Increase in the permissible total weight from 40t to 44t for trucks in meeting traffic
MANSIO GmbH, 19.09.2025
Whitepaper on the current regulatory gap in European long-distance road freight transport available!
This white paper addresses a regulatory gap in European long-distance road haulage: Encounter traffic has similar positive effects on CO2 reduction in road haulage, relieving the parking infrastructure and mitigating the driver shortage as combined transport (CT). The concept also enables the economical use of e-trucks in long-distance transport. However, the concept is not equivalent to CT in terms of the increased gross vehicle weight of 44 tons.
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In order to close this gap, it is expedient to expressly transfer the increased permissible gross weight of 44 t currently applicable in CT to encounter traffic – with unchanged axle load limits. The aim is to define encounter traffic as a separate type of traffic and to regulate clear standards and minimum criteria. On this basis and supported by digital evidence, authorities should be able to carry out simple checks and freight forwarders, logistics service providers and haulage companies should have a high level of legal certainty.
The time window for a legal definition of encounter traffic with an increased gross vehicle weight of 44 t is favorable. The ongoing revision of Directive 96/53/EC and the priorities of the current Danish EU Council Presidency allow for a clear, pragmatic addition.
In encounter traffic, semi-trailers or swap bodies are transferred from truck to truck along long-distance routes. The vehicle and driver then return to their home regions with other semi-trailers or swap bodies. As trucks do not have to park for long periods of time when passing each other, they relieve the parking infrastructure, make long-distance transport safer against cargo theft and more attractive for drivers. The use of battery-electric trucks is simplified because the vehicles can be charged cost-effectively in the depot and then used cost-effectively in a second shift.
