[Article] Crackdown on truck journeys

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/1972363?view=Eircomnet

Crackdown on truck journeys
From:The Irish Independent
Monday, 17th November, 2003
Treacy Hogan

THE Government is to launch a new crackdown on long distance truckers who spend too much time on the road putting other motorists at risk.

Thousands more trucks and buses will also have to be fitted with special speed limitation devices from the end of next year. The move follows growing concern over the number of trucks involved in fatal crashes.

The National Roads Authority also revealed recently that the vast majority of trucks are breaking the speed limit on motorways, dual carriageways and normal single lane roads.

Junior Transport Minister Jim McDaid is to substantially increase the number of multi-agency roadside checks for breaches of tachograph offences. The tachograph records the journey times of trucks.

A total of 98 checkpoints were due to be carried out this year, compared to only 44 the previous year and is still quite a small amount given the large number of trucks on Irish roads.

During the past four years a total of 297 convictions were obtained for tachograph offences.

The minister is also to have devices limiting speed made compulsory in more heavy goods vehicles. At present only goods vehicles over 12,000 kilos and buses over 10,000 have to install speed limiters.

However, Mr McDaid announced that from January 2005 the requirement is being extended to goods vehicles over 3,500 kilos and all buses.

rcunning03

THE Government is to launch a new crackdown on long distance truckers who spend too much time on the road putting other motorists at risk.

so why dont have a service station on the m1 if they are so worried about it

in europe there is a service station on motorways every 40km

MadsL

I'd also like to see a ban on trucks on the roads during peak hours. Hundreds of trucks arriving into Dublin at 8.30 each morning via Dublin Port doesn't exactly ease traffic congestion.

I know the Port Tunnel should solve some of this - but how about a movement ban until it is completed - say 7am until 10am and 5pm until 6.30pm

Victor

Originally posted by MadsL
I know the Port Tunnel should solve some of this - but how about a movement ban until it is completed - say 7am until 10am and 5pm until 6.30pm

Quite difficult to implement, as you would get surges of trucks around those times.

an_taoiseach

but how about a movement ban until it is completed - say 7am until 10am and 5pm until 6.30pm

I hold no brief for truckers but given what they pay in taxes ( annual road tax & derv duty ) they might just have as much right as any other to be using the roads.

BTW : One horse & cart in Dublin can slow things up more than 20 trucks. Is H&C banned in Dublin ? What does a H&C have to pay in taxes to use the road ? ( thinks can H&C use bus lane )

With regard to :

"Thousands more trucks and buses will also have to be fitted with special speed limitation devices from the end of next year"

All I can say is YES PLEASE ! and the sooner the better


An T

Victor

Originally posted by an_taoiseach
I hold no brief for truckers but given what they pay in taxes ( annual road tax & derv duty ) they might just have as much right as any other to be using the roads.

As best I know, road tax and VRT on commercial vehicles is relatively low. I don't know what "derv duty" is.

Originally posted by an_taoiseach
[BTW : One horse & cart in Dublin can slow things up more than 20 trucks. Is H&C banned in Dublin ? What does a H&C have to pay in taxes to use the road ? ( thinks can H&C use bus lane )

I'm not sure, but horses and carts rarely kill people.

an_taoiseach

The following is off topic

Road tax on a 20 Tonne truck : Euro3760 / Year

(http://www.environ.ie/DOEI/DOEIPol.nsf/0/ef745a19b758767280256d4a003a5f80/$FILE/NewMotorTaxRates.pdf)

Derv Duty 35c/l + VAT

(http://www.finance.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Publications/legi/b402d.pdf)

Its good that horses & carts rarely kill or injure people these days. That is because there are so few of them. In the 1800s it was a different story.

Hope this helps

An T

Victor

Tidied up.

Capt'n Midnight

Well seeing as how an artic does about 1000 times as much damage to roads / bridges than a car they should be charged more.

This BTW means in reality the motorist is subsidising the use of ROAD transport - if trucks had to pay relative to damage then RAIL would look a lot more attractive

(OK trucks do less damage on motorways but you get the idea)

antoinolachtnai

There is another way of looking at it though - trucks are essential for commerce (and so for growth and competitiveness) -. No one brings an artic out on the road unless they have somewhere important to go with it.

Cars are different. Cars are (often) used for one-person discretionary journeys or for commuting journeys that could be completed by bus if the bus service was better.

Cars are, on the whole, bad for the economy because they make little contribution to internal and external trade, and upset the balance of payments because of their cost and the cost of fuel. Trucks are, by the same token, good for the economy because they are essential for trade and industry. Good, cheap transport improves competiveness.

As ecommerce and use of public transport grows, we should expect to see more trucks on the road (for home deliveries) and fewer cars (people should be able to shop from home and commute mostly by public transport).

Antoin.