Commercial Motor articles from June 2004

Commercial Motor archives from June 2004

AT THE DOUBLE!(traffic congestions)
June 3, 2004... Would bigger trucks ease Britain's chronic congestion? Dick Denby thinks so and has built his own high-tech B-Double to prove it. Brian Weatherley reports. According to Dick Denby the root problem with congestion is that "we're spending...

Blackett hopes for M6 Toll cut.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... A business leader believes the M6 Toll operator may be about to introduce a temporary reduction in charges for trucks. Jerry Blackett, chairman of the newly formed West Midlands Business Transport Group, says concessions could be granted...

Brand new ; territory.
June 3, 2004... The Jeep name is a generic for all things off-road and now it's taking the bumps of the CV market. Julian Milnes reports. Not many customers get the opportunity to name a manufacturer's vehicle, but that's how the new Pioneer got its name....

Carvell to stamp down on Royal Mail monopoly.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Paul Carvell, the chief executive of express freight group Business Post, has promised to mount a serious challenge to Royal Mail in the domestic mail market in the next few years. The firm's UK Mail division is targeting major bulk mail users...

Chart copies rejected by TC.(Traffic Commissioner)
June 3, 2004... An operator loses its repute and its O-licence after producing copies of tacho charts instead of the originals. Mike Jewell reports. An operator at the heart of a complex company set-up produced copies instead of originals when told to...

Crisis looms as oil price set to rocket.(Freight Transport Association)
June 3, 2004... FTA chief Richard Turner calls for a fuel price escalator to maintain profit margins. The CM newsdesk reports. Richard Turner, chief executive of the Freight Transport Association, has called for sweeping changes in the way the industry is...

Cross-Channel traffic on the rise... just.(Department for Transport)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The number of vehicles travelling to the Continent in the first quarter of 2004 rose 1%, but UK-registered vehicles making the journey fell yet again, according to the Department for Transport. UK vehicles carried six million tonnes out of the...

Customs pressures laundries.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Fuel launderers in Northern Ireland are using smaller and less sophisticated plants than they used to because of pressure from Customs investigators. The smaller plants, with an average capacity of 25,000-30,000 litres per week, can be easily...

Democracy means you!
June 3, 2004... Are you simply ignoring next week's European elections? Emma Penny investigates why having your say is becoming increasingly important. Panicking about the Working Time Directive? Worried about the Driver Training Directive? Confused...

DfT report shows that heavies rule the world.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The Department for Transport's report Transport of Goods by Road in Great Britain 2003 reveals that 95% of road freight is moved by CVs over 3.5 tonnes GVW. Between 1980 and 2003 the weight of goods lifted by rigids fell by 12%, while the...

Eastern wave is not going to make the shore.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... I keep hearing all this talk about how we are going to be swamped by a wave of East European drivers rushing to this country in search of the good life. Well, let me tell you now, it's not going to happen. While clearly there will be some...

Face up to it!
June 3, 2004... Truck dealers offering warranties must register with the Financial Services Authority by 14 July or face stiff penalties, including jail. Adam Hill reports. From January 2005 anyone involved in the sale of financial services must be...

Flash of hope for slow A96.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Scotland's FirsT Minister Jack McConnell has raised hopes of a substantial upgrade to the notoriously slow A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness. He says his "gut reaction" is to make the road a priority when Scotland's trunk road improvement...

Flexible friends.(Wheelbase Engineering)
June 3, 2004... Some operators will always need custom-made trucks. Brian Weatherley turns his eye to Wheelbase Engineering's special service. Behind the large band of "Joe Ordinary" hauliers who happily buy trucks and trailers off the peg there's a...

Fuel firm predicts a joyless high five.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Did you think the rise in fuel prices would be reversed? Forget it, says BP; we're facing at least five years of misery. Colin Barnett reports. Fuel giant BP has warned that the crippling cost of diesel is more than just a temporary blip....

Going, going, GONE!( T Roberts (Haulage Contractors))
June 3, 2004... With more than 60 years experience T Roberts in Sheffield closed its doors to a climate of absurd restrictions and red tape. It is a worrying trend when established haulage companies decide to sell up rather than continue in the face of the...

How now, brown cow?
June 3, 2004... Proposed new livestock regulations are in tatters after EC farm ministers failed to agree, but the existing rules give operators plenty to think about. Pat Hagan reports. As the European Union expands, the potential for disagreement among...

