In August, the association lost a fast-track legal challenge against the Dutch government. It had argued that the change in law, in addition to being expensive, would be unenforceable, since the last traces of red dye can take months to wash out of crane fuel tanks. But the judge found that the process that the government took was legal, and denied the legal challenge.
Now, the VVT returns to the higher court in The Hague to appeal the decision on different grounds.
“We are asking for extra attention of equal treatment of cranes with number plates [street-legal] and without. Building equipment without number plates is still allowed to work on red diesel, and mobile cranes with number plates are not allowed to use red diesel any more,” said VVT director Lion Verhagen.
The process will take three to four months, Verhagen said, and in the meantime Dutch mobile cranes will have to run on white diesel.
