Simplified requirements for mega trucks from 2024
The Ministry of Transport has issued new guidelines for the use of controversial mega trucks on the roads. In future, the passability test will be used as the central criterion for evaluating routes, the ministry announced in Stuttgart on Thursday. In addition, through roads should be avoided wherever possible. Department head Winfried Hermann (Greens) said: "We will still only allow long trucks to drive where it is safe to do so. We are simplifying the criteria to help ease the burden on the economy."
For a long time, only trucks with a maximum length of 18.75 meters were allowed to drive on German roads. Giant semi-trailers, on the other hand, are up to 25.25 meters long. Their load volume is therefore significantly larger. Freight forwarders see advantages in the larger trucks because they can transport more per trip and driver. Environmentalists, on the other hand, have seen the vehicles as a brake on climate protection in the past.
Hermann went on to say that, for him, the aim of the passability test as the only criterion in future would be to allow long trucks on long routes that can be driven on without any problems, but to avoid through-town routes as far as possible. "If this is not feasible, it must always be ensured that there is no negative impact on other road users or road safety, especially in narrow historic town centers." Otherwise, the section of road cannot be opened.
The new rules are to apply from 2024. In future, the state intends to report dual carriageway sections of federal and state roads that can be opened to traffic on its own initiative and thus without the otherwise necessary application for a route by a company, following a positive passability test, to the federal government for inclusion in the positive network and thus for opening.
The implementation of these new guidelines for mega trucks could potentially reduce traffic congestion on major highways by allowing more cargo to be transported per trip. However, to ensure safety, traffic routes that pass through historic town centers should avoid utilizing mega trucks whenever possible.
Source: www.dpa.com
