UK to extend maximum permitted truck-trailer length to 18.55 metres
By Bradley Osborne - 15th May 2023
UK – The UK government’s Department for Transport (DfT) announced last week that truck-trailer combinations measuring up to 18.55 metres in length will be permitted on British roads from 31 May, allowing hauliers to carry more goods in fewer trips.
Current regulations restrict the maximum length of a semi-trailer (or semi-trailer combination) to 13.6 metres. The new regulations will extend this by 2.05 metres to 15.65 metres for so-called longer semi-trailers or LSTs. Such trailers can carry two more rows of pallets or three more rows of goods cages than the longest semi-trailers which were hitherto permitted, potentially reducing the number of journeys required by 8%, according to the DfT.
