Truck & Driver articles from July 2004

Truck & Driver archives from July 2004

THE PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS' INFORMATION UPDATE.(Great British Truckstops)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... GREAT BRITISH TRUCKSTOPS * Why spend your driving break at a noisy, crowded and overpriced motorway services when you could be experiencing good English food at the right price at a truckstop? Great British Truckstops is a new independent...

A dying breed.
July 1, 2004... Research for T&D's 2003 Truckstop Guide revealed there to be fewer than 200 traditional truckstops left in the UK. But two long-established establishments in the south Midlands still appear to be going strong, writes a replete Dave Young ...

ALE & HEARTY.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Abnormal Load Engineering was formed after the break-up of pioneering heavy haulage firm Wynns. Like its Welsh predecessor, ALE has vehicles based in the Middle East at Abu Dhabi, photographed on site by our roving boat-captain correspondent,...

ABNORMAL NH12.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... British-registered Volvo NH12s are still a rare sight: here's one recently acquired by MDF Transport, based in Great Yarmouth. The man at the wheel is Dutch ex-pat Wil Van Os (right), one of the most experienced drivers we had the pleasure of...

Any Goodyear.(Goodyears Search of Brave Drivers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... good guys out there? The world's largest tyre manufacturer is launching a search to find a UK motoring hero. Goodyear is looking for a truck or bus driver whose outstanding act of bravery is worthy of the 'Goodyear Big Hero Award...

Appeal over unsafe conviction.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Lawyers have argued that a lorry driver who was jailed for four years over the death of a motorist has had his human rights violated because the seven-month trial was so 'inordinately and unnecessarily long'. Victor Coates, of Felixstowe,...

BACKING A WINNER.
July 1, 2004... ombine a lifelong fascination for big trucks with a healthy passion for exotic, Italian motors and the result is bound to be striking - and Jimmy Hanna's Ferrari-adorned XF is certainly that. Like many children of the Seventies, Jimmy gained...

Baker uses his loaf.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Truck driver Garry Baker has found literary success after writing a novel about love and jealousy. White Lilies has been flying off the bookshelves at Bargain Books Plus in Baker's home town of Spalding. He took 18 months to finish the...

CAPITAL DELIVERIES BY DISC?(Freight Transport Association's proposals)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A disc system for vehicles making legitimate deliveries in the capital is one of the ideas contained in the Freight Transport Association's new document Freight Solutions for London. The Freight Transport Association believes that the disc -...

DOWN TO THE WTD; DETAILS.(Working Time Directive)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Although broadly welcoming the government's publication of how the Working Time Directive will be put into practice in the United Kingdom, the Transport & General Workers Union has said that the details still need to be worked out. Over the...

FANCY A JOB WITH ASDA?(ASDA Group PLC)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Back among the trade stands, a Scania Topline 470 in the colours of Asda caught our eye, prompting T&D to wonder, since when did supermarkets run such tackle? The answer is since the company decided to offer it on rotation, to be driven for a...

FORKING OUT FOR A DECENT FLEET.(S C Transport )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... First-timers S C Transport brought along two units and a rigid plant carrier (along with a trailer converted to a living van), almost half of a fleet that also includes four tippers. We were particularly taken with the rigid, a stretched...

Flex for higher pay?(Flex Recruitment)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Midlands-based Flex Recruitment, an agency that has just entered the driver market, is hoping to lure truck drivers from general hauliers so that they can work for blue-chip companies at higher pay rates. An ambitious plan has been set up to...

Gas attacks are on the up.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Gas attacks on truck drivers are becoming increasingly common, according to the findings of the first-ever UK-based study looking at the problems of security in the haulage industry. The Research On Attacked Drivers (ROAD) campaign, carried...

Going for the full Monty.(Montgomery transport)
July 1, 2004... Considering changing your job, or just keen to know if the grass is greener elsewhere? Each month our Fleet Focus insider guide sets out to discover what transport firms are really like to work for by asking bosses and (confidentially) the...

Hot on speeding.(Currie European Transport)(safety campaign)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Well-known Scottish haulier Currie European Transport is taking a lead in warning drivers to watch their speed on the A77 between Ayr and Stranraer. Car drivers have been known to complain about Currie lorries travelling too slowly along the...

