divided, with 57 per cent supporting an early end to the trial and 43 per cent calling for LSTS to be removed from the roads entirely, over concern for vulnerable road users.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) yesterday welcomed the move, which they said would go some way to easing the shortage of HGV drivers in an industry that has been hit by the pandemic and the loss of workers from the EU.

Earlier this week ministers rejected calls for EU migrants to be granted temporary work visas to fill the 100,000 driver shortfall, which has caused

supermarket shortages and left the meat industry turning to prison labour.

Duncan Buchanan, policy director at the RHA, said: “This will have a benefit because it will decrease the amount of lorry drivers we need. They are higher capacity so you need fewer drivers to do the same amount of work.”

Green groups said the savings in terms of road miles and pollutants were insignificant compared with the potential impact on pedestrians and cyclists, and the likely need to widen roads.

The DFT found a trial of 2,600 LSTS between 2012 and 2019 led to savings of 48,000 tons of CO2, the equivalent of the annual carbon footprint of about 6,000 households, and cut pollutants by 6 per cent.

Chris Todd, the director of Transport Action Network, said the plans were “greenwashing in overdrive”.

“We know from the nature of the extra swing on the vehicle, and the bigger blind spot, that it’s going to likely have a more chilling effect on people walking and cycling,” he said.

The Government said it would now consider the use of LSTS outside trial conditions, with their rollout across the country as early as next year. It said there would be no restrictions on where the longer lorries could travel, though there are concerns over their suitability in urban scenarios.

In its response to the initial consultation in 2011, the RHA suggested the environmental bonus had been overestimated and “there could end up being no carbon saving at all”.

Mr Buchanan said this was before trials began “when everything was highly theoretical”, but he acknowledged that

‘The extra swing on the vehicle is going to likely have a chilling effect on people walking and cycling’

the claim that it would save one in eight journeys was overstated because most operations would not be able to use the longer vehicles on their routes.

A government spokesman said the trial was not part of the package of measures that DFT has introduced to address the HGV driver shortage.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said: “This government is committed to fighting climate change and decarbonising our transport network.

“[This] announcement is a vital step forwards as we work to introduce more environmentally friendly freight to our roads and build back greener.”