Improvement plan.
June 3, 2004... Can new boss John Buckley resolve the delays and organisational problems which have plagued Southampton Container Terminal? Chris Tindall asks the man himself. My introduction to John Buckley involves a firm handshake and the rather David...

Insulation firm gives low priority to transport.
June 3, 2004... A restricted licence holder has been given a final chance to improve its maintenance systems but had the margin removed from its licence after a Traffic Commissioner remarked that it had "managed to build a bad reputation in a short period of...

Kudos-seeker turns back the clock.(Bolton Crown Court)(Premier Pine)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... A Rochdale driver who fiddled his tachograph charts to gain respect as an efficient delivery driver has been given a 100-hour community punishment order at Bolton Crown Court and ordered to pay [pounds sterling]450 costs. Anthony Bennett had...

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!
June 3, 2004... Getting good drivers - and keeping them - is a problem that's vexing just about everybody involved in road transport. And, with the Working Time Directive looming, it's hardly likely to get any better. This is something that has been debated...

Lack of licence was a 'misunderstanding'.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Transporting office furniture in a vehicle without an O-licence has cost an Essex company [pounds sterling]700 in fines and costs. Ascension Commercial Services, of Lionel Road, Canvey Island, pleaded guilty before the Barking magistrates. In...

No more cosy relationships.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... So CM describes John Bridge as "uninspired" when he suggests the RHA and FTA have not been robust enough when dealing with the government (CM 27 May). Well I have been rather uninspired by what both trade associations have done for this...

Oliver's planning 'shambolic'.(Stuart Oliver)(dishonest drivers)
June 3, 2004... For the past six weeks operator Stuart Oliver has been in court to answer tacho charges. He denies knowledge of his drivers' dishonesty. Mike Jewell reports. Troubled Northumbrian operator Stuart Oliver has admitted that transport planning...

Parking drivers need to show more respect.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... A businessman is accusing truck drivers of turning an industrial estate into a rubbish dump when parking there overnight. Bob Green says the cul-de-sac leading to his motor sport brake company, BG Developments in Bromsgrove, Worcs, has become...

RMC logistics return in-house.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Chris Tindall reports on the decision not to renew a controversial TNT contract Cement giant RMC is bringing its logistics operations back in-house after its three-year contract with TNT ends in November. After controversially handing the...

Recognition grows for tanker drivers.(pensions for drivers)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Union leaders have launched the next stage in their fight to win a better deal for oil tanker drivers. More than 50 officials from the Transport & General Workers Union met on Friday (28 May) to discuss how to capitalise on the backing...

Residents want A44 bypass route.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Residents alongside the A44 are fighting to get a bypass built to divert trucks away from their roads. Members of the A44 action group claim the number of trucks using the route through Chipping Norton is growing, and locals are being blighted...

Rig debut at BTAC trials.(British Transport Advisory Committee )
June 3, 2004... ThIS weekend's British Transport Advisory Committee (BTAC) annual vehicle evaluation and fuel trials will feature the debut of a new 60-tonne outfit. As featured exclusively in CM this week (see page 50) Denby Transport's B-double outfit uses a...

Roderick unhappy with Salvesen.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The ousted chief executive of logistics group Christian Salvesen has revealed he was given his chairman's full vote of confidence days before being sacked. Edward Roderick's departure came a few weeks after the company issued the latest in a...

Roll on summer...(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Following a strong start to the year for light CVs, British Car Auctions has passed the traditionally slack Easter period with strong demand. UK business development manager, Duncan Ward, said some people had predicted demand would soften...

Root and branch.(Wrings Transport)
June 3, 2004... Wrings Transport is rooted in an old family firm, which has adjusted and changed repeatedly. Jennifer Ball reports. Walking into the transport office of Wrings Transport we're met by two bundling Highland terriers and Stuart Wring greets...

Surely some miss Stoke.
June 3, 2004... To devise a cunning plan for dealing with traffic problems in Stoke, a selection of local representatives were invited to attend a meeting. Barry Proctor soon realised he was the sole transport representative... Thud. Thud. Thud. That,...

THE LURVE TRUCK.
June 3, 2004... Take a stroll with us through the little sideroads of haulage, the diversions and detours, the quirky, the quixotic and the downright strange... In the underrated 1980s film War Games a teenager, bored with using his early home computer to...