JUSTICE FOR DRIVERS.
July 1, 2004... Amidst Truckfest's rows of shining trucks, a new campaign was launched to highlight the plight of detained international drivers and demand a change in their legal treatment. Justice for Drivers is the brainchild of Paul Le Grys (below), a...

Jolly Jumbuck.
July 1, 2004... Proton's name for its new pickup - Jumbuck, Australian vernacular for a sheep - is fitting, as it's a sheep in wolf's clothing and is more suited to cash-strapped recreational users, reports Dave Young Give a 12-year-old boy a box of...

MY SCANIA.
July 1, 2004... LOVE ME, LOVE

demand.(Manpower Driving )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Manpower Driving is poised to double its United Kingdom office network in the next two years to meet growing demand for drivers. Andrew Blakesley, director of Manpower Driving, is optimistic about future growth: 'The provision of driving and...

New EU driver bonus.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Manpower believes that drivers from new European Union countries could help plug the driving skills gap in the UK. A spokeswoman for Manpower believes that threats to UK jobs will be 'minimal' but that drivers from new member states would be...

No ID at MoD.(Ministry of Defense)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Sun has claimed that a lorry driver spent the night at a military base without being stopped or asked for ID. The incident allegedly took place at the Royal Logistics Corps Sea Loading Centre in Marchwood, Hampshire. The newspaper claims...

OLD WORTHIES OF WORTHAM.(L L Warren & Son )
July 1, 2004... L L Warren & Son of Wortham, 'centre of the universe' near Diss, is also an aficionado of old kit and had travelled down mob-handed with the haulier's six-strong fleet of 2 and 3 series 'geriatric' Scanias. This lowloader and haulage fleet...

Poplar's Special pricing.(Poplar 2000: truck stops)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... I know decent truckstops are few and far between but it seems that owners of our major truckstops are under the impression they can charge whatever they want. Recently I decided to call in at Poplar 2000 in Lymm as I was running short of...

Poplar's Special pricing.(Experinces & Narratives)
July 1, 2004... I know decent truckstops are few and far between but it seems that owners of our major truckstops are under the impression they can charge whatever they want. Recently I decided to call in at Poplar 2000 in Lymm as I was running short of...

Prisoner pros and cons.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The government's recent suggestion to allow prisoners to train as lorry drivers has sparked strong reaction from drivers and trade associations (News, Truck & Driver June). According to the Sunday Mail newspaper, Anderson Roadrunners in...

SUBBIES URGED TO USE PROOF-OF-DELIVERY SYSTEM.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Logistics firm Kuehne & Nagel is asking all its United Kingdom sub-contractors to buy into its new e-POD electronic proof-of-delivery (POD) system. The firm, which used more than 400 subbies in the UK last year, wants all UK sub-contractors...

Seeking safety stars.
July 1, 2004... Motorway service area operator Moto has joined forces with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) to find Britain's safest drivers. Six finalists in three categories - trucks, cars and motorcycles - will have to prove their theoretical...

T&G goes for 100%.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Transport & General Workers Union is stepping up its recruitment drive in a bid to reverse the trend of dwindling membership. The union's new '100 per cent' campaign is designed to make sure that all employees in the thousands of...

TO THE POINT.
July 1, 2004... Recently we've heard from a host of newly-qualified T&D readers bemoaning the ex-perience trap. It's easy to empa-thise with their frustration; you spend your own dosh training for an industry with a labour shor-tage only to find you can't...

TONKA TINKERER.(Vintage Excavator Trust)(Andy Wolfenden )
July 1, 2004... All Andy Wolfenden wanted for Christmas was a yellow Tonka dump truck but it never came, not even on his birthday - so now, a good many birthdays later, he has a full-size one. David Bowers meets the big kid and his even bigger AEC 760, now...

The freedom of the city.(freight consolidation centre)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Bristol City Council has team-ed up with Exel Logistics to develop a freight consolidation centre in a bid to cut vehicle movements by 50%. The idea is believed to be a first for a major city, although Exel manages a similar scheme for the...

