AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

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15th December 1988
15th December 1988
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Page 1, 15th December 1988
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C utting fuel consumption is the major factor in lower operating

costs. A skilful driver has the key to this in his use of the gears and gearshift system. ZF synchromesh gearboxes and double-H...

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o axe RTITB

:itude at the opening of an house training school at Sutas of St Helens: "Not a singtraining school has been ened in London or...

National strike now looming at RMC

• The National Owner Drivers Association (NODA) is meeting tomorrow (Friday 16 December) to vote on a national strike at RMC...

MI The London Borough of Hounslow is the new owner

of an Edstrom interior for one of its service vans — courtesy of transport manager George Beckham (centre), who won the...

1996 40-tonne wait limit

IN Britain seems set to fight a European Commission plan to end the UK 38-tonne weight derogation for trucks by 1996....

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Brakes defeat truck fitters

• Many workshop fitters are so seriously under-trained that they are unable to maintain complex modern braking systems: 90% of...

Sales boom runs on

• Commercial vehicles sales are still riding high. November registrations were up 19% to 32,338, according to the latest...

• The Government has not ruled out the possibility of

speed limiters for trucks. In the Commons last week, Roads and Traffic Minister Peter Bottomley hinted that he may take action...

Cram: tighter on torque

• Ten people have died and 24 have been seriously injured in the past five years by wheels falling off lorries, it was revealed...

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• Tri-Ox of Swindon, Wiltshire has produced an ozone generator

for temperature-controlled vehicles and containers that prevents the contamination of perishable goods by killing airborne and...

10 Public cleansing and refuse collection vehicle exhibits at the

forthcoming Transpublic 89 Show in Geneva on 17-22 January will include a number of new developments such as this Swissbuilt...

Dustmens' toil made simpler

• A novel refuse collection and transfer system has been developed by Edelhoff of West Germany using speciallydesigned low-cab...

Spring debut for new Super E ERF

• ERF's E14-365 tractive unit, equipped with the yet-tobe-officially-launched revised Super E Cummins 14-litre engine, will be...

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• Runcorn-based fifthwheel and trailer-landing-leg manufacturer DaytonWalther has joined the

elite group of 292 British manufacturing companies to have gained BS5750/1S0 9000 Part 2 approval. General manager Cliff Cook...

• After two years in business, Chesterfield-based Victoria Concrete Mixers

says its units are "making real inroads into the established market". Director Alan Thompson is now making about 30 of his...

• TEC Transport Equipment & Components is developing an air-suspended

tri-axle module for low-loaders which will have a steered rear axle. 1 , Two prototypes have already been supplied and, says...

TNT upgrades its fleet

I TNT Express UK has put I aerodynamic 12.2m parcel mi-trailers into service as the st consignment of a £2.7 milli, 150-vehicle...

Cleveland shows fire tender off at London Design Centre

• A scale model of Cleveland County Council's prototype emergency fire tender, designed jointly with Cleveland Fire Brigade and...

flercedes-Benz's 'it axle option

1 Mercedes-Benz (UK) is ow offering an uprated Leered axle as an option on its 617 17-tonne rigid to provide reater loading...

• Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited York Trailers last week

to look around the bodybuilder's Northallerton factory and try her hand at rivetting a van roof. York Group managing director...

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• Paper and distribution group Bunzl has denied rumours that

it plans to sell its parcels business United Carriers as part of a longterm move out of transportation to concentrate on its...

• Peterborough-based trailer rental company Trailblazer, set up in February

this year, is convinced there is room for the little man in an industry of giants. Its managing 1 director Jack Godfrey plans...

dad again

• Whittle International Freight of Preston has upped the frequency of its Baghdad shuttle service to twice a week following the...

Bill's three

• Southampton haulier British Iberian International Transport has opened its third Continental depot, in Bordeaux. It has...

When fuels rush in ...

• A new nationwide diesel fuel bunkering service has been launched by Fuelink, a subsidiary of BRS. The system works like a...

DSS doles out to Lynx

• Parcels company Lynx Express has won its biggest contract — worth a seven-figure sum over three years — with the Department...

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• Bees Contract Services has just invested 22 million to

develop its Beeline Truck Rental company and has expanded its fleet to 110 vehicles. It has been a year of fast growth for the...

Fed Ex hits jackpot with Littlewoods

I Federal Express this week [aimed to have become the fIc's biggest private parcels anier by buying Littlewoods' ,100-vehicle...

;alvesen up

I Christian Salvesen has rerded a 14.4% increase in re-tax profits to £27 million ir the half-year to the end of eptember,...

• Commercial vehicle rental and contract hire company Ideal is

adding six Renault R340 tractive units, a dozen G170s and 15 S08 130 Midliners to its fleet of 400. The vehicles will operate...

