No Gigaliners
October 11, 2007
A majority of the ministers from Germany's 16 states, meeting along with federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, had taken the decision on the basis of a study prepared by a working group.
Tiefensee said he was pleased the German ministers came to clear a decision before the European Union begins debate on issue next year.
The decision refers to 25-meter (82-foot) trucks capable of hauling up to 60 tons of goods and was taken after a trial of the vehicles, comprising three standard 6-meter containers, on some stretches of Germany's highways.
Potential traffic hazards
The study, which neither approved nor rejected the use of "gigaliners," found that traffic would not increase due to the extended-trailers but said the added weight could pose a potential problem over bridges and in tunnels, according to a report in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.
In general, trailer trucks on European roads may be no heavier than 40 tons and no longer than 18.75 meters, though longer vehicles are allowed to transport wood in Sweden and Finland.
The use in Germany of extra-long trucks that exceed established authorized weights is not possible however "because of the elevated risk to transport security," the ministers said.
About 75 percent of Germans said they were against allowing the extended trailers, according to a survey published by the Forsa research institute.
Proponents of the huge trucks say they would cut freight costs and fuel consumption by 15 percent. They deny the trucks would have a negative impact on roads, as the weight carried by each axle would not rise.
"This eliminates efficiency increases necessary in commercial transport without presenting other sustainable solutions," said Kay-Dirk Lindemann a traffic expert for the Federation of German Industries.
European transit country
The ADAC, Germany's largest automobile club, however, welcomed the ministers' decision.
"This is a huge success for traffic safety and road infrastructure," Ulrich Klaus Becker, the association's vice president, said in a statement. "The risks for car traffic would have been immense."
The ministers recommended concluding the current gigaliner trial operations underway in three German states but said there was no reason to begin a closer examination of the trucks' feasibility in Germany.
A transit country for many of the goods shipped throughout Europe, Germany's autobahns are free for cars. The government began charging trailer trucks a per-kilometer fee in 2005 bringing in a total of about 3.5 billion euros ($5 billion) last year.