Truck & Driver articles from October 2005

Truck & Driver archives from October 2005

TO THE POINT.
October 1, 2005... Where are the NCOs? The what? The non-commissioned officers, sergeants and corporals, all too familiar to readers who've done a stint in the services, or even National Service. OK, having established the who, that leaves the why. As in: who...

A la Mode.
October 1, 2005... Modus is much more than a mere mode of transport. It's cute, practical and, with a new 1.5-litre turbodiesel boosted to a smooth, hushed 106hp, a hoot to drive, declares Chris Turner As constant road-users, you guys will have an eye for...

OF the trade.
October 1, 2005... TOOLS Spanners Scanias, among them a high-cabbed R-series Highline, are mighty fine mixers. Craig Sheer finds it a real wrench to leave them When Peter Spooncer left school three decades ago he had no doubts about the career path he...

Call to close footbridge over the M271.
October 1, 2005... The Redbridge Residents Association is calling on lorry drivers to contact Southampton City Council to request the closure of a footbridge over the M271, following a number of incidents where objects have been thrown at vehicles. The RRA's...

Freight strategy for Tyne & Wear.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Local authorities in Tyne & Wear are considering providing better signage and driver information in foreign languages, as part of a new freight strategy designed to cut congestion and make lorry journeys more efficient. Five local authorities...

Fuel trap warning.(Automobile Theft attempt)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... David Clark has contacted T&D to warn drivers to be on guard if they are approached by a woman and young child who claim to be out of fuel. On July 25 Clark had parked on the A1 northbound at Colsterworth. He had gone to bed at around 11pm,...

Full to bursting.
October 1, 2005... Dick Flute, whose eyes always were bigger than his stomach, finally meets his match at a German truckstop near Hannover on the A2 MAXI AUTOHOF LAUENAU A few years ago the first example of 'new generation' Maxi Autohof truckstops opened in...

HGV violence under international attack.
October 1, 2005... Are you on international work? Then your help is required for a survey on the growing problem of assaults on truck drivers A ll drivers on international work are being urged to participate in a new survey relating to attacks on truck...

Hayhurst Happy Snaps.
October 1, 2005... Heygates transport and distribution manager David Hayhurst reckons his happiest times as a child were trips out with his father Harry and his dad's Rolleicord camera. He shows Bob Tuck the end results A s transport and distribution...

Keep Kiddies Kontented.
October 1, 2005... Now that the school holidays are with us and you see loads of brats in the cabs, here are a few ideas to make future holidays just fly by: 'Kontented Kab Kiddies', a lighthearted look at those wonderful hours you might have with your...

Keep an eye on your Daf FA 45.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Police are concerned that Daf FA 45 series rigids are being stolen to order and are warning drivers and owners to 'take extra precautions'. The warning follows a spate of thefts of these trucks, particularly the 130 and 150 models. Detective...

MATTERS.
October 1, 2005... LEGAL Welcome to our new legal advice page, sponsored and written by transport and employment law experts Ford & Warren. Each month David Chant will address reader queries and the law as it affects you I s it true that on roadside...

SLIM.
October 1, 2005... MUD SLIDE Renault has put its Kerax four-axle tipper on a diet, Craig Sheer finding that the leaner Highway is aptly named as it copes better with the occasional blacktop Weight and strength are important in the tipper world. Coming...

Manslaughter for Mont Blanc.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... A French court has found three companies and 10 people - including a Belgian lorry driver - guilty of manslaughter for their part in the Mont Blanc tunnel fire in 1999 that killed 39 people. Gilbert Degrave, the Belgian driver whose vehicle...

Mirror extensions plea.
October 1, 2005... A coroner is calling for trucks carrying overhanging loads to be fitted with extensions on their rear-view mirrors after conducting an inquest into the circumstances of a fatal accident. Alan Crickmore, a coroner in Gloucestershire, is...

Model citizen.(Bob Armstrong celebrated his 80th birthday )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Gary Pratt writes that Bob Armstrong, a valued member of the Tyneside & Durham Truck Model Club, recently celebrated his 80th birthday - and as a special treat the other members of the club treated him to a surprise dinner at a local...

Motorway madness.
October 1, 2005... Do you know your M6? If so, you could win a selection of Motorway Sights Guides, written by M-way anorak Mike Jackson, to prevent you nodding off on your main-route travels How well do you know the M6 motorway between Carlisle and the M1...

