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14th November 2002
14th November 2002
Page 1
Page 1, 14th November 2002
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Page 6

CROSSING WATER Glasgow City Council has given the go-ahead for

the first new road bridge across the river Clyde in Glasgow for more than 30 years. It is expected to cost about £8m. PROFITS...

Hauliers aim criticism ovei tests squarely at VI faults

re by Brian Weatherby and Jennifer Ball Operators have hlt back at claims that many of them are too lazy to adjust headlamp aim...

Ports on security alert after report of a truck loaded with explosives

• Ports around the UK are beefing up their checks on CVs following warnings of a possible attack on a ferry bound for the UK....

Page 7

Brown to take over from Betts

it Western Traffic Commissioner Philip Brown will become Senior Traffic Commissioner when Michael Betts retires at the...

Page 8

HSE warns on training

after man is crushed... by Emma Penny The boss of a now defunct Dorset haulage firm has been fined £10,000, plus almost £8.000...

....and tots hauliers to help with safety websh

• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is stepping up its campaign to control spiralling workplace accidents in haulage by...

New driver not trainer in bio wast

• A Welsh haulier who dumped 50 tonr biodegradable waste onto a landfill site t not licensed for that sort of material has...

New Gist strike threat

• Gist drivers at Carlisle are threatening another two-day strike over pay after carrying out through on their threat to take...

Page 9

VLA set to scupper charge

n Livingstone's controverplan to charge drivers ing central London could done by the DVLA:s poor d keeping, motoring Is are...

COMMENT

Testing times... Why do some people feel honour bound to meddle with drivers' hours legislation? And at the risk of sounding...

Page 10

Black Country link scrapped—agail

by Guy Sheppard Haulage leaders are to carry on fighting for a new motorway link road around the Black Country even though the...

Fair Trials Abroad needs cash for French project

• Legal pressure group Fair Trials Abroad is seeking funding for a research project to assess the way the French legal system...

Driver jailed for fatal accideni

A truck driver has been Jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to death by dangerous dr ving after his truck crashed Into a...

French drivers demand 13 month!

pay for 12 months' work—or else • French truck dnvers are threatening to strike and set up road blocks later this month in...

Page 12

Stowaway detector hears rumbling turns

• by David Craik A detector unit designed to Identify stowaways Iii trailers through low frequency sounds such as the rumblings...

Old drink off enc must be ignore'

HI 1-lauhers who reject job applications from drivers with spent convictions for drink-driving Could end up being sued, a judge...

Ambulance is wrecked by truck

• Kent police are hunting a hitand-run truck driver who collided with a stationary ambulance and drove off leaving a number of...

Cool reefer guide

• Transfrigoroute has launched a driver training pm gramme for the temperature-controlled sector as part a package of new...

Page 14

Free 24/7 advice line for hauliers

• Haulage operators can now get free employment advice over the phone or via e-mail 24-hours a day, seven days a week. PPMC...

Drivers group damc lack of night parldn

• The Drivers Action Movement has slammed the governme Ignoring the problem of a lack of overnight parking, which it cla...

Page 16

Time for a rate review

The initial annual test failure rate for trucks and trailers has increased for the third year running. So are operators getting...

Test failure rates—why have they gone up?

• While the 2001/02 VI Effectiveness Report is long on statistical data It's rather short on explanations. However, one reason...

Page 20

Getting better at being bigger

II Here's a bit of cheerful news: following the recent demise of Utility Trailers in the Montracon boss John Bryant reckons...

MONTRACON: WHAT IT DOES—AND WHERE IT DOES IT

Mentracon has four manufacturing sites in England and Northern Ireland producing some 3,000 units a year excluding rigids. The...

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IMPROVING THE AFTERMARKET AND SALES PACKAGE

I Montracon's next strategic goal "is to try and improve the aftermarket side", says Bryant. That means creating a nationwide...

Page 22

Oaf goes for urea

• Daf Trucks Is jettisonDig exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) techniques in favour of urea-based catalytic conversion in the...

Sales sinking

Truck registrations over 3.5 tonnes GVW rallied slightly during October after their dramatic 36% slump in September (Cif 17-23...

