LST opportunities bring admin burden

The recent Department for Transport (DfT) announcement on the end of its longer semi-trailer (LST) trial will be met with mixed feelings, depending on who you are.

Paul Allera Technical director, RHA

It appears that operators will now be able to use the trailers without applying for a permit. However, there will be caveats in place.

Those who have taken part in the trial over the past 11 years will have the data, experience and knowledge of the routes and journeys these vehicles have covered. Those operators who may now be looking to add these trailers into their fleets will need to get to grips with one of the disadvantages that became apparent from the start of the trial – increased admin responsibilities.

Operators need to have a route plan that specifies the roads the LST will be used on and a risk assessment of those established routes, made in writing and kept in the cab when in use (with copies held by the operator for at least two years after the end of a route).

They also need to notify the secretary of state by electronic communication of the intention to use an LST and provide operator licence and contact details. This applies only until 31 May 2028, when the secretary of state will review the legislation.

It’s not all doom and gloom, and there have been plenty of plus points since the introduction of LSTs. For those who invested their cash at the start, it was a risk – they all understood the DfT could pull the plug on the trial at any time. So we don’t have 1,800 trailers parked up somewhere rotting away and there are no stranded assets in fleets.

After speaking with various operators during the trial, I would say the pros appeared to outweigh the cons – not for all, but for a majority. For those who carry light- to mid-weight loads, the option to add an extra two to four pallets was especially valuable. And as there was no height restriction, this resulted in up to eight extra pallets if you ran double-deckers.

This produced benefits in additional payload, reduced operational delivery cost, less fuel and AdBlue consumption, lower tyre wear and, better still, a smaller carbon footprint.

For those operators who carry the heavier loads, it would have been good to see the payload increased – but they saw no real benefit, because the increase in unladen weight resulted in reduced payload. Is it time to reconsider gross vehicle weights to increase utilisation of longer semi-trailers? I believe it is – after all, it is now 30 years since we introduced 44,000kg.

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