‘Road must become more efficient

Road transport needs to become more costeffective and efficient in the absence of a reliable rail service, said Graham Gaskell of Reinhardt Transport Group. He said increasing payloads in a safe and responsible manner was one solution. Reducing labour, fuel and running costs was also key, he added. Legislation on vehicle loading focuses on axle and axle unit loadings, maximum permissible vehicle and combination masses and the so-called ‘bridge formula’, which is outdated, in his view. Gaskell argues for a Performance Based Standard (PBS) designed to improve payloads, subject to predefined performance criteria that allows vehicles to operate beyond what is permissible within current legislation.