Last March, the Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decree-Law on Measures to Improve the Sustainability of the Transport of Goods by Road and the Operation of the Logistics Chain and transposition of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 , of July 15, 2020, which establishes specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/CE and Directive 2014/67/EU for the movement of drivers in the road transport sector.
In the absence of validation in Congress and the specific development of the standard, with its complementary regulations and the latest interventions in terms of transport aid, these are the measures approved by the Council of Ministers:
Measures
- The general prohibition for the driver to load and unload the merchandise and supports in vehicles of more than 7.5 tons, allowing specific exceptions included in the text itself.
- The reduction of the waiting time from which the carrier will be entitled to compensation when loading or unloading, from the current two hours to one hour, also including a provision related to the calculation of compensation to the carrier for damages caused that imply stopping the vehicle.
- The obligatory revision of the price of transport in view of the variation in the price of fuel from the moment of contracting until the effective completion of the transport, linked to the indices that are published on the website of Mitma (Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda) .
- The incorporation of the penalty regime linked to compliance with the mobility package approved by the Community Regulations regarding driving and rest times and "returning the vehicle home" when doing international transport.
- The reinforcement of Mitma's inspection means with means of the Public Administrations to fight against unfair competition in the sector.
Improvement of the efficiency of the sector
It also includes another series of measures linked to improving the efficiency of the sector and its environmental sustainability, specifically, the need to modify, within nine months from the approval of the Royal Decree-Law, certain aspects of the regulations of masses and dimensions, in order to:
- Simplify bureaucratic requirements for the use of "megatrailers" and "duotrailers".
- Extend the maximum height allowed to 4.5 meters for certain highly priced types of transport with special needs.
- Increase the fields in which the 44 Tn can be used, also with a very specific approach.
Other measures
Other measures included in the Royal Decree-Law that contribute to improving the sustainability of the sector are:
- The creation of a Code of Good Business Practices in the contracting of the land transport of merchandise, which promotes fair, balanced and loyal relations between the companies that intervene in the contracting of the transport of merchandise. In addition, a State Register of companies that sign it will be established.
- The creation of a standard for the certification of loading and unloading areas in relation to the services and conditions offered to professional carriers.
Fuente: Mitma