by Slovenia lifts HGV driving bans for vehicles with humanitarian aid
The Slovenian Ministry of Transport has informed that heavy goods vehicles performing transport operations in order to save human lives, prevent direct threats to property and provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine are exempt from HGV driving bans.
The Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure has announced that from Sunday, March 13, until the situation in Ukraine has normalised, the movement of certain vehicles with a GVW of more than 7.5 tons will, by way of exception, be allowed on Sundays and public holidays (from 8:00 AM to 10:00PM) and on the Friday before Easter (April 15, from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM).
by Spain introduces a temporary derogation from the provisions of Regulation 561/2006
The Spanish Ministry of Transport has introduced the measure to mitigate possible effects of a national strike that has been going on since March 14 and is affecting the delivery of certain supplies of raw materials to production centers and product distribution endpoints.
For this reason, the General Directorate of Traffic has decided to:
1.To temporarily allow persons engaged in freight transport to benefit from the following exceptions to the rules set out in the following articles of Regulation No 561/2006, namely:
– Article 6.1: increase the maximum daily driving limit from 9 hours to 11 hours.
– Article 6.2: increase the maximum weekly driving limit from 56 to 60 hours.
– Article 6.3: increase the maximum two-week driving limit from 90 hours to 102 hours.
– Article 8.1: reduce the daily rest period from 11 to 9 hours.
– Article 8.6: allow the use of two consecutive reduced weekly rest periods of at least 24 hours, provided that any rest taken as compensation is attached to the following regular weekly rest period.
2. The exceptions provided for in the first point apply to drivers performing freight transport all over Spain.
❗❗ These exemptions are in effect from 17 to 27 March inclusive.
Similar derogations have already been introduced by Poland, Denmark, Romania and Italy with respect to transports with humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
by Belgia: zamknięcie tunelu Kennedy’ego
Ma to związek z pracami remontowymi w tunelu na obwodnicy Antwerpii (R1).
Tunel Kennedy’ego w kierunku Holandii będzie całkowicie zamknięty dla ruchu od piątku 15 kwietnia od godz. 21:00 do poniedziałku 18 kwietnia do godz. 5:00. W związku z tym, Flamandzkie Centrum Ruchu Drogowego ostrzega przed poważnymi utrudnieniami w ruchu drogowym i wzywa do ominięcia obszaru wokół tunelu w kierunku Holandii i węzła Antwerpen-West. W kierunku Gent tunel pozostanie dostępny dla ruchu.
Proponuje się by kierowcy jadący z Flandrii Wschodniej i Zachodniej korzystali z objazdu przez E34 i R2. Tunel Liefkenshoek będzie bezpłatny. Użytkownicy dróg, którzy nie wybiorą alternatywnej trasy w weekend, ryzykują utknięciem na E17 w korku. Zamknięcie prawdopodobnie spowoduje poważne utrudnienia w ruchu gdyż objazd na E34 i R2 w Antwerpen-West przebiega tylko przez jeden pas.
Również w niedzielę, 24 kwietnia, tunel Kennedy’ego w kierunku Holandii będzie zamknięty od godziny 11:30 do 17:00, jednak tym razem z powodu imprezy sportowej. Kierowcom zaleca się także korzystanie z powyższego objazdu.
by Belgium: Kennedy Tunnel closure
Owing to renovation work on the R1 ring road around the city of Antwerp, the Kennedy Tunnel in the direction of the Netherlands will be completely closed from 9:00 PM on Friday April 15 until 5:00 AM on Monday 18 April. The Flemish Traffic Center advises drivers to avoid the area around the tunnel in the direction of the Netherlands and the Antwerp-West junction. Tunnel traffic in the direction of Gent will continue as usual.
Drivers from East and West are advised to take a detour via the E34 and R2. During the closure drivers will be able to use the Liefkenshoek tunnel free of charge. Drivers who do not take an alternative route during the weekend risk getting stuck on the E17. The closure is likely to cause serious disruptions as the diverted traffic along the E34 and R2 in Antwerpen-West will only be able to use one lane.
