Carrier damage to pavement?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Jim Burrill

So, since they are allowed in the UK and the EU on highways,

Jim,

UK is part of the EU and allows them on the road, you can even put license plates on them and get a track driver's licence. You can drive one to work every day legally!

But, despite the fact that the EU tries to align laws and regulations across member countries, no tracked vehicles are allowed on the road in The Netherlands. One does need to get a permit for a special event, or make use of some of the loopholes which undoubtedly there are once you classify a carrier as agricultural vehicle or somesuch.

One thing is for sure: carriers are so light they do not damage the road in any way. If I were you I'd look into the maximum permissible load per square inch allowed in the highway code. The authorities will be astounded how much damage a big semi-rig is doing by compressing the tarmac with each wheel passing over and over again, most certainly when compared to the light load of a carrier. That is the prime function of tracks: spread the given weight of a vehicle over a greater area, so the vehicle sinks into the ground to a lesser extent. M29 Weasels have a lighter footprint than a walking soldier!

HTH,
Hanno