The European association of abnormal road transport and mobile cranes (ESTA) is calling on its members and the whole heavy transport industry to take immediate action to back proposed and essential EU transport reforms by lobbying their relevant national MEPs.
On Monday evening (October 7), the newly appointed members of the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism (TRAN) committee will meet to discuss whether to continue with the current proposals to revise the Weights and Dimensions Directive (96/53). ESTA strongly supports the proposed revisions which include many measures the organisation has long called for.
The revisions previously agreed by the TRAN committee were due to enter negotiations with the council as the final stage before implementation. However, progress was stalled by the European elections in June and now the new members of the TRAN committee must decide whether to continue as before or to start the revision process again.
The revisions to the directive previously adopted by MEPs include: a ‘one stop shop’ per country for permits; standardised permit application forms; use of electronic permits; harmonisation of escorting rules and vehicle markings; a ban on language requirements for drivers; and permitting systems to be available in all EU languages.
The revisions also include the long-awaited Europe-wide adoption of the standard SERT - the Special European Registration for Trucks and Trailers - documentation for abnormal load vehicle registration, a move that ESTA has supported for many years.
