English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 4 - 2017 | Page 17

REGULATIONS even collect the exemption in Warsaw. The OSPTN campaigns for the option to apply and receive applications digitally. 3. The requirements for escorts and their vehicle will be defined more precisely. At the moment vehicles in any colour are permitted, in the near future the choice of colours will be restricted. The requirements for the training, testing and experience of the escorts will be scrutinized further and proposals for the regulations will be drawn up based on the results. 4. In Poland the maximum permitted axle loads are currently the same for all axles. The association is in favour of differentiating between axles. In that case a pendle axle will be allowed 12 tonnes maximum per axle and beam axles 10 tonnes maximum per axle. 5. Many mobile cranes are built on the basis of a maximum axle load of 12 tonnes per axle. The negotiations concerning the upgrading of the axle loads will probably result this year in an increase in the permitted axle load for cranes to 12 tonnes. DIFFERENT INFRASTRUCTURE The infrastructure in Poland is different than in some other European countries. Poland does not have a network of canals and rivers, such as exists between the Netherlands and Germany. The various canals that connect the south and north of Poland with each other have a water level that is too low for the transport of very heavy loads. Discussions about improving the existing canals are ongoing, but it will be years before any work will start. Because transport by rail is no solution either this means that nearly every large or heavy load must be transported by road. High, wide or long, is usually fine – often after a thorough route survey – but heavy loads are a big problem. Many bridges are only suitable for HGV’s with a maximum weight of 50 or sometimes 60 tonnes. If the weight exceeds 60 tonnes each bridge or viaduct has to be assessed to determine whether the transport can pass over it without any problems. THE OSPTN Lukasz Chwalczuk is the chairman of the OSPTN. Ten years ago he hardly knew anything about abnormal transport, but due to his legal background he is the perfect intermediary between the transport operators and the Polish government. His position on the board of the ■  With a Category 4 exemption the vehicle must have steered axles ■  This transport is allowed without exemption ESTA also enables him to promote the interests of the Polish companies on an international level. Lukasz: “In the past few years we have achieved quite a lot. Sometimes it’s about relatively small things, such as road signs to clearly indicate which roads are suitable for 8, 10 or 11.5 tonnes per axle. It’s important for the Polish industry to be able to transport their goods over the road. Work is being done to improve the infrastructure in Poland, but the permit for vehicles exceeding a gross weight of 60 tonnes remains problematic. When it comes to regulations, such as e.g. escort vehicles, we study the situation in other European countries. For instance, we have a very good relationship with the RDW (Dutch Road Administration).” Poland is a country where developments take place at a rapid pace. In just one generation Poland has changed from a closed Eastern European economy to a vibrant country with young, enthusiastic and well-educated people. The sector abnormal transport gained momentum when Poland joined the EEG. There is no shortage of enthusiasm and technical knowledge, but the regulations are still evolving and the infrastructure needs investment in order to give more leeway to transports that exceed 60 tonnes GVW.  ■ ■  Category 3: maximum 3.2 metres wide and 23 metres long 17