§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to(a) his Department and (b) local authorities of damage done to UK roads by overweight vehicles in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000 and (iii) 2001. [97072]
§ Mr. JamiesonThese figures are difficult to estimate, since they would require a detailed knowledge of the types of vehicle concerned, the extent of their overloading, the roads that they travelled on, and the distances they travelled. These figures are not available.
Two thirds of heavy goods vehicle mileage occurs on motorways and trunk roads. On these roads carriageways and bridges are designed to cater for overweight vehicles, and the effect of these vehicles is too small to quantify when compared to the cumulative effect of traffic over the life of a road.
Most modern articulated lorries are capable of carrying more than their normal operational weight safely. Overloading offences declined with the introduction of 40 tonne lorries in January 1999, and declined further when 44 tonne lorries were introduced in February 2001.