Development of road freight transport is led by economic growth and efficiency. The impact of road freight on infrastructure is very important for road authorities. Physically, the impact on pavement is directly linked to the pressure exerted by vehicle loads, which highly depends on global vehicle weight but also on tires configuration. Looking for more cost-efficient transport, hauliers are looking for trucks that have lower maintenance costs with higher loading capacity. To address this demand, tire manufacturers together with truck manufacturers have progressively developed wider tires to replace twin wheels on axle. This has been widely adopted in Europe, and is spreading over the world. Very few regulations explicitly restrict use of wide base tires or impose use of dual tires assembly.
For countries which are facing important traffic growth perspective on quite new infrastructure with relatively low traffic, it is important to get a better understanding of the acceptable configurations, or at least to get a better knowledge of the various factors that have to be monitored or regulated. Balancing hauliers and road authorities points of view seems also very important.
This report aims at giving a quick overview of studies that have been carried out, the configurations that are used, and when possible the evolution and history that led to the current situation.
The briefing note will not give “the solution” but references and materials that should help authorities to define their policy on this issue.