Priorities
Advancing Sustainable and Efficient Transportation: At the European Transport Board, we are committed to shaping a future where transportation is not only efficient and effective but also sustainable and safe. Through dedicated advocacy and lobbying efforts, we strive to influence policies and drive innovations that significantly reduce environmental impact, enhance road safety, and alleviate congestion, ensuring a resilient and progressive transportation landscape across Europe.
PTI for trailers
Mutual recognition
A tractor can be driven independently with a driver, but a trailer cannot. A semi-trailer can only be moved with a tractor. However, trailers are rarely located in the country where the mandatory annual technical inspection must be done, which forces a driver to move it with or without a freight on it.
The roadworthiness test for trailers is a mandatory safety inspection required by every EU member state and must be conducted in the country of registration. Transport equipment operating internationally needs to be routed back to the country of registration for this annual test.
To comply with the regulations, drivers are forced to drive unnecessary kilometers. This has negative environmental and financial impacts, on top of negatively affecting traffic flow.
Our ambition is to achieve PTI mutual recognition of trailers across EU member states; via EU directive or bi-lateral agreements.
Why? The existing disparities in national regulations significantly contribute to congestion and environmental concerns, particularly in the context of cross-border operations. PTI mutual recognition will achieve positive impact on sustainability cross EU states by reduction of CO2 emissions (impact of 80,330,000 kg of CO2) and reduction of congestion on European roads (impact of 22,032 km of congestion). Whilst continuing to comply with the legal PTI obligation.
TPMS for trailers
Open protocols for data inception and sharing with control towers
As of July 6, 2024, the mandatory TPMS regulation is coming into effect across the EU. The European Commission has updated the UN ECE R141 regulation, where all trailers registered after this date must be equipped Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS).
In 2018, the European Commission initiated these regulations to save more than 25,000 lives and prevent at least 140,000 road injuries by 2038. The new TPMS regulations aim to embrace the future of road safety and minimize the risk of tyre issues that can lead to severe incidents. Plus, align with sustainability goals by leveraging the underutilized potential of TPMS data— a new frontier in transportation efficiency and safety.
Our ambition is to influence the deployment of a single data model for TPMS and align all trailer manufacturers towards one data model; to standardize and streamline data management across various vehicles and systems. Creating a cohesive and efficient ecosystem for TPMS technology, benefiting supplier and customers through improved safety, reliability, and operational effectiveness.
Why? By having a unified data model, manufacturers and service providers can ensure TPMS data can be easily shared and understood across different vehicles, brands, and systems. This facilitates compatibility, regulatory compliance and integration. It will enhance efficiency, accuracy, and consistency, as it will simplify the development, maintenance, and support of TPMS, leading to cost savings and faster deployment of updates and improvements. It helps ensure that TPMS information is accurate and consistent. This enhances safety and performance by providing trustworthy tire pressure data to drivers and vehicle systems.
Super Eco Combi
Approval and stimulation of the SEC
The Super Eco Combi is a configuration of two trailers behind a truck, connected with a Dolly. Designed to maximize cargo capacity while minimizing fuel consumption per unit of cargo transported, minimizing emissions. Depending on the region and specific regulations, SEC needs to comply with legal requirements regarding vehicle dimensions, weight limits, and safety standards. Super Eco Combi represents an innovative approach to commercial vehicle design, aiming to achieve a balance between environmental sustainability, efficiency, and practicality in the transportation of goods.
Our ambition is to receive approval of configuration of two trailers behind a truck, connected with a Dolly. Our proposal is to amend Council Directive 96/53/EC to align regulations with the future needs of European road freight transport. Adding provisions to enable vehicles like Super Eco Combis, categorized
as European Module System (EMS) 2, to operate cross-border without requiring bilateral agreements between neighbouring Member States.
Why? To benefit from the positive outcomes of the Super Eco Combi configuration, offering significant reduction of CO2 emissions with existing assets, no new configurations required. Currently, even if two adjacent Member States permit EMS 2 vehicles nationally, the vehicles cannot cross borders without bilateral agreements. This restriction hampers efficient freight transport on major European routes.
Therefore, we suggest inserting a clause stipulating that if two contiguous Member States
authorize EMS 2 vehicles nationally, then those vehicles should be permitted to cross the
border without needing additional bilateral agreements.
VECTO for trailers
Position on strengthening CO2 standards for trailers
The European Union’s Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO) is a standardized framework designed for measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses. It uses a simulation-based approach to consider various factors such as vehicle configuration and driving conditions, making it applicable to different vehicle categories. This tool is crucial for manufacturers to comply with EU regulations on CO2 emissions and helps in providing transparent, consistent data. VECTO's standardized measurements are essential not only for regulatory compliance but also for enabling informed decision-making by fleet operators and buyers.
The VECTO legislation that will take effect in 5 years requires manufacturers to also realize a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions for trailers (respectively by 2030 relative to 2020).
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Trailers themselves do not emit CO2, so they cannot be regulated in the same manner as vehicles with combustion engines.
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The maximum technically feasible CO2 reduction potential is approximately 7.5% for some semitrailers and 5% for drawbar and center-axle trailers through 2030.
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Achieving weight reduction to meet targets will shorten product lifecycles, requiring more units over time to move the same freight volumes. This will counteract emissions reductions when factoring cradle-to-grave emissions.
Our ambition is to develop balanced, realistic policies that effectively address the climate impacts of commercial transport. Several recommendations are outlined for trailer CO2 regulation, responding to the proposed EU regulation 2019/1242. We support well-designed, ambitious yet achievable policies to facilitate the transition to low-carbon freight transportation across Europe. We advise to adopt technically feasible fleet-wide targets, focus policy efforts on reducing emissions from tractor units over trailers, provide incentives for the development and adoption of efficiency technologies and enable cross-border operation of Super Eco Combi and energy recuperation axles for trailers across Europe
Why? While supporting efforts to facilitate low-carbon freight transportation, the European Commission proposed targets far exceed what industry analysis indicates is technically achievable with current and near-future solutions.
Energy Recuperation Axle
European admission of the axle
The energy recuperation axle system recovers and utilizes energy that would otherwise be lost during braking or deceleration by capturing and converting kinetic energy into electrical energy. This technology improves energy efficiency, lowering fuel consumption and associated emissions. However,
uncertainty around permissions is limiting adoption.
Our ambition is to enable EU wide permission and regulatory approval for e-recuperation axles and
provide a 1-ton extra weight allowance as an incentive for operators to invest in this promising technology. We urge the EU for faster regulatory approval of alternative propulsion systems for trailer. And add an explicit provision permitting these technologies in the amended directive, revising Council Directive 96/53/EC. Enabling these technologies quickly under a harmonized EU framework and incentivizing adoption will support progress towards environmentally sustainable road freight transport.
Why? To reduce the uncertainty around permissions in the EU, which will boost the adoption of the energy recuperation axle, improving energy efficiency, lowers fuel consumption and emissions. We believe constructive dialogue between industry and policymakers will produce an amendment that balances objectives around reduced congestion, improved sustainability, and safety for road freight transport across Europe.