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17th July 2003
17th July 2003
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Page 1, 17th July 2003
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Page 6

Linkline subbies outraged at new company formation

CM INVESTIGATION • by Dominic Perry Outraged former subcontractors of a Stoke-based haulage group want to know how its...

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Hays pursues new courtship

Hays Logistics is negotiating with "more than one" potential suitor in its continuing efforts to find a buyer, a spokesman for...

IRU: German charge is unjust

• The International Road Transport Union (IRU) has branded Germany's planned introduction of its HGV road user charge, LKIN...

Knowles transport boss: Drivers can't keep mum

.4 . by Chris Tindall Haulage is a cloak-and-dagger industry and drivers can not be trusted to withhold commercially-sensitive...

Fraud Squad investigates City Trucks

The Fraud Squad last week raided the premises of five former City Trucks executives in connection with alleged fraud amounting...

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Emissions report suggests truck ban

• by Guy Sheppard A long-awaited report on how to improve London's air quality suggests banning nearly a third of all trucks...

Bailiffs called in fine muddle

• by Jennifer Ball A Northamptonshire haulier claims that a court-mix up over a London Lorry Ban fine has left him facing the...

Firms operating without cover

• Around 25% of companies have had difficulties or been unable to get employers' liability insurance, and consequently 8% are...

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Shareholders refuse to support bosses' terms

• by Guy Sheppard Two bosses at troubled logistics group Christian Salvesen have received an embarrassing snub from...

Tolls are the key...

Truck operators have every right to be wary of the government's kbn solution to congestion. It's not the answer and never will...

Benchmark TOG pay rise

II A pay increase of more than 15% is being hailed as a benchmark for all truck drivers in the run-up to the 411-hour working...

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Logan's let out of France rorit haul

• by Chris Tindall Jeff Logan, the truck driver serving seven years in an appalling French jail for drug smuggling, has been...

• Two truck drivers have appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates Court

charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine worth 16m into the Ult. Jhon German Pena, of Streatham arid Miguel SanchezGonzalez,...

II The wife of a beck drlver jailed in Greece for smuggling refugees has launched a campaign for his release,

Greece police stopped Ten Andrews on 11 June at Patras port as he waited to board a ferry back to Italy. His truck was searched...

First driver receives his on-the job NVII—at 61

II After nearly 40 years at the wheal, a 61-year old truck driver has become one of the first to embrace a new...

Chepstow toll-call

• Environmentalists are Gang for road tolls in the Welsh border town of Chepstow to discourage truck drivers using it as a...

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Caution greets ilbn congestion-buster

II by Jennifer Ball Hauliers and trade associations have reacted with caution to the government's ITbn road building plans to...

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Police get power to stop and drug test

• Police were given powers last week to stop drivers they suspect of being Impaired and to test them for drugs at the...

M1 fatal crash results in jail for shocked driver

• A 53-year-old truck driver who killed a father-of-two in an M1 crash has been jailed. Edward Smyth—who was driving a...

P&O wins deals

• Two new contracts highlight P&O's strengthening position in road transport following the sale of its contract logistics...

Law sees workers consulted on jobs

• Larger companies will be obliged to consult staff on all management decisions affecting employment when new works council...

Confiscation order still stands

• A haulage boss jailed for smuggling £21m of cannabis into the UK, has failed to overturn a confiscation order that required...

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Forensics support fire claim

• by Kevin Swallow A Scottish owner-driver who is in dispute with Volvo Trucks over a warranty claim fears for his livelihood...

Witness appeal for driver attack

• Police are appealing for witnesses after a truck driver was knocked unconscious during an attempted robbery on the 4435 near...

; A truck driver was attacked after he spotted thieves

trying to steal a load of brandy from another truck parked nearby in Cumbria. The incident happened at a lay-by on the...

BP AWARDS DRIVER For the second year running, Graham Warwick

is BP UK's driver of the year. Warwick covers around 77,000km a year, driving tankers out of Dalston Terminal, Carlisle.

MERGER PLANNED Manchester-based AK Worthington and World Freight Centre are

set to merge to form AKW Group. Both companies operate from Trafford Park and have a national client base.

IMARDAPPOINTINENT Irish logistics group Road & Sea Express has appointed

former ANC and Christian Salvesen industrial managing director Andrew Callaghan, as Its board chali man.