• TNT Express Europe will set up a new northern

hub at Liverpool airport next month, using its British Aerospace BAe 146 QT jet planes to offer a dedicated service to and from...

Clean round the country

• Tankclean, Tankfreight's network of tanker wash stations, has bought an independently-run station on Teeside and is building...

• National Freight Consortium shareholders have approved Sir Peter Thompson's

plan to go for a stock market flotation early in the new year (CM 8-14 December) and to change the company's name to NFC plc....

• Councils save 22% by putting their refuse collection services

out to private contractors, according to a report this week from the Economic and Social Research Council.

• Bulk fuel buyers should take a tough line against

attempts to bump up dery prices over the ChristmasNew Year holiday, says the Freight Transport Association. Suppliers have made...

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• Eastern Counties' fiveminibus operation in Boston came to an

end last week, when the company handed its routes over to local operator Lincolnshire Road Car. Five town routes were started...

• London Buses has sent several letters of complaint to

Greater Manchester Buses because the company is running eight ex-LBL Routemasters in West Didsbury still in the traditional...

Ex-staff start NS competition

• Four senior staff at Northern Scottish have resigned to set up a new bus company, Alexanders (North East), in direct...

Blands plans to woo commuters away from trams

• Lincolnshire coach firm, Blands of Stamford, is planninj a 'commuter express' to beat massive price increases in Brit ish...

OBC in parking dispute

• Parking tickets have been handed out to Oxford Bus Company drivers at Oxford's Gloucester Green bus station in a dispute over...

Yellow flyers fill Charlie's gap

• Yellow Buses is now operating minibuses on five new routes under the banner of "yellow flyers". Eight new Freight Rover...

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Groups rally against EC

• Voluntary organisations and community transport groups have joined forces to fight the proposed changes in PSV licensing...

II Bus operator London Cityrnma has surrendered its London Regional

Transport contract for route 200 because of persistant engineering problems which affected its service performance. Kingston...

• Four new London Regional Transport midibus services in Surrey

Docks, Peckham and the Isle of Dogs, have begun operation. Routes P4 between Surrey Docks and the Isle of Dogs, which restores...

Scottish trio joint holiday venture

• Three Scottish operators have combined resources to launch a tourist service called Goldcrest Tours. Grampian Regional...

Dennis dominates local authorities

• A fleet of 17 new Dennis Dominators has been delivere to local authorities, all bodied by Blackburn-based East Lancashire...

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Jennings loses appeal

• Wrexham-based Jennings Haulage and one of its drivers have lost appeals against fines imposed for overloading by Chester...

Mauglian warned on Bradford dep

• Bristol-based Peter Maughan Transport appear& at disciplinary proceedings b( fore North Eastern Deputy Licensing Authority...

Tetley awaits a verdict

• Brewing giant Joshua Tetley & Son has to wait to see whether North Eastern Licensing Authority Frederick Whalley is to impose...

• Joseph Hoyle Transport has been cleared of using a

semi-trailer without spray suppression when magistrates accepted that the prosecution had failed to prove that the company was...

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• Licensing Authorities cannot wave a "magic wand" and put

right all the environmental matters that worried people, said West Midland Licensing Authority John Mervyn Pugh last week when...

Drgan can play

Cin two pitches I Operators which have the line vehicles authorised at vo different operating centres id which move them from...

Romac drivers fined over hours

• Six Romac drivers have pleaded guilty at Dover magistrates court to falsifying their tachograph charts. The drivers, all...

D&E Coaches has licence returned

• A Welsh PSV operator who is to be presented by the Welsh Under Secretary of State with the keys of a brand new Mercedes coach...

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POINTS ON PROCEDURE

• Commercial Motor should be congratulated on its article on weighing facilities in Warwickshire (CM 22-28 September) and its...

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BUSINESS MOVES

GKN DELVES INTO DEVON • GKN Autoparts has opened a new truckparts centre in south Devon which is now open for business and...

INTERNATIONAL

THE ITALIAN JOB • Motorway toll booths at Santhia and Alice Castello on the Santhia-Ivrea stretch (A4/ A5 motorways) have been...

TRAINING

ROAD TO SUCCESS • The Road Transport Training Board introduces The Road To Work career package, which gives advice on entry...

WEIGHING

LOW PROFILE PLATFORMS • Griffith Elder of Bury St Edmunds has introduced a lowprofile electronic weighing platform for roll...

EVENTS

MAKING THE MOST OF THE MEDIA • Making effective use of the media is the theme of a transport conference on 26 January at the...

PUBLICATIONS

GETTING READY FOR EUROPE • The loose-leaf reference book producer, Croner Publications, has introduced a new legal, business...

