New EU law on truck design delayed

2nd March 2015

A European Union law designed to make trucks safer and more aerodynamic will be delayed by around five years, after the industry lobbied for more time to develop new vehicles.

The law will allow trucks to have longer, more aerodynamic noses similar to the shape of high-speed trains.

Until now, new designs had been hampered by limits on the weight and size of vehicles.  Member states, led by France and Sweden, had originally pushed for a five-year moratorium on the new designs, which would have delayed their introduction to around 2024, because of the need to develop new safety requirements first.

However, the European Commission, which proposed the law, and the European Parliament wanted to allow the new cab designs – which will be voluntary rather than mandatory – as soon as possible, on the grounds that the current brick-shaped cabs hamper drivers' visibility, leading to cyclist and pedestrian deaths.

The compromise will mean a three-year delay, although the Commission will first have to develop new safety requirements for lorries.  EU officials and environmental campaigners said the entire process would delay the introduction of the new lorries, originally expected around 2017, to about 2022.