Haulage Industry Regulation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014

Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Questions (1734)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

1734. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport with regard to super-cube trucks, if he will confirm if they have been banned from roads here; if he will provide details of the exact date from when they were banned; if he will further confirm the ban is nationwide and applies within the Dublin permit system as well as nationally; the way the ban is operating with imported trucks and if carriers are banned from loading them and so on at foreign ports; if he will provide the number or percentage of overall truck movements covered by super-cube trucks and also actual numbers as per any recent survey; the evidence there is of super-cube trucks driving on Irish roads, and specifically in the capital city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34657/14]

Written answers

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport

The maximum regulatory vehicle dimensions for an articulated vehicle permitted on Irish roads is 2.5 metres in width, 16.5 metres in length and 4.65 metres in height. As set out in S.I. No. 166/2014 - Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, this maximum national height limit does not apply to an unenclosed agricultural or goods vehicle combination that is being used exclusively for the transport of hay, silage, straw or other animal fodder or a combination thereof, that is baled.

Any articulated vehicle exceeding these maximum permitted regulatory dimensions, other than those permitted under the local authority abnormal load permit scheme, constitutes an offence. The enforcement of Road Traffic legislation is a matter for An Garda Síochána.