Victory for UK in overheight trailer fight
The European Commission has dropped its plans to limit UK trailer heights to four metres. The planned rule, had it gone ahead, would have prevented British operators from using some fuel-saving aerodynamic trailers and banned double-deck trailers from British roads, causing an increase in vehicle movements.
EC Regulation 1230/12 as published now permits the UK to continue to Type Approve overheight trailers. Every manufacturer can now build up to 2,000 examples of each design of overheight trailer and up to 1,200 of each bodied vehicle under National Small Series Type Approval.
The proposed ban was originally driven by the desire to construct a ‘single European market’ for semi-trailers, making it easier for second-life trailers to be sold across Europe. It was vigorously opposed by UK trade bodies, including the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association.
British trailer and body manufacturer Don-Bur, which pioneered the aerodynamic body with its Teardrop design, said the decision was a mixed blessing.
Group marketing manager Richard Owens said: “We are pleased to be able to continue to produce what the customer wants, rather than the customer having to buy what the large trailer manufacturers want to produce, which is the situation in much of the rest of Europe.
“While this has involved us in a great deal of extra work, it has also served to protect us from the worst of mass-market competition from mainland Europe.
“The rest of Britain’s trailer industry has followed our lead, and they all now have an aerodynamic offering of some kind, although our roof profile patents are vigorously protected.”
Demand for the Teardrop product has now gone global, with the Stoke-on-Trent company fielding customer inquiries from Canada to Australia. With its British factories working three shifts just to satisfy domestic demand, its solution has been to license the designs to local manufacturers in South Africa, Asia and France.
“Here we’ve invested around £2 million – £3 million in expanded production facilities, and 60 per cent of our production is now Teardrop related,” Owens said.
The Teardrop concept is used on curtainsiders, drawbars, fridges and rigids as well as the original box semitrailers, with 3,200 Teardrops now in service. Fuel savings for the box semitrailer reportedly average 11.3 per cent.