The Cat C12 proves a winner with Foden

• by Brian Weathoriey The popularity of Caterpillar engines in Foden chassis continues to grow at Cummins' expense, with 75% of...

Six Pomiers pave the way on MG

• This is one of a fleet of six French Pomiers ejector trailers now being used to help construct a section of the MO toll...

HIGH-ROOF VIVARO

A high-roof variant of the Vauxhall VIvaro goes on sa next Spring In short (3,001 and long (3,498mm) wheeibases, both with a 2....

Page 24

Prepare for the new Saxon invasiol

• Sandbach was the last bastion of British truck manufacturing. Come the end, though, ERF and Foden were shadows of their...

Page 26

Eighteen months ban for running trucks on paraffin

A Caerphilly haulier who ran his trucks or paraffin for four months has been kicked out of the industry for a year and a half....

L1111

Tirn Wooiey, trading as Cat Transport, of Cardigan, has received a formal warning about keeping inspection records and...

Scott licence hit by cheat drivers

The falsification of tachograph charts by two drivers employed by Wigtownshirebased Alex Scott &, Son while they were...

Page 27

Court disputes liars' defence

A driver branded a liar by a Crown Court judge has been ordered to do 200 hours of community service and to pay 1500 costs—and...

Tribunal urges a hearing to reconsider 0-licence

The Transport Tribunal has ruled that the revocation of a Brentford firm's Operator's Licence should be reconsidered by a...

Page 30

Chris here to help keep you profitable, professional and legal

every week: today Backfire is going to give you a golden tip on the profits front. Take a leaf out of farmer Harold Beer's...

The keen-eyed among you

will notice that in last week's test of the new Scania eXc cab our beloved editor-in-chief Brian Weatherley revealed his true...

Motorways services are usually renowned for of parking, dirty showers

and cold food; but for Chris Hallet and Susan Smith, dear old Newport Pagnell on t MI will always be associated with sheer...

TIME TRAVELLER

Our new column in celebration of the universal law...what goes around, comes around. 75 years ago 18 Nov 1927 The new Prince...

Page 32

MEE AXOR 1840LS ! PRICE AS TESTED: £48,266 (ex-VAT)*. ENGINE: 12

litres, 396hp (295kW). GCW: 40 tonnes. PAYLOAD: 26.1 tonnes. AVERAGE SPEED: 72.6km/h. AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION: 7.93mpg...

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DRIVERS' VIEWS

▪ ER TIMMS drives a Renault Premium 400 for Tiff out of Stoke. "No problem there," he said as he climbed In behind the...

Page 38

ver the past five years there's been a seachange in

fifth-wheel buying patterns, from dealer-fitment to line fitment. European Union standards in the shape of the 94/20/EU...

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IDERS

reckons that Big D's latest universal slider solution for both the company and operators want greater choice. "Our new slider...

Page 41

'DB FIFTH WHEELS

I The advent of 44-tonners means fewer operators are looking to we every last gram of weight so the UK preference for...

IOW

all■1101.1■1 FIFTH-WHEELS • Low-maintenance fifth-wheels Incorporate low-friction top-plates that eliminate the need for...

Page 42

DRAWBAR

COUPLI NGS • Drawbars are enjoying a new period of popularity, according to Tom Dee, sales manager for Marcar Steel and...

[till] II SAFETY

• HistoricaRy, drivers have the prime responsibility for checking that the tractive unit is safely coupled to the trailer....

Page 44

TOYOTA HIACE 300

I PRICE AS TESTED: £15,435 (ex-VAT). ENGINE: 2.5 litres, 101hp (75kW). GVW: 3,000kg. PAYLOAD: 1,135kg. FUEL CONSUMPTION...

Page 50

O vercapacity has been cited as one reason for an "astounding

decline in performance" among 177 of the UK's leading road haulage companies. The key indicators detected by Plimsoll...

Page 52

T o the manufacturer they are the "Bedford Self-Propelled Pumps"; to

everyone else they are the Green Goddesses. Built on Bedford S chassis between 1953 and 1956, and developed at least in part to...

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di It was recently announced that the British Government has

capitulated to a group of hauliers, led by a firm of London-based solicitors, who argued against the imposition of heavy fines...