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Prof. Dr. Bernd Gottschalk, President of the VDA, is putting the full weight of the VDA behind the promotion of the EuroCombi concept, shown here in full gear behind a magnificent Mercedes-Benz Actros 2660. Note the length from the back view forward. At 25,25m, it's longer than our maximum length of 22m.

Brazil is OK with long lengths. I noticed this rig on a recent trip to Brazil with Volkswagen. Note the warning of 25,80 m length. That's 3.80m longer than our maximum length and 0,55m longer than what is being advocated in Germany.

Now here's one that every South African interlink operator will delight in. It's also one that might just get those politicians who are seeking to have the current 56 ton gross reduced, to think again.

It all revolves around a big push in Germany to introduce a new concept for longer length and higher payload vehicles to meet the challenges arising from increased goods and traffic volumes on Europe's roads. The concept has been labelled the EuroCombi and is being spearheaded by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). Evidence of this push was clear at this year's Hannover truck show with not only the VDA putting on actual display vehicles demonstrating the concept but also private companies showing their support for the concept.

In essence, the issue is this: The length of tractors with semi-trailers is currently limited in Germany to 16,5 metres and the length of truck-trailer combinations to 18,75 metres, while the maximum permissible weight is 40 tons. The EuroCombi proposes 25,25 meter long combinations with a maximum permissible weight of 60 tons. In South Africa, the maximum length of a combination is 22 metres and the GVM is 56 tons - plus the 2% allowance.

President of the VDA, Professor Dr. Bernd Gottschalk, puts it in a nutshell when he says it's all about Germany and Europe meeting the challenges of coping with increased transport volumes in an efficient, ecologically sound and economical manner. "While the railroads and inland waterways will continue to play an important role in the future, it is the roads that will have to bear the major burdens arising from the increase in traffic," he says.

It is because of this that the industry is not waiting for initiatives to arise from Governments but is taking the bull by the horns by putting forward innovative proposals such as the EuroCombi.

That such an innovation is needed can be gauged by the fact that trucks account for around 70% of all freight traffic in Germany and the European Commission expects the proportion of goods carried by trucks to increase even more in the future. Given that many of Germany's truck roads have today reached the limits of their capacity, the country is faced with massive congestion.

Gottschalk reckons that the expansion of Germany's infrastructure has not kept pace with the freight developments by a long way and so as to prevent traffic from seizing up completely, the need exists to examine current dimensions and weights as a way to alleviate the problems And this is where the EuroCombi comes in.

In terms of easing congestion, the VDA uses as an example the section of the German autobahn between Bad Hersfeld and Kassel which suffers from heavy congestion. The VDA puts forward that if 23% of the journeys currently using conventional trucks were to switch to EuroCombis, this would reduce the number of commercial vehicles by - wait for it - 800 000 per year.

This would be achieved as a result of the increased efficiency brought about by using only two EuroCombis instead of three conventional trucks. While three conventional truck tractors take up roughly 150 meters of road which includes the statutory minimum safe distance between vehicles of 50m, two EuroCombis would manage with only 100 metres. The result is less congestion.

Apart from fewer trucks on the road, there are many other benefits put forward such as less fuel used and less damage to the roads. For operators, the EuroCombi combines vehicles and bodies already in use which, with minor modifications, can be linked so as to optimise costs and minimise capex on new equipment.

The VDA is not hanging out there alone on some pipe-dream in advocating such a concept for in some Scandinavian countries, 25,25m length and 60 ton gross is already allowed. Also, while on a trip to Brazil with Volkswagen not too long ago, I noticed a 25,25 metre rig hauling logs so Brazil also looks like it's OK with the idea. It will be interesting to see how far it goes in Germany. My guess is that the EuroCombi will be the long-distance rig of the future in Europe.

Also interesting is that while some of our local politicians have been bashing the 22m, 56 ton gross combinations that have been operating on our roads for some years, we're actually ahead of most countries in Europe in our mass and dimensions operations and thinking. Eeiissh, but isn't South Africa lucky that we have such a visionary and forward thinking trucking industry?

By the way, Ireland also has a traffic congestion problem in Dublin where thousands of trucks arrive from all over the country every week with goods for export through Dublin's harbour. And what have the Irish done? Banned the trucks from the city? No chance?

The Irish Government realise that trucks are the country's economic life-line so they've built a tunnel under the city of Dublin for the trucks to travel through. It runs from outside the city to the harbour. Billions of Euro have gone into this project. So let's not think we're alone in traffic congestion. It's just how we solve the problem that will count in the long term.