T&G DEAL AVERTS FUEL OIL; DISRUPTION.(Shell Direct)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Strike action by Transport & General Workers Union oil-tanker drivers at Shell Direct in Scotland was averted at the eleventh-hour thanks to a breakthrough pay deal. Pat Rafferty, T&G regional industrial organiser, said the deal would now...

shortage? ; what shortage?(heavy goods vehicle licence)
July 1, 2004... T&D recently asked drivers what needs to be done about the current recruitment and retention situation in the industry. As an HGV licence holder for 30 years, Robert Roweth provides an insight into his view of current practices and argues...

man and boy.
July 1, 2004... Lexie and Adrian Duddy, a father-and-son team who drive for Ulster-based Eglinton Fast Freight, were sceptical of the switch to an MAN TGA apiece - but now, with plenty of clicks behind 'em, they could not be happier hen the MAN TGA was...

FERRY NEWS.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... * Brittany Ferries' [pounds sterling]100 million investment in the new ro-ro ship Pont-Aven is intended to reduce the sailing time on its Spanish service to 18 hours - quicker than the time truckers could legally drive that distance,...

Train track tragedy.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... British Transport Police are trying to work out how a lorry driver came into fatal contact with an overhead rail cable while trying to help a trespassing teenager at a train depot. It is believed Andrew Clack, who worked for Laindon...

U-turn on parking.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Westminster has become the first of London's councils to think again over parking fines in the face of mounting pressure from businesses and delivery firms. Councillors have finally put up their hands and admitted that Westminster has a...

Vasey comes out fighting.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Driver John Vasey, who has been holed up in Perpignan prison on drug-smuggling charges for more than a year, has been released on bail following the payment of a g5000 fine. Vasey, an owner-driver, told all his supporters on Trucknet UK's...

a capital idea, dick!(Genve-Mont Blanc route)
July 1, 2004... If you're in the area of Genve and heading for Calais and home, any route that avoids Paris and its peripherique ring road has to be worthwhile considering. Dick Flute is your guide The main purpose of this report is to point out the...

blimey o'reilly.(O'Reilly Transport)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Two of the 15 new FH12 Globetrotters deli-vered recently to O'Reilly Transport. The firm now operates 45 units on this side of the water, all Volvos and all less than three years old. The units pictured belong to Mick 'Slap my Top' (don't ask...

diary dates 2004.(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... Truckfest series, 2004 Driffield, Yorks, June 5-6; Shepton Mallet, Somerset, July 3-4; Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh, July 31-August 1; Haydock Park, Lancs, Sept 18-19. Grampian Transport Museum dates. Alford, Aberdeenshire; tel...

double pride and joy.
July 1, 2004... 'My boyfriend, Lee Hawke, is a 26-year-old owner-driver from Barnsley, Yorkshire and this is his pride and joy,' writes Rachel Cotney. No, surely Rachel, you are - especially now you've got Lee's impressive P-reg Daf into the pages of T&D.

golden handshake.
July 1, 2004... Feeling lost and unwanted? Show this to your guv'nor: Black's World-wide Movers of Brechin so value driver James McAndie that they bought this rig to celebrate his 50th birthday. The roadtrain was supplied and built by MI Commercial Bodies of...

news from the farside.(R series Mack)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CORPULENCE IN THE CAB Truck driver Walter Geter, aged 49 and weighing a hefty 412 pounds (29st 6lb), said he was sacked from his job because he could not fit behind the wheel of his truck. After filing his grievance through the Teamsters...

Pda's PAT SAYs.(Professional Drivers Association)(Pat Nicholson)
July 1, 2004... First thing to report is that the PDA Parking Petition is to be brought to the attention of the transport minister and the Health & Safety Executive by our local MP, Malcolm Moss. Paul Le Grys and I had a meeting with him and, on hearing...

poetry, please!
July 1, 2004... Kate Mclean, 12, who hails from Alnwick in Northumberland, has put her feelings about her dad and his truck into verse. Move over Andrew Motion, our current poet laureate! My days are spent driving a big hook It's getting on but still...

Reigning in spain.(FIA European Truck Racing Cup)
July 1, 2004... Excellent early season form continued in Spain at the Circuit de Catalunya for British Racetrucks hope Stuart Oliver. Jonathan Reeves reports from the 2004 FIA European Truck Racing Cup, Round 2 Brit Stuart Oliver continued his excellent...

useful internet sites.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... * MIA Online is a new membership-based internet site that allows the medical records of members to be stored and edited by members themselves or, under their supervision, by their medical professionals. MIA claims to be of particular use to...