The European Commission is currently engaged in a consultation that gives vehicle operators the opportunity to have their say about regulations governing the dimensions of vehicles used throughout the European Union.

The Commission announced in its White Paper on Transport, presented on 28 March 2011, that urgent action needs to be taken to make road transport more resource-efficient and to further integrate the various transport modes to achieve a Single European Transport Area.

Therefore, the White Paper announced that the legislation on weight and dimension should be reviewed to adapt it to new technologies and needs, and to facilitate intermodal transport and the overall reduction of energy consumption and emissions. The questionnaire, published for the consultation, will provide input for the considered revision of the current regulations and the impact assessment to be carried out beforehand. The questionnaire addresses issues related to the energy and CO₂ performance of heavy-duty vehicles, inter-modality and innovation in transport needs, specific legal issues raised by the current directive, and improvement of compliance with the regulations through controls and enforcement. The Commission will take stock of all relevant information on this subject, but does not intend to provide the framework for a general introduction of heavier and/or longer vehicles, or for their mandatory use by Member States.

To obtain the electronic version of the questionnaire, please download it directly from the website http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=weightsdimensions.

Information provided courtesy of FEDEMAC