After a long campaign, led by the Eddie Stobart Group, the UK government has agreed to allow a ten-year trial of longer trailers on UK roads.
900 trailers will be allowed to increase their length by 2.05m while another 900 will be allowed to increase their size by 1m. There will not be an extra weight allowance for these longer trucks but will extend the overall total permitted length for a semitrailer to 18.55 m. To achieve the longer length the trailer must include at least one steering axle.
“Eddie Stobart has already undertaken significant evaluation of two key sizes of trailers and we see considerable opportunities for the extra metre option within our operations,” says Stobart CEO William Stobart. “We believe these trailers will help tracks off the road, cut in emissions from industry and we are looking forward to seeing the operational and environmental benefits the trial will bring.”