Talk through noise problems with haulier urges solicitor.(FG Bond & Son)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... A lawyer is trying to keep a dispute out of court... Guy Sheppard reports. A lawyer is urging residents to sort out their differences with a family owned haulage business through dialogue rather than resorting to the law. Paul Carless, who...

The secret is service.(demand of used trucks)
June 3, 2004... Business is booming for the used division of Testwood Truck - and it plans to grow even more. Emma Penny reports. Lea Murrell is a very busy man. When CM turns up at his yard there's a couple looking at 7.5-tonners, another man turns up...

When East meets West.
June 3, 2004... Operators from across Europe gathered in Warsaw recently to discuss the possible effect of European Union enlargement on the road transport industry. Jennifer Ball reports. On 1 May this year Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia,...

World of wondrous variety.
June 3, 2004... Pallet systems have revolutionised the road transport industry in recent years and made a once-complex part of the industry a lot more efficient. The day I was introduced to a palletised system I thought to myself, "What could be easier?...

You can't have both sites says TC.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Residents' objections that led to the rejection of a planning appeal have also persuaded a TC to stop a construction firm operating from two sites. South Eastern & Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Christopher Heaps had originally granted...

euro striker online game.
June 3, 2004... Reckon you could do a better job of picking a winning football team than Sven-Goran Eriksson? Then enter our Euro Striker competition and you could be [pounds sterling]1,000 better off! Propped up at the bar down your local, wittering on...

on the rack.(system mechanic mobile toolkit)
June 3, 2004... You've bought the van, you've got the work but will all your equipment be where you can find it when you arrive at the job? If not, then it's time to invest in storage systems. Julian Milnes reports. Whatever your trade you can guarantee...

A CLEAN SWEEP.(Johnston Beam)(cleaning services)
June 10, 2004... When you've got a heavy cleaning job and it needs a specialist, who do you call? Try Johnston Beam. Emma Penny reports. You've got an airport runway that needs to be swept, and rubber skid marks from Jumbo jets landing that need to be...

ABI rep leaves JAGOLT post.(Association of British Insurers)(Joint Action Group on Lorry Theft)
June 10, 2004... Guy Sheppard reports on insurance chief's resignation from anti-crime scheme. An insurance chief has resigned from a Government-backed initiative to tackle truck theft after his industry was bitterly criticised for failing to do enough to...

AIMING HIGH.(Scania R Series trucks)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 10, 2004... The Scania R Series launched to wide approval, but the right-hand-drive versions will need to be really special if they are to top the flagship league. Scania's place at the top of most driver's wish lists has been under threat of late....

BRAKING EVEN.
June 10, 2004... Is it possible to overdo braking? Oliver Dixon talks to an operator who's found safety and savings from boosting his fleet's braking potential. Today's commercial vehicles may bear some vague resemblance to their forebears but, under the...

Bargains ; galore!(used truck )(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 10, 2004... Armed with a [pounds sterling]10,000 budget, our used truck buyer trawls through one week's CM private sales ads in search of a tractor. Chink... thud. That's the sound of Commercial Motor dropping through the letterbox and on to the...

Betz corruption charge is in the BAG.(Bundesanstalt fur den Guterfernverkehr (federal watchdog in German haulage industry) )(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... As CM went to press, reports were coming through that the vice-president of BAG, the German equivalent of VOSA, had been suspended following allegations that he was being paid by Willi Betz. The suspension comes after sweeping raids were...

Bosses' fears over financial repercussions of tribunals.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Guy Sheppard reports on new survey about effects of employment tribunals. Most transport and logistics bosses worry about the financial implications of being taken to an employment tribunal, according to a new government survey. The study...

Buckley's for Southampton Docks.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... "Buckley's Chance" is an Australian or New Zealand slang expression which means no chance at all. It is often shortened to simply "Buckley's". It suggests someone has little or no hope of achieving a particular aim. So has John W Buckley, the...

Call for better local services.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Jennifer Ball reports on the launch of a campaign to improve facilities for truck drivers in the West Midlands. Haulage leaders in the West Midlands have launched a campaign to improve the region's roadside facilities for truck drivers. The...

Calls for new steel in Coppergold.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... West Midlands Police are believed to be on the verge of resurrecting a specialised unit to tackle truck theft following a spate of bad publicity about its response to the issue. The team is likely to be much more focused on the Black Country...

