There are those who argue that allowing mega-trucks to Driving on European roads is a big mistake. There are those whereas, on the contrary, they believe that allowing the so-called gigaliners to operate on the EU's arterial roads is a significant towards the objective of a high-performance road haulage sector Zero emissions. Today's vote in the European Parliament has satisfied the latter and infuriated the former. The assembly in The plenary session in Strasbourg voted in favour of the revision of Directive No 53 of 1996, which lays down, in order to certain types of motor vehicles circulating in the European Union, maximum authorised dimensions in domestic traffic, and and the maximum weights allowed in traffic international.

Those who are very unhappy with the outcome of the vote are mainly transport trade organisations rail and intermodal transport, while to be satisfied with the The free to the text presented in the Chamber are the associations road haulage industry and motor vehicle manufacturers.

A few minutes before the vote, the first reaction of disappointment is that of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), the non-profit organization whose goal is to reduce the of the number of fatalities and accidents in the European transport sector. Yesterday, together with seven other associations, it signed a A final appeal to MEPs not to approve the text as it was presented ( of the 11th December 2024). "The big trucks," he commented Graziella Jost, Project Manager at the ETSC - represent a big mistake for Europe. Although in some countries the mega-trucks can play a role in the context of very specific changes, these regulatory changes will lead to a large-scale deployment with a very serious potential impact on road safety. Almost half of MEPs - Jost pointed out - he wanted to remove the new provisions aimed at to extend the use of mega-trucks, but an amendment to that effect He failed to pass by just six votes. Urge strongly the EU to reconsider these proposed changes and to maintain the current practice of limited testing, the impact of which can be closely monitored'.

Thomas Fabian, Head of Vehicles, takes a different view of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), according to which 'the current rules on weights and dimensions do not They are more fit for purpose and, in fact, penalise vehicles which are generally heavier. The increase weight of four tonnes and the increase of the axle by a tonne agreed by Parliament - underlined the representative of the European Association of Producers of both aim to correct the imbalance with respect to the diesel models, but - Fabian pointed out - further adjustments'.

Referring to the adoption of the amendment according to which Member States will have to adopt and publish the provisions legislative, regulatory and administrative measures necessary to comply with the new Directive by the date of adoption plus one year, and no longer two years as planned from the text of the European Commission, ACEA highlighted that, "with accelerating the race to decarbonise trucks and buses, including a one-year reduction in the implementation time for Member States represents a significant improvement'.

For her part, Isabel García Muñoz, rapporteur of the European Parliament on the proposal for a directive amending the Directive 53/96, stated that 'zero-emission vehicles They must become the backbone of road transport if you want to that the sector achieves its decarbonisation targets. The New rules will create incentives for companies to switch to zero-emission trucks and make road freight transport more sustainable and sure. Carrying the same load with fewer vehicles and fewer travel, we can achieve significant emission reductions. We have also successfully promoted the stricter rules for the use of mega-trucks, subject to assessment of their impact on road safety, infrastructure, modal cooperation and the environment'.