Longer lorries to be allowed on Britain’s roads

Lorry on a motorway

There could soon be fewer lorries on the motorways

We’ve all seen lorries making their way up and down the motorways, but have you ever thought about how big they are? 

Starting from 31 May 2023, longer lorries will be permitted on UK roads. Currently, lorries measure in at approximately 16.5m but the new legislation will allow HGVs measuring up to 18.55m to use the roads.  

What are the benefits? 

Roads minister Richard Holden says that “these new vehicles will provide an almost £1.4billion boost to the haulage industry”.  

The new longer semi-trailers (LSTs) will be able to transport the same volume of goods as the current lorries in 8% fewer journeys which will reduce road congestion and CO2 emissions, as well as increasing road safety.  

Some more good news, is that the LSTs will be subject to the same weight restrictions as conventional lorries – 44 tonnes – so there will be no major roadworks to accommodate the new lorries.  

What are the concerns? 

The LSTs will have a larger tail swing, meaning the rear end of the lorry will cover a bigger area when turning, which increases the size of blind spots.  

This has raised several concerns over the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, other drivers and road infrastructure. However, the Department for Transport (DfT) found that, over an 11-year trial, LSTs were involved in “61% fewer personal injury collisions than conventional lorries”, making them safer than current lorries.  

There is also the concern of how the LSTs will fare on smaller roads. Major motorways and A-roads are often closed for repairs, which causes traffic diversions to smaller, and often bendy, roads. Conventional lorries can struggle on these roads, so it stands to reason that LSTs will face the same struggle.  

Norman Baker, a member of the group Campaign for Better Transport, says that “the Government should be working to ensure more freight is moved by rail” as it’s a cleaner and safer alternative.  

The director of police at Rail Partners, John Thomas, points out that rail freight growth can bring “nearly £5.2billion in economic benefits” with a single freight train able to carry the same volume of goods as 129 lorries.  

If you want more information about road safety, check out our blog on motoring information for 2023. 

16 Comments

  1. This post is actually a nice one it assists new internet users, who
    are wishing in favor of blogging.

  2. Good post! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our site.
    Keep up the good writing.

  3. Hi there mates, how is the whole thing, and what
    you wish for to say regarding this post, in my view its actually remarkable designed for me.

  4. Crystal says:

    Hello! I’ve been reading your website for a long time now and finally got the courage
    to go ahead and give you a shout out from Atascocita Texas!
    Just wanted to mention keep up the fantastic job!

  5. I have read some just right stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting.
    I surprise how a lot effort you put to make this
    type of fantastic informative web site.

  6. I am regular visitor, how are you everybody?
    This post posted at this web page is genuinely good.

  7. I’ve been browsing online more than 2 hours today, yet
    I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me.
    In my opinion, if all web owners and bloggers made
    good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  8. Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your weblog.
    You have some really good posts and I believe I would be
    a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off,
    I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link
    back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested.
    Many thanks!

  9. Inspiring story there. What occurred after? Good luck!

  10. женщина ищет мужчину для секса великий
    новгород интим знакомство александров проститутки семейные пары в
    уфе любительский секс в новокузнецке

  11. acquisto di farmaci senza ricetta Leidapharm Marnate Commander médicaments avec livraison rapide

  12. vente libre de médicaments en Suisse Pharmex Dunkerque vrije
    verkoop van medicijnen in Zwitserland

  13. Medikamente kaufen in der Schweiz Combix Moñitos Kann man Medikamente
    ohne Rezept bekommen

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *