BUSINESS MOVES
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LEASING PRINCIPALS GLASGOW SWITCH • Leasing Principals, the vehicle leasing and contract hire company, has moved its Scottish offices to new premises. It is now in the recently-formed St James Business Centre at Linwood in Paisley. For further details call JohnJeffi-ey on 041-840 2211.
DEALERS
T C HARRISON TRUCK CENTRE • Iveco Ford dealer IC Harrison (0733 558111) has opened its new Peterborough Truck Centre at Oxney Road, Peterborough, located close to the Al. The four-hectare site has had over £200,000 spent on it and has an eight-bay truck workshop, rolling brake tester and is a DTp-approved tachograph calibration centre.
In addition to its normal Iveco Ford service and repair work, T C Harrison also offers contract maintenance to third-party customers, and a 24-hbur heavy vehicle recovery service.
FERRIES
DRIVER TELEX ON SEAUNK
SEIILINKPFBRAN
• Drivers crossing the Channel on selected Sealink British Ferries can now send a telex to anywhere in Europe from the ship, even when at sea. By using the Ferry's Radio Telex a driver can transmit clearance details, delivery notes, timings etc, to a depot or agent without waiting till the ferry docks.
The following ships can provide the service: St Christoper/St Anselrn (Dover-Calais route); Hengist/Horsa (Folkestone-Boulogne route); Seafreight Freeway/Seafreight Highway (Dover-Dunkerque Dover-Zeebrugge).
The cost is 22.50 per 30 words (or part thereof), although contract rates can be negotiated for regular users. To send a telex from the ships, drivers should go to the purser, fill in a form with the message and return it to the Purser with the payment. On Seafreight ships, forms will be available in the drivers' lounge and should be taken to the radio officer once completed.
WESTERN DOCKS QUICK CHANGE • A Bureau de Change is now operating at Western Docks, Dover. It is run by Thomas Cook, and is open from 1800 to 0700 each night. The Bureau is in the car passenger lanes, close to the freight entrance.
The telephone number at Dover is (0304) 216033, although advance orders for exceptional currency requirements, or any enquiries during the daytime, should be made to Thomas Cook's Eastern Docks office on (0304) 205346.
TRAINING PTA HAZPAIC COURSES SET TO START
• The Freight Transport Association is running a series of Hazpak driver training courses to comply with new government regulations on the carriage of dangerous goods, due in April.
The two-day courses are being held in: Leeds (24/25 November), Birmingham (1/2 December), Stirling (8/9 December and 2/3 February), and Bristol (10/11 February).
Each course costs 2120 plus VAT; accommodation is not inchided. In-company courses can also be arranged. Half-day courses cost 2200 plus VAT; full-day ones 2480 plus VAT. This covers up to 12 drivers, with each additional driver costing £15, The FTA has seven instructors, including one at each of its five regional offices. The courses are recognised by the Road Transport Industry Training Board, and are open to members of the FTA and the Chemical Industries Association. For more information con tact the FTA training department on (0892) 26171.
TECHNOLOGY
IN-CAB INVOICING FOR TANKERS • A Danish computer system which can supply tanker drivers with direct-to-cab information through portable units makes in-truck invoicing possible, cuts paperwork and increases efficiency, its maker claims.
The system, called Sam-Link and made by Sam Project of Denmark, costs 22,800 per truck. Petrolink, which is marketing the computer in the UK, says it can handle other functions, such as trip routing, and accounting, and could enable firms with, for example, five lorries to save 23,000 a year.
Petrolink can be contacted on (0327) 79725.
ACCESSORIES
WEATHERSHIELD • EECO, the West Yorkshirebased vehicle accessory manufacturer is launching a new range of truck weathershields for driver's windows called Truckmasters.
Truckmasters are designed to allow fresh air ventilation in cabs without letting in draughts. They cost 219.50 plus VAT. Further details from EECO on (0274) 679524.
HEATED ICE SCRAPER
• Those desperately seeking Christmas presents for drivers will be interested in the latest product from Hastings-based Quickstep.
The Quickstep heated ice scraper is said to ease the arduous task of clearing screens in icy conditions. It contains a 12V rod heating element which reaches ice melting temperature within seconds.
Drivers simply plug the product's lead into the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket. The scraper costs 26.04. Telephone (0424) 52583 for more details.
CUSTOMS
WAREHOUSING CONSULTATION • HM Customs and Excise is reviewing the VAT treatment of supplies of dutiable goods in warehouses and has published a consultation document inviting comments from traders and other interested parties.
The present position is that trade on dutiable warehoused goods is VAT-free, so long as the duty has not been paid and the goods remain within the confines of the warehouse regime. This applies to both imported and home-produced goods.
The principal objective of the review is to enable Ministers to decide whether the law should be changed to make supplies of dutiable warehoused goods taxable in the same way as supplies of goods elewhere in the United Kingdom. The process is expected to be completed towards the end of June 1988.
The consultation document has been sent direct to trade associations and others known to have an interest. Copies may also be obtained from Keith Day, HM Customs and Excise, Room 307, Knollys House, Byward Street, London EC3 5AY.
LEGAL DATA PROTECTION
• Since 11 November, everyone now has the legal right to see what is held on computer files about themselves. This new right is the last element of the 1984 Data Protection Act to come into force.
Under the act, individuals can now obtain written, or printed, copies of information about themselves held on a computer, and can have inaccurate data corrected or erased.
Individuals can also go to court to seek compensation where they have suffered damage and associated distress caused by the inaccuracy, loss, unauthorised destruction or disclosure of personal data.
There is also a Registrar to whom complaints about the breaches of the act can be made. For further details call the Office of the Data Protection Registrar on (0625) 533777.
LEGISLATION SLOW MOVING BEACON REMINDER • Operators are reminded that amendments to the 1984 Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations, which take effect from 1 January next year, require a wide variety of slow moving vehicles to be fitted with amber beacons, when using unrestricted dual carriageway roads.
Vehicles crossing dual carriageways in the quickest possible manner, however, are exempt from the regulations.
The regulations apply to any vehicle with a maximum speed not exceeding 40km/h. Typically, this includes road sweepers and other public service veicles, as well as heavy haulage tractortrailer combinations.
SERVICES PARCELI NE ON SATURDAY • Parceline has added two new services to its Saturday delivery system. They are Courier Express-Saturday Collection, which gives priority to parcels and documents collected on Saturday for delivery before 10.00 on Monday; and AM Saturday Collection, which delivers parcels and documents collected on Saturday for delivery before Monday noon. For each consignment Parceline charge £10. Parceline is also offering a weekend trunking service by collecting on Sunday for Monday morning delivery. The latest option was originally aimed at airfreight companies around Heathrow but has now been extended to cover major contract users. Parcels have to be received from each of Parceline's 25 collection centres.
RATES ADVICE • Operators worried about changes in the rating system are being offered a free service by chartered surveyors Evans and Payne who also answer legal enquiries in the RHA's Roadway magazine.
Evans and Payne offer to help operators to fill in rating revaluation forms entitled 'Notice Requiring a Return for Rating Purposes'. The company regards the correct completion of the forms as vital, and offers to assist the operator to fill in the form without obligation.
Those operators unhappy about their subsequent rating may choose to instruct Evans and Payne to appeal the assessment in 1990, but a fee will be charged for this service. More details are available from Evans and Payne, on 01-486 9597.
COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONES FOR TRUCKS • Pan European Mobilefone, a dealership offering British Telecom cab phones and radio pagers with the "road haulage industry very much in mind" has opened in Felixstowe and can be contacted on (0394) 675170.
ROAD NEWS
M2S STUDY • Transport secretary Paul Channon has commissioned a study into the stretch of M25 between junctions 15 and 16. Traffic volume on this stretch have reached up to 130,000 vehicles a day. Channon says, "The time has come to take steps to add a fourth lane in each direction." The section from the M4 to M40 intersections is expected to present some difficulties for widening, so the Department of Transport is to appoint a consultant to ensure that traffic disruption during the work is kept to a minimum.