A North East MP has dismissed safety concerns over putting longer lorries on UK roads.
Tory minister Richard Holden has defended new legislation that will permit extra-long lorry trailers to be used on British roads. The plans have sparked concerns about increased dangers to pedestrians and cyclists because of the vehicles’ larger tail swing, with campaigners having called for greater testing.
The roads minister, who is the MP for North West Durham, was at the Greggs bakery headquarters in Longbenton on Wednesday to see the bigger trailers in action and insisted they would be “good for productivity, good for the environment, good for road safety”. Department for Transport officials say the policy will generate £1.4bn of economic benefits and save 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere over 11 years by taking one standard-size trailer off the road for every 12 trips.
