The Farming Express The Farming Express Jan iss4 | Page 15

New tractor weights and speeds
could save industry £4m
THE NFU is calling on the Government to make provisions for further increases to tractor and trailer
weights and speeds – measures
which it said could save the industry millions of pounds.
From this spring, the Department
for Transport (DfT) will increase
maximum combined weights for
tractors and trailers from 24.39
tonnes to 31t under stage one of the
changes.
The maximum speed limit will be
increased from 20mph to 25mph.
The NFU welcomed the proposals,
but said the DfT needed to go further to realise maximum efficiency
improvements in farm transport.
Under stage two – to be implemented before harvest 2016 – the union
said it would like to see a higher
weight limit for trailers, which it
said would result in fewer journeys
and save the industry about £4 million in costs.
A spokesman said existing weight

limits forced farmers to make more
journeys than was necessary, increasing congestion on rural roads.
“Considering the wheat harvest in
GB in 2014, if combination weights
had been increased to 33t for tandem axle combinations and 37t for
tri-axle combinations, without a
trailer weight limit, this would have
resulted in a 49 per cent reduction
in journeys and a £4m saving to the
industry in manpower alone,” h