ESTA Director Ton Klijn is to start lobbying European national governments in a fresh attempt to persuade them to adopt the European Best Practice Guidelines for Abnormal Road Transport, first published in a European Commission Transport Directive back in 2005.
The directive contains SERT, the Special European Registration for Trucks and Trailers, intended to reduce the paperwork and bureaucracy faced by the industry.
The worsening problem of obtaining permits in many countries was the subject of a passionate debate at the most recent meeting of ESTA’s Section Transport where some members referred to the “ever increasing web of bureaucracy” that is hampering the heavy transport industry.
Ton Klijn said: “We will be knocking on as many doors as we can and directly lobbying national governments. In particular, we will be talking to our new members and contacts in eastern Europe, some of whom are facing particular difficulties.”
To date only the Dutch road traffic authority RDW issues SERT documents with new vehicles, and it is accepted as an information document by the Belgian, Swedish and English road traffic authorities.
But ESTA hopes that with authorities throughout Europe under on-going financial pressure, they will see that an agreed Europe-wide registration system – as part of accepted best practice guidelines – will save time and money as well as making an important industry safer and more efficient.