LHV * Canada - Saskatchewan running triple trailer turnpike trial

Regina,SASK,CAN -Truck News -May 30, 2011:  --  Saskatchewan is running a triple trailer turnpike trial between Regina and Saskatoon... The province announced special restrictions have been placed on the vehicles to ensure their safe operation... The turnpike triples can be up to 58 metres long. Participating carriers must pay a $2,000 per year administration fee and pass a pre-entry audit. They must also maintain detailed trip records for two calendar years... The triples in the test must be a B-train configuration and are only allowed to operate on Hwy. 11 between Regina and Saskatoon between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m...  (Picture from wikimedia.org/wikipedia: Double-stacked trailers, with a small truck and gooseneck dolly)

Gigaliners * Holland - Get the green light from the Dutch

Netherlands government allows use of double-trailer trucks and calls on other EC countries to follow suit

Amsterdam,Holland -IFW, by Damian Brett -25 May 2011: -- Shippers, forwarders and hauliers have welcomed the Dutch government’s decision to allow longer, HGVs on the country’s roads... This month, Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Environment, Melanie Schultz Van Haegen, announced that double-trailer trucks up to 25 metres long and 60 tonnes in weight, also known as gigaliners (pictured), would be allowed to operate across the Dutch road network... Supporters of gigaliners claim they allow more goods to be transported in each truck, reducing the number of journeys and the carbon emissions produced by the industry... However, while the European Modular System (EMS) Forum believes longer, heavier trucks will have a positive impact on the environment, others argue they will have the opposite effect... The UK Department for Transport (DfT) had found longer trailers would cut carbon emissions without compromising safety. The research was published by the DfT alongside a consultation seeking views on the proposals to increase the length of semi-trailers in the UK by up to 2.05 metres to 15.65 metres... The Dutch government has now called on the European Commission and other member states to review their position on gigaliners in order to allow their use for cross-border transport...

Trucks' Size & Weight * USA - MacKay: "increase still a 'tough sell'”

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -May 18, 2011: -- The ongoing push on Capitol Hill to allow states to raise highway truck weight limits from 80,000 lbs. to 97,000 lbs. remains a tough sell according to some transportation experts, largely because the general public still views the trucking industry in a negative light... Stu MacKay, president of market research firm MacKay & Company, said that obtaining an increase in tractor-trailer weight limits “remains a rough road to drive down” ... What MacKay believes will step in and fill the “capacity breech” existing in the truck freight right now won’t be size & weight rule changes but more intermodal activity, specifically truck-rail transport combinations... “Fuel costs are up, the number of available drivers is down, and regulatory changes from hours of service to CSA are impacting trucking operations, so carriers need other options,” he explained. “ It used to be that intermodal only worked with lengths of haul 1,000 miles or greater. Then it dropped to 700 to 800 miles. Now it’s down to 400 miles in some cases. So we expect to see more intermodal business as a result” ...

Heavy Hauliers * UK - Raised Speed limit for

The speed limit for ultra-heavy loads will increase from 12mph to 25mph this week

London,EN,UK -Road Transport, by Roger Brown -29 November 2010: ... The Department for Transport (DfT) says the change - due to come into force on 29 November - will apply to artics weighing between 150 and 250 tonnes... For draw-bar trailer vehicles weighing between 150 and 250 tonnes, the limit will increase from 12mph to 20mph... Girder frame trailers will remain restricted to 12mph... About one hundred abnormal loads weighing in at more than 150 tonnes are transported each year... However, according to the DfT, technological advances in the vehicles and trailers concerned mean that it has now been possible to revise the speed limits... Research into the changes was carried out on behalf of the Highways Agency last year, followed by a consultation process with the industry... It suggested that despite most abnormal loads being transported outside of peak times, the cost to the economy as a result of the congestion caused was about £5.1m per year... By increasing the maximum permitted speed of certain loads, the figure is expected to fall to £2.5m... The research also showed the increased speed would have only a marginal impact on wear and tear on the roads... Police believe the move will also reduce the number of accidents caused by traffic crashing into slow-moving loads from the rear... (Photo from roadtransport/big-lorry-blog: FULL STEAM AHEAD CEM 265ton STATOR ON BOARD)