Sir, The introduction of freight vehicles some 50 per cent longer and weighing a third more than the largest currently permitted on UK roads (letters, Oct 8 , 9) could lead to the destruction of villages up and down the country. Commercial demands, and more importantly sat-nav systems, would ensure that they could not be restrained to the use of motorways and dual carriageways as promoted by the industry.

For example, the single-carriageway B3006 which passes through my home village of Selborne, where the road narrows to accommodate “horse-and-cart” age traffic, is a convenient and well used rat-run between the A3 and the M3. Although in theory, a 7.5-tonne weight limit is in place, this totally unsuitable road is frequently invaded by the largest juggernauts of existing substantial weight and dimensions, mainly, it is believed, because sat-nav systems direct them along the B3006 as the shortest route between the two main roads. Unsurprisingly, the most frequent offenders are vehicles of foreign registration.

The huge potential for further damage to villages is quite unacceptable; proposals for these larger vehicles must be opposed.

Roy Selwyn

Selborne, Hants

Sir, Mr King, of the Road Haulage Association, forgets to mention the damaging effect of heavier lorries on the road infrastructure and on long bridges in particular.

The fatigue damage on a bridge generated by a vehicle is proportional to (approximately) the fifth power of its weight. This means that a single passage of a 60-tonne lorry is 4.7 times as damaging as a 44-tonne existing vehicle. As a consequence the life of a long suspension bridge is reduced by a similar amount: that is a 100-year life is reduced to 20 years.

Professor Roderick A Smith

Imperial College London

Sir, I would ask your readers to consider why we allow any commercial vehicles on our roads at weekends when they are banned in Germany (and other countries) from midnight on Fridays to midnight on Sunday.

C. Sebborn

Colchester

Sir, Not everyone will agree with Roger King’s confident assertion that “longer, heavier lorries can be integrated into existing traffic patterns with little risk”.

What may seem perfectly good driving conditions seen from the lofty cab of a lorry can appear very different to a car driver, enveloped in spray. The fact is, heavy lorries and small cars are already incompatible on our crowded motorways, and an increase in the size of the former cannot be justified.

Peter Daly

Stourbridge, West Midlands

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