Truck & Driver articles from May 2002

Truck & Driver archives from May 2002

End of the road for ERF in the UK.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... An era of British truck building will end in June when ERF ceases its manufacture of the ECS and ECX ranges at its Middlewich factory. Half the workforce, more than 200 skilled people, will lose their jobs when production of a new model...

Loophole.(medical condition leads to licence loss)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... grandfather rights Driver Eric Carter is annoyed and frustrated that is not able to drive any more because he let his licence lapse, resulting in loss of his grandfather rights because of his medical condition. Carter, aged 67, has...

GILL'S own show.(Roy Gill)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Roy Gill, best known for carrying away armfuls of awards from truck shows, is now set to organise one of his own. With an emphasis on newcomers and working trucks, the Peak Truck Show - organised by Gill and his partner, Sarah McGregor -...

All change for new season.(European Cup 2002)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The most successful team in European Cup truck racing will have a totally new look for the 2002 season. Mansfield-based Atkins Racing is switching from Supertrucks to Racetrucks, changing from Mercedes-Benz to MAN and will start the new...

DRIVER FORCED TO COMMANDEER TRAILER.(Lindner fails to pay employee)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... A driver employed by Austrian firm Lindner has told T&D he was forced to hold the company to ransom by parking up his trailer in Dover after he worked for five weeks without being paid. The sorry tale began when the driver, who wants to...

Parity for agency drivers?(employee benefits)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Agency drivers might soon be able to claim pension, sickness and holiday benefits from their employers as part of a new EC proposal to increase the rights of temporary workers. Under the scheme, companies taking on temporary staff might...

Minister turns down T&D.(John Spellar)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Transport minister John Spellar has turned down T&D editor Dave Young's invitation to take part in a meeting to discuss improving roadside facilities for truckers. A letter from Spellar's office said: 'We could not hope to convene a...

Thruxton festival of trucks.
May 1, 2002... A weekend of heavyweight action on June 15/16 featuring the highly competitive Anglo-French Truck Race Challenge is being developed into a real trucking festival, with plenty of off-track attractions in addition to the race action. ...

Snack Box to close?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Truck drivers are fighting to keep open a mobile fast-food bar, now threatened with closure, at the port of Felixstowe. A petition has been signed by 250 drivers appealing to Associated British Ports (ABP) to let the Snack Box fast-food...

Rebuff by Simpson Bros.(driver rejected)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Simpson Bros, a Newcastle-based haulier, has stated publicly that it needs tramping drivers (News Extra, T&D March) yet is turning away drivers willing to take on the job. John Lyden from Wales thought he was on safe ground approaching...

plain sailing.(trucker transports yacht)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Ever up for a challenge, Murray Grant - yet another former T&D Ed's Choice - hauled this yacht 700 miles from Havant, on the Solent, back up to his home town of Buckie, Morayshire. The boatyard owner was convinced it wouldn't fit Murray's...

capital, Clayton!(Clayton Richardson featured in truck driver guide to London)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Clayton Richardson, last seen in T&D when his Slough International Mercedes Actros was an Editor's Choice back in the Feb 2001 issue, has featured in a special truck driver guide to London. Written by frequent T&D correspondent (and...

First class.(Consignia PLC is replacing its truck fleet)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Troubled Post Office group Consignia is at least doing something right, according to one of its drivers. Dave Humphries, who took these photos (showing his new Daf CF 85) at the Royal Mail's East Midlands depot, tells us that the business...

qUicksilver.(Vauxhall introduces Sportiv Astravan)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Need a van but one that'll have to double up as personal transport too? Then if you're concerned about your image, don't want to compromise on style or specification and relish a racy looking motor, put the Sportiv - a new Special Edition...

junior journalist.
May 1, 2002... When he heard about a tragic accident in which a prizewinning local truck was written off, budding truck journalist Mark Grimley (right) decided to write a news report for T&D. He writes: 'Owner-driver John Smith's Scania 144.530 was...

truckin' marvellous!
May 1, 2002... Regarding the letter from Darren Leach (March T&D) about how many people disrespect lorry drivers, I'm very happy to say that I am not one of them. I think all lorry drivers do a magnificent job and have as much right to be on the road...

can you help research dvt?(deep vein thrombosis research)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham is carrying out research into the links between deep vein thrombosis and sitting in a truck cab for prolonged periods. DVT is a medical condition that hit the headlines because of its link with...

tunnels; of grub.(Eurotunnel PLC offers new food service menu)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Eurotunnel believes that the way to a driver's heart is through his stomach, and that's why it has completely revised its on-board club car menu. Until recently, eating beneath the English Channel was broadly comparable with eating...

Hanson Logistics.(personal management at Hanson Logistics)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Thinking of a career change, or just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side? Then this regular column has the answers. We try to discover what transport firms are really like to work for, so T&D doesn't just get the...

Cover story.(insurance coverage)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... A cautionary tale of what's covered - and, more important, what isn't - under personal insurance policies that are often given the hard sell by young women at truckstops. Sally Nash reports Spalding driver Andrew Olive wants to warn...

In brief.(includes brief articles on various topics)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... l Anyone hoping to exhibit a truck at Truckfest Peterborough on May 5/6 (see p14-15) will be disappointed as all space has been filled and there is now a waiting list of several hundred. Confirmed celebrities include Martin Kemp from...

still happy in canada.(Kevin Martin)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The following is another update on British driver Kevin Martin's experiences in Canada on the Four Corners Emigration programme. 'Winter is biting hard. Temperatures are dropping - with the wind chill - to as low as -40? in some places....

troublespots to watch FOR in APRIL/may.(highway construction, 2002)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... ACtion stations! A64 N Yorks, Top Lane, Copmanthorpe. Junction improvements; ends May 30. A38 West Mids, nr Withy Hill Rd bridge, Sutton Coldfield. New roundabout; work ends October. A38 West Mids, near Langley Brook,...

serial scanny.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Just when you thought it was safe to go back up the road... That Scania 2 series 145 conventional, JPY 958M, oft-featured in previous editions of T&D, has popped up again - this time in the colours of AV Dawson. The picture, from Bob...

novel novice.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Not yet quite old enough to take his LGV, Richard Hardstaff is honing his reversing skills on this Daf 2800 in the confines of his grandfather's yard. The still-smart shunting unit only came off the road in December 2000 and was part of...

show stoppers.(photographs of vintage trucks)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Here's a blast of summer sunshine - and steam - to take the chill off after all those icy winter days. Paul Strong snapped some of the trucks, wagons and steam lorries that took part in the Welland Steam and Country Rally back in sunny...

TO THE POINT.(government and transport)(Brief Article)(Column)
May 1, 2002... Support for business is a government mantra, a new politically correct ideology to be uncritically pursued no matter what the consequences. Sadly the Islington elite's definition of commerce is largely restricted to the City and a few new...

tropical tm.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... This remarkably well-preserved, ex-UK, 1984 Bedford TM3800, powered by a Cummins E290 engine, lives (and works) in the unlikely setting of the Caribbean island of Barbados. Hauling containers from the capital and port of Bridgetown, the...

TRUCKFESTTIME!(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Yes, it's Truckfest time again! On May 5/6 at Peterborough's East of England showground, T&D will be back for the biggest yearly gathering of the UK's lorry-fancying clans with a stand, a stage and music. Come and listen to our DJ and...

LONDON's; NICE LITTLE; EARNER.(lorry ban)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Is the London Lorry Ban an easy way of raking in cash on certain routes? Driver John Fitzgerald certainly thinks so - he faced fines and costs of around ?500 after he unwittingly broke the ban on the eastern approach to the Woolwich Ferry, as...