NO SALES DIRECTOR Burnt Tree Group has appointed Chris Sharp

as Us new sales and operations director. Sharp is the chairman of the CV committee at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing...

DISTRIBUTION CONTRACT TNT has secured a five-year distribution contract worth

over £10m per year with electrical wholesaler Hagemeyer. TNT will deliver to 200 outlets across the UK from a distribution...

RESULTS ON TARGET

Exel says that Its results on 28 July will be in line with expectations. It says airfreight in Europe has been below...

Two trucks returned

1111 Police have recovered two trucks in the West Midlands, which were stolen from Owens Road Services last week (CM10-16...

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Truck crime abroad seen as low priority

Truck crime in Europe seems to be a growing business. Julian Milnes looks at the problem—and whether anything is going to be...

HOMING CRIME DRIVERS SHOULD NOT...

• Discuss the type of goods they are carrying, especially if they are of high value, nor should they chat about a load or...

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Horses for courses?

Is running fully freighted on six axles helping or hurting you in the pocket? The incentives for running at 44 tonnes are...

Vehicles and trailers 11 Both Axor tractors were powered by

the Mercedes 0M4571A 12-litre charge-cooled in-line six, producing 401hp at 1,900rpm and 2,000Nm torque at 1,100rpm. The 6x2...

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Results

As expected, the 2+3 outfit at 40 tonnes proved the more economical on the road by 12.5% overall compared with the benchmark'...

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Pneu Logic system helps maintain tyres

0 by Brian Weatheriey Michelin has introduced two new electronic tyre maintenance and condition tracking tools for fleet...

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Drivers calm danger with right gestures

Using the right body language can help protect a driver from assault if baseball bat-wielding hijackers or panicky asylum...

New mums get HSE protection

• A new website designed to aid the workplace health and safety of new and expectant mothers has been launched by the HSE. For...

Hauliers fail in legal checks on tail-lifts

• Too many hauliers are failing to carry out statutory checks on the safety of their tail-lifts, according to Alan Barsby,...

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HSE looks at workplace stress, asking employees their opinions

• Draft management standards that should help employers determine whether or not stress is a major problem for their staff have...

Whizzy speedos

• A selection of products warning drivers when they're breaking the speed Hulk allowing them to set their cruising speed, and...

RoSPA awards

• Food and drink wholesaler and distributor Palmer and Harvey McLane has become the first winner of the Royal Society for the...

Ban hands-free too, says RoSPA

a The new ban on drivers using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel doesn't go far enough, says the Royal Society for the...

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Worcester operator banned for letting licence he used

a A Worcester operator has been disqualified torn holding or obtaining an Operators' Licence for 12 months after he allowed it...

'Recklessness' loses 0-licence

A Manchester-based TNT [74 subcontractor that had been "negligent to the point of recklessness" over Its maintenance regime,...

LICENCE REDUCED

The licence held by Birch Skip Hire, of Manchester, was cut from seven vehicles to six at a Leeds disciplinary inquiry. The...

RIOT TEST Maintenance problems have led to the licence held

by STB Foods. of Wolverhampton, being suspended for a week. West Midland DID Alan Baurlet directed that the company's one...

VEHICLE RETURN

The Transport Tribunal has ordered that an Impounded vehicle be returned to NL Commercials on the grounds it was unaware it was...

HAULIER DISQUALIFIED

Problems over vehicle maintenance, and lending 0-licence discs to an operator whose licence had been revoked, have led to the...

carry out audit chocks.

After examining documents produced at the hearing, Coupe said that the billing evidence appeared to show that vehicles only...

CASE HIGHLIGHT

Allowing a licence to be used by someone whose own licence has been revoked is almost certainly going to result in a Finding...

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Absent boss warned of licence risk

A Wednesbury haulier that sent its transport manager and an office assistant to represent it at a Public Inquiry has been Oven...

Haulier-cum-agency loses licence; bosses are banned

A Norfolk company which also ran an agency supplying drivers to another firm has had its Operator's Licence revoked and its...

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TIME TRAVELLER

Our anachronistic review in celebration of the universal law. ,what goes around, comes around. 75 years ago: 17 July 1928...

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F . or the latest in our series of group tests,

we decided to take a look at the world of 3.5tonne chassis cabs. And "world" is the right word, as vehicles offered for sale in...