Diversifying to be first past the Post.(Business Post)(Biography)
June 10, 2004... Business Post chief executive Paul Carvell is on the way to achieving his aims. But, he tells Dominic Perry, there is still plenty more to do. Paul Carvell, chief executive of Business Post, is a busy man. He's just got back to Birmingham,...

EXPANDED WASTELINE.(Chartered Institute of Waste Management Exhibition)
June 10, 2004... From 15-17 June the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management exhibition and conference at Paignton will showcase the best and the newest in the industry. According to the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management, more than 300...

East Anglia's as law-abiding as the rest of the country, thanks.(Letter to the Editor)
June 10, 2004... I write following the case quoted in the 20 May edition of Commercial Motor regarding the Great Yarmouth driver fined for tachograph offences. The argument put forward by the driver's defence lawyer claimed that :"...few employers in East...

FTA warns on hours.(United States. Federal Transit Administration)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The FTA warns proposed changes to drivers' hours rules will limit Saturday morning working and affect six-day-a-week services. The proposal has been devised by the Irish government which currently holds the presidency of the EU. UK operators...

Fuel hikes help finish another major fleet.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Heavy transport firm Range International Haulage has gone into voluntary liquidation citing rising fuel prices and the loss of a major contract. The North London-based firm called in liquidators Harris Lipman last Friday. Senior partner Barry...

In it for the long haul.(Department of Transport)
June 10, 2004... Irish enforcement agencies are cracking down on illegal hauliers . But are the enforcers' hands tied by a penalty system that imposes only meagre fines? Ann Marie Foley reports. The number of trucks stopped at roadside checks in the Irish...

Island hauliers overturn tarpaulin ruling.
June 10, 2004... Hauliers in the Scottish islands have overturned a Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) ruling to cover loads of hay and straw with a tarpaulin when travelling on local ferries. Local hauliers warned this procedure could make the loads more...

Lidl sign of using British operators.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Is a German supermarket chain importing German trucks and drivers to deliver throughout the UK? Chris Tindall reports. German supermarket Lidl faces a VOSA probe after former drivers and subbies complained about the use of German-registered...

Light market is slowing down.( light commercial vehicles)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Lower end of sector has peaked, but demand is strong for flats and tippers. After a strong start to the year, the first signs of a downturn in the used sector is beginning to show at the light end of the market, reports Glass's Information...

Magistrates don't buy English holiday.(Ivan English)(forged letter case)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... A driver who produced a forged letter to pretend he was on holiday when he was working and who failed to produce that week's tachograph charts has been ordered to pay [pounds sterling]550 in fines and costs. The driver's ruse was uncovered by...

Move to end Skye toll.(Skye Bridge toll)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Pressure is building to abolish the unpopular Skye Bridge toll: David Harris reports on the Enterprise Minister's proposal. The Skye Bridge toll could be abolished by the end of the year, the Scottish Parliament was told last week....

New twist in NI test-centre strike farce.(Northern Ireland)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The farcical situation created by strike-closed vehicle test stations in Northern Ireland is threatening to become even more ludicrous with the news that temporary certificates issued to operators will not be valid outside the UK. Nine of...

No-show Vixen Flag has licence revoked.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... A Welsh operator which failed to turn up at a Cardiff disciplinary inquiry has had its licence revoked. Vixen Flag of Newport, Gwent, had been called on to explain its poor maintenance systems and a string of prohibitions. The company, which...

Now Upper Austria wants to ban trucks.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... A second Austrian region is attempting to ban trucks from using non-strategic A-roads except for local deliveries. Upper Austria wants to ban trucks for environmental reasons in response to a campaign by re-sidents. This follows an attempt at a...

Particle accelerator.(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 10, 2004... Over the years there have been many impressive claims for fuel additives - but in the case of Envirox those claims are backed up by compelling evidence. Rising fuel prices guarantee one thing: a flurry of new devices designed to save fuel....

Pass it on...(fuel prices )
June 10, 2004... Pressure is mounting on operators to pass on fuel cost rises, but it's difficult, as CM's investigation reveals. Fewer than 20% of operators will be able to pass on the extra costs imposed on them by rising fuel prices, according to CM's...

Peaceful but resolute: fuel protests are back.
June 10, 2004... As fuel prices continue to escalate the first truckers' protest has hit the road - and CM was the only road transport magazine on the spot. Almost 250 trucks took part in a peaceful fuel demo last weekend, supporting a protest convoy...

