Minister to consider new truck height restrictions

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan is considering introducing a new height restriction for trucks and trailers for safety and environmental reasons, writes John Loughran.

Sources close to the minister have suggested that a maximum height of 4.65m - coincidently the same height as Dublin Port Tunnel - will be introduced.

The move to curb the height of trucks will put the minister on a collision course with the road haulage industry that have spent vast sums in investing in larger trailers since the height restriction was abolished some years ago.
Some of the larger retail multiples have invested in trailers measuring 4.72 metres in height, a full 52 cm higher than the old height limit of 4.25 metres.

Jimmy Quinn of the Irish Road Haulage Association told Irish Trucker: "The problem arises from a lack of consultation. We are talking about a 30 cm margin, the length of a ruler. The tunnel has a100-year future, and should be designed with a view to the future, not the past."

Mr Quinn said the minister was totally at odds with the commercial realities of road haulage. He commented: "The minister is totally out of step with what is happening in Britain. The commercial reality is that we need these trucks if we are to compete. They are also environmentally friendly because you can fit two loads into one truck and take more traffic off the road."

Meanwhile Fine Gael's spokesman on transport Denis Naughten accused the minister of muddying the waters to deflect criticism away from the height of the Dublin Port Tunnel.
He is using this ban to try and hide his exposure to the fact the size of the tunnel is wrong. He is basically using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."