PROMOTIONS

FLEET FINANCE OFFER • Bolton-based Iveco Ford dealer Harper Gordon Trucks has launched a fleet finance promotion on the Ford...

SER1/10ES PSV TERMINAL

• Husk has installed a specia service bay at its Dover Freight Terminal to accommodate buses and coaches. For details contact...

PRODUCTS

AUTOGUARD ANTI-THEFT • Autoguard Security Systems of London is now offerir4 StrongArm — an anti-theft device which locks on the...

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1501 SUNDAY

tosuns Motorists are warned of wthcoming closures of bpth an - iageways on the A501 Eus)n Road Underpass between 7:00hrs and...

ROADWORKS

• London and the South East M25 Surrey: Contra_flow between junctions 12 and 13 (1%13/Starnes). M25 Surrey: Junction 11...

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• Does your Maestro van have a stiff ride? Does

it crash and bang over our well-loved pot-holes? This magnificent piece of wood engineering, elegant in its simplicity, could...

• Carphones, I am reliably informed, reduce stress — there,

it's official. According to one of the many PR releases which are ultimately used to feather my nest: "They are a major factor...

• Barclays Bank beware: six Humberside hauliers have decided to

move into football sponsorship too. The Ashby Institute under-12s and under16s may not be knocking on Division One's door yet,...

• Most of us say we support road safety. Most

of us call for a more professional and caring haulage industry — few of us do much about it. So I am impressed, and not a...

• Two teams of Heronfreight contract drivers have just pulled

their hearts out for brain injured children. It might sound hideously gory, but I am, as always, speaking metaphorically. The...

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QUALITY ON THE RACK

Edstrom of Sweden offers equipment designed to transform a van into a mobile workshop, or simply to keep it neat and tidy. It's...

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N A NC NC

THE FUTURE • It is almost commonplace these days for finance houses to supply venture capital to transport companies to help...

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IGHT WHEELS ON MY RENAULT

Renault is pushing hard to increase its heavy truck market share. After the launch of its G-range six-wheeler it now has a 0290...

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KEY TO SUCCESS

Curtain-sided trailers have grown in popularity with potential distribution customers, yet Robsons' fleet consisted mainly of...

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COSTS ON T RU

Running costs are a very important consideration for all transport managers. Which vehicles are the most costeffective? Which...

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AR YOU BE ING SERVE

Over the past three months we have compared the listed prices of four vehicle weight bands — now we consider the warranties...

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• The Fiat Uno supermini has been branded "Europe's most

wanted small car" and, with over three million sold since its introduction in 1983, one cannot really argue with that. While...

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ANY QUESTIONS

LEGALITY Q I wonder if you could help me clear up a point regarding the legality of my present position? In August 1986 I...

• Road transport is the most heavily legislated industry in

this country, so it can be very difficult for operators to keep abreast of the law. Frequent changes to regulations covering...

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• UNITED TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL CLYMO After 37 years with BET,

John Clymo is retiring. He will resign from the board of United Transport International on 31 December, but the following day...

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• It's a problem. How do you get buyers o

perceive differences between products marketing people call it "differentiation") vhen in reality they are virtually...

ROADTEST

DUCAT° TURBO • Since publication, some prices may have increased. Readers are advised to contact their local dealer or the...

• DRIVELINE

The iron-block/alloy-head blown diesel sits transversely under the bonnet and low in the body. The direct-injection...

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• PERFORMANCE

The performance lives up to the expectadons created by Fiat's marketing campaign. Acceleration times are slightly faster than...

• TRANSMISSION

As well as showing the competition the way home in terms of performance, the Ducat° delivers its power well too. The engine...

• SUSPENSION AND HANDLING

To give the Ducato Maxi a bit more strength than the low-roof, shortwheelbase derivatives, the front frame, floor pan, side...

• BRAKING

King and Taylor of Godalming, Surre kindly carried out a rolling road brake te.1 on the van, and obtained a respectabl 68%...

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• INTERIOR

The seating position in the Ducato will be familiar to those who have driven the old style Ford Transit. The sit-up-and-beg...

• SUMMARY

The strength of the German mark puts the Ducato at a price advantage compared with the VW LT35E, but around the same price as...

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PORTUGUESE PICKUP

Ford's new P100 pickup has been the subject of much speculation over the past year. There are still some unanswered •uestions,...

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• If the newly facelifted Mazda panel van design is

not entirely cribbed from an artist's impression of Dan Dare's transport in the pages of the 1950s Eagle comic, then the front...

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LION INT1111 A

NEW HEART Peugeot's 205 CDV has a new engine and gearbox which have given it a useful turn of speed with fuel economy that...

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ASIER ON

THE JUICE A 1.7-litre naturally-aspirated IDI diesel engine has improved the VW Transporter's fuel consumption, and it has a...