Overnight parking provision for Norwich?
October 1, 2005... Norfolk-bound drivers might be happy to learn that part of Norwich's park and ride at Costessey could become a lorry park. The future of the site is up for grabs after the number of drivers using the park and ride scheme at Costessey has been...

Pain in Spain.(www.justicefordrivers.org)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Justice for Drivers is trying to raise awareness in the case of another British lorry driver who has been jailed abroad - this time in Spain. According to the lobbying group, Stephen Toplass has been convicted and sentenced to three years and...

NOT QUANTITY.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... QUALITY Forget about the numbers - if you're after sheer quality at a truck show, Bob Tuck reckons you should head for Alford, in north-east Scotland Want to see the cream of the crop? Then it's the Grampian Truck Show, held at...

Reader calls for body to oversee the industry.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... T&D reader Nick Blurton is calling for a new body to be set up to oversee incidents of fraud, deception and corruption in the haulage industry. Blurton believes that many drivers and hauliers lose money working for customers who take on...

Round Britain whizz.
October 1, 2005... Endlessly entertained at the UK round of Scania's Young European Driver of the Year 2005 was Lucy Radley, who witnessed one of 13 finalists, a stunned Lee Graves, walk off with the trophy The UK final of Young European Truck Driver 2005...

suited.
October 1, 2005... SHELL Although his Super Space XF Daf is adept at hauling shellfish, Kenny Tippett has to make it as a merchant as well as an owner-driver. Bob Tuck witnesses the rough and the smooth on a fishing trip to Orkney Some folk will envy...

SHORTS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... A driver from Yeovil-based haulier Nigel Day had a lucky escape when two massive steel beams he was carrying speared his cab and missed his head by inches. According to the Sun newspaper, the unnamed driver braked sharply at traffic lights in...

Somerset chick hitches a ride with gullible truck driver.
October 1, 2005... A baby seagull 'rode on top of a trailer like a surfer' after dropping onto the top of a refrigerated unit to travel 70 miles from Chard in Somerset to Devizes, Wiltshire. The seagull, which couldn't fly, hitched the ride on driver David...

Speeding fiasco of Folly Bottom on the A303.(penalty refunded)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... More than 4000 drivers have been let off speeding fines after courts heard evidence that signs were not up or were not displayed properly at roadworks. The fiasco happened at roadworks on the A303 at Folly Bottom, near Amesbury. The Wiltshire...

LIFE.(trucking path at Peru)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... HIGH THE The thin air of the Andes, feral street children, corrupt police. Peru is nothing if not a challenging environment for truckers. Claude Barutel reports The road from Lima to the Amazonian forest is worthy of a...

Thumbs down for Habay.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Standards seem to have plummeted at this Belgian truckstop For the first time ever we're forced to rescind a European truckstop recommendation - Habay, just off the E411/A4 at junction 29 in south-east Belgium, near Luxembourg. A few...

Tough dangerous goods rules.(safety for drivers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Drivers carrying dangerous goods now have to carry photo ID as part of new United Nations security measures. The new rules on dangerous goods were put forward after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York. The first rules apply to the...

Trusty Truswell.
October 1, 2005... 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 drivers about pay, terms and conditions Occasionally you find an operation that's...

Vintage send-off.
October 1, 2005... The Leyland Beaver pictured here is still a working truck but it hauls unusual loads - it's a 'hearse' for David Hall's firm, Vintage Lorry Funerals David Hall runs a rather different style of transport business, moving, well, people. He...

Bored.
October 1, 2005... by a rigid? If so, then you should get your boss to consider one of these two 18-tonners, the Daf CF65 or Mercedes-Benz Axor. For which one, read on Once the mainstay of middle-distance haulage and distribution work, the workaday...

diary dates 2005.(Calendar)
October 1, 2005... September 3-4 Coventry Festival of Motoring, Coventry. Details: Nicola Roach or Lucy Rumble, Coventry Transport Museum, tel 024 7683 2425, email nicola.roach@coventry.gov.uk or lucy.rumble@coventry.gov.uk September 3-4 South Eastern Festival...

'Discrimination' at Folkestone Docks.(sex discrimination )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Folkestone Docks could be falling foul of the Sexual Discrimination Act by not providing toilets and showers for women, according to lawyers (News, T&D Sept). The lawyers state that the failure to provide these facilities could 'potentially'...