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HGV restrictions in Catalonia in February and March

Owing to forecasts of significant increases in traffic volume on the 17th and 24th of February and 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th of March, an additional restriction will be introduced on some road and motorway sections for vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of more than 7.5 tons, which are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h.

On Friday, on the 17th and 24th of February and 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th of March between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM, the restrictions will apply on the following road sections:

➖ the AP-7 motorway, between KP 126, exit 12B at La Roca del Vallés, Granollers and the junction with the C-60 in La Roca del Vallés, and KP 172, exit 25 at Martorell and the junction with the A-2 in the Martorell commune;
➖ the AP-7 motorway in the territory of Terres de l’Ebre, where there are only two lanes, between KP 257, exit 35 at Vila-seca, Salou, Reus S. and Port Aventura, in the municipality of Vila-seca, and KP 344,8 the border between Tarragona and Castellón, in the municipality of Ulldecona.

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Malhowice-Niżankowice border crossing: rules for the clearance of empty lorries

Border checks will be carried out 24/7 in both directions using temporary infrastructure located on both the Polish and Ukrainian sides.

Starting from 7:00 AM on 13 February unladen lorries with a GVW above 7.5 tonnes can be cleared to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border at the facility in Malhowice-Niżankowice, which is still under construction. The new border crossing will help to shorten waiting times for border clearance.
The possibility of border clearance does not apply to the following types of vehicles”
• with a GVW below 7.5 tons,
• used for transporting dangerous goods (ADR),
• used for transporting livestock (after disinfection),
• vehicles transporting abnormal loads without a permit,
• carrying surplus fuel in tanks of vehicles and refrigerated containers,
• transporting returnable packaging, excluding packaging that is part of the vehicle’s equipment,
• transporting goods for which an oral customs declaration is permitted in accordance with Article 135, item 1, lit. b) through d) and item 2 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules for certain provisions of the Union Customs Code (OJ EU Office L No. 343 of December 29, 2015, page 1, as amended),
• vehicles transporting goods for which an oral declaration for export is permitted in accordance with Art. 137 point 1 lit. b) through g) and point 2 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446.

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Additional winter driving ban in Tyrol on the A12 and A13

By virtue of the 3rd regulation of the Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, issued on January 5, 2023, a HGV driving ban has been introduced on certain Saturdays in winter 2023

The restriction applies to heavy goods vehicles, articulated vehicles with a maximum authorized mass above 7.5 tons or lorries with trailers whose combined MAM is above 7.5 tons. The ban applies between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM on all Saturdays from January 7 to March 11 to vehicles bound for Italy on the A 12 and A 13 motorways if the destination is located:
• in Italy or in a country that can only be reached via Italy;
• in Germany or a country that can only be reached via Germany.

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4-day strike in Calais, Dunkirk, Coquelles Terminal and Dover – advice for hauliers

Civil Service industrial action scheduled to take place from 17 Februrary to 7:00 AM on 20 February will impact travellers (passengers and freight) entering the UK via the following ports:
– Port of Calais
– Port of Dunkirk
– Coquelles Channel Tunnel Terminal
– Port of Dover
Hauliers – impact of strike action
Hauliers who are moving goods during the proposed strike action should be prepared for potential disruption and longer queues at ports.
Advice for people entering the UK
Although this strike action targets the above ports, all those who are due to travel into the UK during the proposed industrial action should be prepared to face longer wait times at UK border control

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The border crossing in Bobrowniki closed from February 10

The information was posted by Mariusz Kamiński, Poland’s Minister of the Interior and Administration, on his on Twitter account.

This decision was motivated by national security interest. The border crossing between Poland and Belarus in Bobrowniki will be closed from 12:00 on Friday, February 10, until further notice.

Earlier, the minister informed that following the resolution adopted by the Polish Parliament regarding the case of Andrzej Poczobut, he has made arrangements for sanctions to be imposed against other persons associated with the Lukashenko regime, who are responsible for repressions against Poles in Belarus.

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UK: Up to £20,000 for transporting an illegal immigrant from 13 February

The Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme (‘the Scheme’), which comes into effect on 13 February, introduces penelties for carrying a clandestine entrant or for failing to secure a goods vehicle. These penalties can be imposed on responsible persons, including owners, hirers and drivers.

Carrying clandestine entrants
❗ The maximum level of penalty will be £6,000 if a responsible person has no record of liability in the five years prior to the incident under consideration,
❗ the maximum level of penalty will be £10,000 if a responsible person has been issued with one penalty in the five years prior to the date of the incident under consideration
❗ the maximum aggregate penalty for all responsible persons per clandestine entrant is £20,000.

