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Charlotte Haye 7th March 2018

HGV’s Don’t Ruin Roads – They Pay For Them

It’s a common complaint and one we hear all too often, ‘damn HGV’s, they’re ruining our roads’. But despite appearances, it’s not true at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. According to new research by the Freight Transport Association, the tax paid by HGV’s alone is almost exactly equal to the amount spend keeping Britain’s roads in working order – regardless of what you think of their current state.

HGV Taxes and Tolls

The FTA have commissioned a few different studies over the last few years. Among them was this one ‘HGV’s: Do they pay their way? Impacts on road surfaces’ – which you can download and read here if you like. And if you don’t, don’t worry – we’ll summarise it for you. The big headline statistic to come from the report is that the tax from HGV’s alone is equivalent to 94% of the total amount spent on road maintenance across the UK. Britain’s roads cost central and local governments somewhere in the region of £4.7 billion each year (according to figures from 2015 and 2016 spending reports). Motoring taxes paid by HGV’s over that same period (including fuel duty, VED and HGV RUL) totalled £4.4 billion.

When you look at all of the data, HGV taxes actually climb much higher than any other kind of vehicle on the roads by volume, including light goods vehicles. LGV’s total traffic volume was 3.78 (compared to 27.2 of HGV’s), and yet their total VED and Road User Levy only totalled £2,109 million, compared to HGV’s, which nearly doubled it at £4,422. In total, HGV’s paid 14% of all road taxes during that year, but only accounted for 9% of the traffic on the roads.

Harm to Roads?

So now we come to the real question – does the amount of tax they pay cover the damage they cause to the roads? Because yes, HGV’s are heavy vehicles, which means that they are going to put more pressure on the foundations of the road and cause long-term damage. People have also argued that HGV’s are to blame for potholes but since larger lorries have more axels to split the weight of their payloads evenly, this is still the subject of much debate. Going back to the figures – the headline stat here is that the marginal cost estimate for infrastructure damage imposed by HGV’s over that 2015-2016 time period was £1.5 billion – a whole £3 billion less than the taxes they paid to maintain the roads. Damage to the roads caused by HGV’s is estimated at around 9p per mile, which lead them to the estimated damage cost of £1.5 billion.

The final point of the report brought things back around to government spending. Because yes, the UK’s roads aren’t in great shape but HGV’s aren’t to blame, and they more than pay their dues for the damage they do cause. The real issue is that councils and government aren’t investing enough into road maintenance and that if the costs of road maintenance can almost be covered by HGV’s taxes alone – then where is the tax from the 91% of other road users going?

So, the next time you hear someone loudly declare that HGV’s are ruining Britain’s roads – you can tell them with absolute confidence that it’s not true, and that HGV’s pay for the maintenance of our roads instead. For more information on HGV’s on UK roads, or to start your journey to becoming a HGV driver, just get in touch with us today.

Charlotte Haye

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