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17th October 1996
17th October 1996
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Page 1, 17th October 1996
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Page 6

VI starts trials with mobile weighbridges

by Karen Miles • The likelihood of overloaded lorries being caught by surprise checks has increased dramatically. Early trials...

Fraud squad arrests at Centre)

• An LGV driver training body with a membership of more than 800 qualified instructors is at the centre of a fraud squad...

Page 7

Hauliers suffer as diesel costs spiral

by Derren Hayes • The spiralling costs of fuel over the past few months has left many operators fearing for their futures....

RHA moves on newcomers

• The Road Haulage Association aims to improve the calibre of new hauliers by pushing Traffic Commissioners to impose tougher...

DOING THINGS BY THE BOOK

T he Vehicle Inspectorate is claiming "astonishing accuracy" for its mobile weigher test (see page 4). So all those operators...

Page 10

TNT haulier cuts its drivers' pay

by Lee Kimber • TNT's loss-making contract haulier TNT Transport Systems (TSL) is to cut drivers' pay in a bid to stem losses....

Tipper 'bribes' claim

• Avon police are investigating claims that a Balfour Beatty construction manager demanded backhanders from tipper drivers...

Fewston boss bounces back

• Tony Eyers, the disgraced former managing director of Fewston Transport—the company whose lorry ran out of control killing...

Accused driver needs help

• A Taunton owner-driver is calling for witnesses to help clear him of criminal and civil charges over an accident he says he...

Page 12

Danger case dropped

by Stuart Ellis • The owners of a runaway trailer which hit a truck and killed its driver have escaped punishment after the...

Proposed ferry merger threatens driver choice

• International hauliers face an increasingly restricted choice for their Channel crossings following the news that P&O...

Wheel appeal turned down

• A Bradford haulier plans to continue his legal battle after losing an appeal against a fine imposed for a faulty fifth-wheel...

• Wincanton Logistics has won the contract to distribute products

in Scotland for the retail group Superdrug; 8,000 products will be distributed to the firm's 60 Scottish stores. • Merlin...

Page 13

Trainers threaten DSA boycott

by Derren Hayes • Hundreds of the UK's HGV driving instructors could boycott the Driving Standards Agency's voluntary register...

Central Trailer Group puts itself back in the black

Central Trailer Rental Group (CTR) is back in the black after shaving 22.5m off depreciation and costs in the quarter ending on...

Page 16

Haulier fights council

by Lee 'Umber • Bedfordshire haulier Graham Smith is suing Mid-Bedfordshire District Council for £3,000 after the council gave...

Industry salaries below average

0 Haula g e isn't worth g ettin g ahead in because mana g ers' salaries are 2.4% below avera g e, accordin g to salary fi g...

Page 17

Customs conies under fire

• Customs has been criticised for its heavy-handedness in dealing with lorry drivers in an independent report published last...

immemmomm Road cuts _put plans on shelf

• The Government looks set to cut the road spending budget by 20%, more than £200m, as pressure mounts on the Chancellor to...

Page 18

Tail-lifts are going up

• Tail-lifts are due to become safer but more expensive next year when new EC regulations come into force. From 1 January 1997...

Bargain price Berlingo

• l'eugeot and Citroen have announced prices for their new Partner/Berlingo high-cube vans—the two models are...

Lex caters for airliners

• I,ex Transfleet has supplied Japanese Airlines subsidiary ICI, with two more specially adapted lveco Cargo vehicles for its...

Double-blown FL6 at lipCon

by John Kendall • A supercharged Volvo FL6 6x4 tipper is expected to make its debut at TipCon next spring. Series production...

Page 19

Steering the right paths

by Bryan Jarvis • Wilberfoss-hased JAWGE Engineering has developed a unique self-steering bogie arrangement which is suitable...

Page 20

Des American friends

While Daf shareholders consider US truck maker Paccar's offer to buy the company, CM'S US correspondent Steve Sturgess examines...

Page 22

Avoid overhead perils with voltage detector

• Wire Watcher 2 is a British-designed and made device which warns operators of tippers, materials handlers and cranes of the...

Roadlink drums up the details

• Roadlink International's latest brake catalogue lists more than 400 parts which are available from stock. The catalogue is...

Bril way to lock up van

• A part - time inventor has come up with a lock which fits to a van's rear twin doors. The Bril locking bar is made from...

Guard against power drain

• Battery Guard is system-designed to monitor on-vehicle battery voltage while the ignition is switched off so that a power...

Bosch parts

• Bosch has introduced its first CV-specific parts catalogue aimed at independent motor factors. The 83-page publication covers...

Page 24

Cool reaction to drug hotline

by Lee-Kimber • A widely published Customs & Excise drugs hotline number that allows drivers to report suspicious behaviour is...

TGWU targets Kent truck drivers

• Kent truck drivers are the target of a Transport and General Workers Union drive to win 100% union membership in every...

1n-cab TVs in question

MI Drivers facing prosecution over their in-cab TV sets should contact the Drivers Action Movement to help it win clarification...

Catching drivers young

• A driver training scheme aimed at 18-year-olds is set to prepare them for a life in the cab with a Category-C vocational...

Page 26

Charge dropped

II A charge of using a dangerous vehicle, brought against Carnforth-basecl Alan Thompson Haulage, was dropped before Penrith...

Appeals lodged

• Appeals have been lodged against the revocation of the licence held by Lewis Land Services, of Stornoway, and the indefinite...

Licence cut

• Paperwork forms a very important part of road safety, said West Midland TC John Mervyn Pugh, when he cut the licence held by...

Neighbour complaint

• Opposition from a neighbouring resident resulted in Claro Construction's licence being increased from - five to six vehicles,...

Five years between reviews

• Once an operating centre has been reviewed under the environmental provisions in the continuous licensing provisions, a...

Tacho case goes to Crown

by Michael Jewell ▪ Penrith magis trates have decided that charges alleging the falsification of tachograph records are so...

Page 28

Weighbridge fault clears drivers

• Two owner drivers were cleared of overloading charges after Appleby, Cumbria, magistrates accepted that an electronic...

Tipperman loses vehicle for six months

sm U A Wolverhampton tipper operator, who said he was "too busy working" to attend a new operator's seminar following the...

Page 32

haulage fact&

EVENTS NEWS • Logistics on the Move series of free seminars on computer software in the transport industry: 22 October: The...

Page 34

Beef madness T his country is a madhouse. 1 thought I'd

seen it all but the Government planning to pay truck operators to sit in parking lots with their fridges running rather than...

Rates call I t seems that almost every week in the

pages of Commercial Motor we see stories of hauliers deciding to close up shop because rates are too low. This may seem...

No alternative I t's all very well for Bill ,Morris to

call for an end to sleeper cabs (CM 10-16 October), but does he really think that there is an alternative? It's had enough...

Tax is rubbish I was interested to read last week's

article I on the landfill tax by Derren Hayes (CM 1 0-1 6 October). It is not surprising that after only a week in operation...

Page 35

bird's eye view by the hawk 0 t was on

1 October 1896 that the Daimler Company, of Cannstatt, Germany, delivered its first petrol-fuelled goods vehicle. Whether that...

Page 38

T here are a thousand and one ways to launch a

truck range it seems—new cab/old engine, old cab/new engine, new cab/new engine, long-distance cab first, right-hand-drive...