Applying discounts to starting point level of penalty
❗ 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is a member of the Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme.
❗ A further 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is not the driver and was not present during the vehicle or detached trailer’s journey to the United Kingdom, but they acted to ensure compliance with the Regulations

Failure to secure a goods vehicle:
❗ the maximum penalty will be £1,500 if a responsible person has no record of liability in the five years prior to the incident under consideration
❗ the maximum level of penalty will be £3,000 if a responsible person has been issued with one penalty in the five years prior to the date of the incident under consideration
❗ the maximum level of penalty will be £6,000 if a responsible person has been issued with two or more penalties in the five years prior to the date of the incident under consideration
❗ The maximum total penalty (payable by all liable responsible persons combined per incident) is £12,000

Applying discounts to starting point level of penalty
❗ 50% discount to the starting point level of penalty will be applied if the responsible person is a member of the Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme.
❗ A further 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is the driver, or another responsible person who was present during the vehicle or detached trailer’s journey to the United Kingdom, and they complied with the Regulations.
❗ A further 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is not the driver and was not present during the vehicle or detached trailer’s journey to the United Kingdom, but they acted to ensure compliance with the Regulations.

The Secretary of State will consider requests from responsible persons to apply means testing to reduce any remaining level of penalty.
For individuals, means testing will take into account that individual’s income, including any overtime income, for the three months prior to the incident. In determining the exact level of penalty, the Secretary of State will consider any representations made by the individual regarding their personal financial circumstances, such as their outgoings.
For companies which are issued with a penalty, means testing will be available for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The government has published Guidance on preventing clandestine entry in 22 languages, which can be downloaded from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clandestine-entrant-civil-penalty-scheme

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Closures of the Mont Blanc Tunnel from January to March

The schedule of tunnel closures.

Possible inconveniences can be expected in the hour preceeding the closure and in the hour following the reopening of the tunnel, due to the transit of any vehicles under escort.

JANUARY
from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM
– January 11/12
– January 12/13
– January 16/17
– January 17/18
– January 18/19
– January 19/20
– January 23/24
– January 24/25
– January 25/26
– January 26/27

FEBRUARY
– February 6/7 from 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM
– February 7/8 from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM
– February 8/9 from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM
– February 9/10 from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM

MARCH
from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM
– March 13/14
– March 14/15
– March 15/16
– March 16/17.

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€2,250 for failure to enable drivers to return home

According to the Mobility Package (Regulation (EU) 2020/1054), transport firms are obliged to enable their drivers to return to the employer’s operational centre or their places of residence:
❗ within each period of four consecutive weeks in order to spend at least one regular weekly rest period or a weekly rest period of more than 45 hours taken in compensation for reduced weekly rest period
or
❗ the driver has taken two consecutive reduced weekly rest periods – before the start of the regular weekly rest period of more than 45 hours taken in compensation.
According to French law, failure to comply with these regulations can be punished with a one-year prison sentence and a fine of up to 30,000 euros. During a roadside inspection, a deposit of EUR 2,250 is usually collected, but the prosecutor is entitled to impose a higher penalty.

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3.02.2023 -HGV restrictions in Catalonia

Owing to forecasts of significant increases in traffic volume on the 2nd of February, an additional restriction will be introduced on some road and motorway sections for vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of more than 7.5 tons, which are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h.

On Friday, February 2, between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM, the restrictions will apply on the following road sections:
➖ the AP-7 motorway, between KP 126, exit 12B at La Roca del Vallés, Granollers and the junction with the C-60 in La Roca del Vallés, and KP 172, exit 25 at Martorell and the junction with the A-2 in the Martorell commune;
➖ the AP-7 motorway in the territory of Terres de l’Ebre, where there are only two lanes, between KP 257, exit 35 at Vila-seca, Salou, Reus S. and Port Aventura, in the municipality of Vila-seca, and KP 344,8 the border between Tarragona and Castellón, in the municipality of Ulldecona.

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Pressure is mounting against Tyrolean HGV driving bans

The German and Italian ministers of transport and infrastructure met with representatives of Italian transport associations to discuss the problem of Tyrolean transit bans and facilitate the exchange of goods between Italy and Germany.

Italian transport associations have been fighting against anti-transit measures introduced by Austria a long time. They argue that thanks to technical improvements in vehicles the level of emission has decreased. Therefore, a large part of the speech delivered by Thomas Baumgartner, the president of the ANITA association, focused on the long-standing issue of the HGV traffic in the Brenner Corridor. He pointed out that German and Italian efforts have been obstructed by the Tyrolean government, which over the years, instead of easing up the anti-transit measures, has been increasing them. Baumgartner believes that the only possible solution is to abolish the double charge for using the motorway from Innsbruck to the Brenner Pass during the night, the night driving ban on the A12 and the Saturday morning ban and to change the sectoral driving ban, which should only apply to journeys longer than 700 km including those originating and terminating in Tyrol.
ANITA’s president proposed introducing different transit charges depending on time: higher fees should be charged during peak hours and lower at night. He emphasized however, that such solutions would not only be difficult to implement, but would also constitute considerably restrict the flow of goods and trade between Italy and Germany.
The meeting organised for by minister Salvini was an an important step towards solve the situation that entrepreneurs find unacceptable and has a negative impact on the German economy, Italy’s main European partner.