§ Lord O'HAGANasked Her Majesty's Government:
What Community proposals concerned with heavy lorries are currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers; when they will next be discussed; to what extent special roads for heavy lorries have been successful throughout the EEC; and how much more can be achieved without major expense in the United Kingdom.
§ Baroness STEDMANCommunity proposals concerned with heavy lorries currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers concern weights and dimensions; adjustment of national taxation systems; and the amendment of existing Directives on rear protection devices and on braking. Further discussion on all of these is expected in the near future.
There are no special roads for heavy vehicles in EEC countries, although motorways, which are built to cope with traffic of all kinds, can usefully serve as routes for lorries. In the United Kingdom, one of the main priorities of the trunk road programme is to help the movement of industrial traffic. In the United Kingdom heavy lorries are routed along the most suitable roads available by local highway authorities, with powers under the Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Controls and Regulations) Act 1973. To date some 400 orders have been published. These orders, together with local road schemes and bypasses, continue to improve the situation as far as possible without unreasonable expense.