A Freight Transport Association (FTA) study suggests that HGVs alone pay enough road tax to cover most of UK spending on road maintenance. RepGraph prepared the report for the FTA that also suggests that HGVs spend almost three times more in tax than the estimated damage that the vehicles do to roads. Together they pay 94% of the UK’s total spending on road repairs and maintenance.

The FTA research shows that between 2015-16, authorities with responsibility for the UK’s roads (central and devolved government as well as local authorities) spent only £4.7bn on road maintenance. The combination of HGV taxes – road user levy, vehicle excise duty and fuel duty – raised £4.4bn in the same period.

The report commissioned by the FTA estimated that the infrastructure damage by HGVs only amounted to £1.5bn. Meanwhile the total tax take from motor vehicles as a grouping was £33.5bn, more than seven times as high as the national road maintenance budget. Perhaps unsurprisingly the FTA is calling for more money to be spent…

Head of FTA national and regional policy Christopher Snelling said: “The fact that HGV taxes alone almost pay for the whole of UK road maintenance also shows that Britain still does not support the quality of the roads well enough.

“Whether it is potholes, road closures or long running road works, we all suffer when the roads do not work as they should. Congestion is bad for the environment as well as the economy. The UK Government should provide for more spending by Highways England and our local authorities to ensure the roads are fit for purpose.”

 
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