Persistent tacho offender; is fined for 'buying time'.(altering tachometer records)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... A Southport driver found guilty of repeatedly falsifying tachograph records on overnight runs to London markets has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling [pounds sterling]1,450. Gerald Peet of Bond Lane, Banks, Southport pleaded...

Plaudits for new-look Commercial Motor.(Periodical Publishers Association awards)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Commercial Motor's new look has been winning prizes in the past month, scooping two wins and a highly commended award. We were highly commended in the Periodical Publishers Association awards - the Oscars of the magazine industry - where we...

Pressure group calls for better pensions.(Transport & General Workers Union's demands)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Union officers representing oil tanker drivers are to press for minimum pension standards as a first step towards enhancing pay and conditions throughout the sector. A meeting of more than 50 Transport & General Workers Union delegates...

SPLIT DECISIONS.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
June 10, 2004... A mystery caller has left Brian Weatherley to ponder the meaning of tabloid journalism - and why we all need to live in the present. The man didn't leave a name; at least not one my answerphone managed to capture. At least I think he came...

Salvesen watches profits melt like the frost on peas.(Christian Salvesen PLC)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Logistics firm Christian Salvesen's pre-tax profits fell by almost 15% to [pounds sterling]17.1m in the year ending 31 March 2004; turnover fell 4% to [pounds sterling]846m. The disappointing preliminary results, released only a couple of weeks...

Silent killer.(Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002)(usage of asbestos fibers )
June 10, 2004... Asbestos fibres kill people, and a new law requires employers to check for this toxic substance and minimise the risk. John Davies reports. Everyone knows asbestos is dangerous. Concerns about its effects on health led to a total ban in...

Something is rotten...(profiteering)
June 10, 2004... The price of fuel's on the rise... and Brian Lee isn't taking the news lying down. After all, somebody, somewhere is making a big, fat profit out of it I don't believe it - the price of derv has risen again! Why is it that every time I...

Stevenson to help other innocents.(David Stevenson)(fair trials for innocent drivers)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Freed truck driver David Stevenson will fight to help other drivers jailed abroad for crimes they did not commit. Stevenson was released last month after spending 18 months in Dunkirk prison for drug smuggling. He was arrested at Calais on 9...

Suspension for driver who risked falsifying his tachograph record.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... A driver who failed to insert a tachograph chart at the beginning of his journey has had his HGV licence suspended for 28 days. Peter Wildman of Camwood, Bamber Bridge, appeared before North Western Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell after...

TONY WE'LL BE WATCHING...(Fuel Pricing)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... If Tony Blair's promise to review September's planned fuel duty increase is just a cynical piece of electioneering, then be warned, Tony: you will have one extremely annoyed road transport industry on your hands come September! With that...

Test station man joins DfT.(United Kingdom. Department of Transport)(Bob Tatchell)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The man who ran vehicle test stations for the past 10 years is taking up a new role in the Department for Transport. As operations director of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), Bob Tatchell oversaw the start of a big...

The gong's being banged already.(Road Haulage Association)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... So the writer of the column Hard Shoulder is seeking leadership for our industry (CM 29 May). He asks that a higher profile be sought by the RHA (and FTA) in highlighting the problem of fuel prices. Get out there and bang the gong, he says....

The real cost of doing a pal a favour.(S&G Logistics)(transportation investigations)
June 10, 2004... Despite maintenance offences and dodgy tax discs at S&G Logistics, its former transport manager didn't lose his repute. Mike Jewell reports. A transport manager has been warned by North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Tom Macartney over his...

This Channel's worth crossing.(DAF Truck dealer: Channel Commercials)
June 10, 2004... CM has been busy visiting dealers in the North and Midlands so for a change our latest dealer drop-in coincided with the annual open day held by Daf main dealer Channel Commercials. Daf dealership Channel Commercials used its annual open...

Truck robbers steal perfume and TVs.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Police are appealing for witnesses after a truck was hijacked and its load of perfume was stolen in Manchester. The incident happened at about 4.30am last Wednesday (2 June) at the Wardley Industrial Estate. The driver was asleep in his cab...

don't stop me now...(instruction manuals)
June 10, 2004... Get brake compatibility wrong and there could be serious consequences. That's why BPW has updated its guide. The issue of compatibility in trailer braking systems is a complex one to understand, but fail to get to grips with it and the...