The Kennedy Tunnel in the direction of Netherlands will also be closed from 11.30 AM to 5.00 PM on Sunday, April 24, but this time due to a sporting event. Drivers are also advised to use the detour described above.
by Catalonia: another day with HGV traffic restrictions
The Catalan Road Traffic Service (SCT) has published an announcement regarding driving restriction for vehicles and vehicle combinations over 7,500 kg GVW that are in effect on the AP-7 motorway on Sunday 24 April.
Following the termination of the concession agreement for the construction, operation and maintenance of some motorways and the abolition of tolls, the volume traffic, especially on the AP-7 highway, has increased considerably, resulting a series of road accidents, especially at weekends. For this reason, SCT has decided to open additional lanes in the opposite direction, which means that heavy goods vehicles can only travel safely on the right-hand lane. Consequently, all vehicles with a GVW exceeding 7500 kg are now obliged to use the right lane of the motorway and are not allowed to overtake and drive faster than 80 km/h during certain hours on specified days.
The restriction applies:
– on the section of the AP-7 motorway between KP 158 in Sant Cugat del Vallès and KP 213 in Banyeres del Penedès
– on the section of the B-23 motorway between KP 8, in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, and the intersection with AP-7 in Papiol on Sunday, April 24 between 3:00 PM and 10:00 PM.
by UK: Termination of the temporary relaxation of the enforcement of the retained EU drivers’ hours rules
The Department for Transport (DfT) announced a temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours rules in England, Scotland and Wales from 9 April 2022 until 8 May 2022. In light of the improvement of the situation, DfT terminated the relaxation early at 11:59pm on 22 April 2022.
The temporary relaxation was introduced in response to the exceptional pressures on the freight industry. More on that in the article entitled Traffic gridlock across Dover.
Scope of the relaxation
For the drivers in question, the enforcement of the rules was temporarily relaxed as follows from 12:01am on 9 April 2022:
a) replacement of the EU daily driving limit of 9 hours with one of 11 hours
b) reduction of the daily rest requirements from 11 to 9 hours, together with a relaxation on the use of the ferry/train derogation to allow its use when on a reduced daily rest of 9 hours (instead of when on a regular rest period of 11 hours)
c) lifting the weekly (56 hours) and fortnightly driving limits (90 hours) to 60 and 96 hours respectively
d) postponement of the requirement to start a weekly rest period after 6 x 24-hour periods, which was temporarily replaced with a requirement to start the weekly rest period after 7 x 24-hour periods, although 2 regular weekly rest periods or a regular and a reduced weekly rest period will still be required within a fortnight
For weekly and fortnightly driving limits for periods across the end of the relaxation, the higher limits are applicable only if they are required by driving done up to 22 April 2022. For example, a driver who has increased their daily driving limit to 11 hours twice under the relaxations can increase both their weekly and fortnightly driving limits by a total of 4 hours.
Those who have made use of the relaxation (except for international transport and transport between Great Britain and Northern Ireland) should send a completed follow-up notification of relaxation form within 7 days of the relaxation ending and no later than 29 April 2022 to [email protected].
gov.uk
by Belarus: Clarifications on transhipment paperwork for EU registered carriers Goods
This info updates an earlier post on the Belarus ban on EU registered operators entering Belarus, except to unload or unhook at 14 designated transshipment areas close to the border.
List of transhipment points in Belarus connected with the ban on the movement of EU vehicles
When performing international transportation, information about the transshipment (unloading/unhooking), successive carrier, registration numbers of the successive vehicle, as well as the place of the specified cargo operations should be indicated in the transit declaration. The transit declaration should be submitted to the Belarusian customs clearance offices located at the place of arrival in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) customs territory in Belarus.
In case the EU carrier does not have information about the transshipment when arriving to the EAEU customs territory in Belarus, the relevant information must be indicated by the successive carrier before the goods are placed under the customs transit procedure at the place of transhipment (unloading/unhooking).
The following information should be indicated:
✅Column 17 of the CMR consignment note – Successive carrier (name, address, country);
✅ Column 25 of the CMR consignment note (or another column intended for these purposes) – registration number of the vehicle being used to continue transportation.
In the case of goods transshipment, this information should additionally be indicated in column 13 of the CMR consignment note (“Sender’s instruction”).
In cases when a tractor or an empty vehicle registered in the EU enters Belarus to the designated places to pick up goods for export, the carriers are recommended to have an order form or agreement to confirm the purpose of the vehicle’s entry into Belarusian territory.
IRU