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[Ili W[I] 1 ;

RELAY 1800 22 HIli here's little doubt that Citroen's contribution provided the biggest surprise. Perhaps its a 1. natural...

T he Transit came with a couple of unusual additions to

help its performance as a tipper. Traction off-road is always an issue so Ford equipped this example with Quaff - la's...

In their own words...

Steve Cobbold: The Transit's suspension is harsh but well damped, and there is good steering feel. The driveline is low-geared...

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ISUZU GRAFTER NKR-S

L ike the Mitsubishi, the Isuzu is the 3.5-tonne baby of a much heavier duty range, extending to 7.5 tonnes, whereas apart from...

In their own words.

Steve Cobboid: This cab is a bit of a push for three, and I wouldn't want to live with this, or any of the small Japanese...

MERCEDES-BENZ 308CDI

In their own words... Steve Cobbokl: Although it has the lowest power on paper, it certainly doesn't feel the slowest. It has...

T he Sprinter came with the potential disadvantage of having the

lowest powered engine—at 1311hp—by a long way. While Merc's line-up extends up to a 1S4hp five-cylinder stump puller,...

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MITSUBISHI CANTER 35

O ne look at our group photographs will show that the Mitsubishi's cab has dimensions a clear class larger than the other...

In their own words...

Steve 0. ,41: This was the most truck-like of the group with its wide cab. It has good seat space fore and aft, but with a low...

T he Nissan Cabstar is the second of our Iberian_ built

contenders, this time in Spain. The Gabstar has been around for a while now, although it was face-rifted just a few years ago....

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he Toyota Dyna is the most modern of its type,

and it shows. The interior would be acceptable by modern car standards, with an adjustable steering column, one-touch electric...

In their own words...

Steve Cobbold: It has well-controlled suspension and accurate steering, apart from a slight vagueness in the straight ahead...

A s we mentioned at the start of our story, we

invited a group of independent testers to give us their verdicts. Steve Cobbold is the group transport manager for the Alpha...

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B efore we began the test procedure, we invited each of

our guests to anonymously rank the seven vehicles in order of how they felt they would impress, and we repeated the exorcise at...

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Originating from the west of Ireland, this month's big boy

is growing by 30% a year on the basis of its customers' insatiable desire for computers. Miles Brignall reports. R eaders will...

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Maintaining 1,000 vehicles at 34 depots with a mixture of outside contractors and small, inhouse workshops sounds like a recipe...

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CORNWALL

Cornwall's rocky coves, charming fishing villages and rolling hills make for spectacular viewing. Behind the scenes, though,...

HAGANS TRANSPORT

E xcept for a few small boats, Hayle Harbour is surprisingly quiet. The tide is out, which has left a sandy bank between the...

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JOHN MITCHELL TRANSPORT

J ohn, Eva and Richard Mitchell are in the process of settling into a new base near the small town of He!star'. The new...

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RICHARDS 4S. OSBORNE

S t Columb-based Richards & Osborne runs flatbeds, curtainsiders, bulkers, reefers and something a little different: three...

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DENNIS OATES 81, SON

y work is very much handson," explains the cheerful Dennis Oates, transport manager of Dennis Oates & Son. It clearly is: we...

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WE YELL HAULAGE

11 IV hen we reach the base of Wevell Haulage, in the village of Widegates, we are presented with a collection of bulkers and...

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CORNWALL POLICE

p once traffic divisions are staffed by patrolmen and accident investigators and, in some cases, commercial traffic...

REGIONAL FACTFILE

CORNISH ECONOMY • Drive a few miles into Cornwall and it won't be long before you'll see the distinctive Cornish flag. It...

ASSISTANCE

• Cornish operators could be eligible for a range of assistance from Business Link. Their advice centre can offer information...

BUYING BUSINESS ACCOMMODATION

• Business accommodation in Cornwall does not command high prices, says Richard Goldring, partner at Camborne-based Goldring...

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ii t T h h e e i r c d o i n s t t i r n i u b e u d i o r n es a i s s t s a e n ts ce i s b h y a U m K p e b r u i s n i g n e th s e s i e r s a t b o i l i sharing ty t o

cut costs. The tendency to operate in isolation makes businesses blind to the potential for sharing and the benefits it can...