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28th September 2000
28th September 2000
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Page 1, 28th September 2000
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DIESEL DUMPS Major logistics companies across the UK are stockpiling

diesel in readiness for any future blockades of the oil refineries. Most have increased their stocks by 20%.

GOING DUTCH Essex haulier Bob Stewart has bought a Dutch

firm to enable him to flag out his 50 trucks to Holland. He expects to cut his tax bill by £500000 a year.

MTH MEETING The Irish Road Haulage Association met government representatives

for the second time this week following nationwide fuel price protests on 15 September, It is calling for a 30% reduction in...

RED WARNING Customs & Excise will withdraw temporary permission to

use rebated red diesel from midnight on 30 September Licence-holders can use the red diesel already in their vehicles' tanks...

SAFETY MR Too few transport companies have policies to combat

driver impairment, says road safety campaign group Brake. Of 86 operators attending Brake's Fit to Drive conference, three had...

STENA MIMES Stena Line will launch its Killingholme-Hook of Holland

freight service on 9 October with the ferries Stena Searider and Rosebay. There will be one sailing a day in each direction,...

BHA dumps industry rebate, calling for tax cuts for all

r by Melanie Hammond The Road Haulage Association has effectively dumped its campaign for an essential user rebate (EUR) on...

Tories back away from supporting EUR

• The Conservative Party has told the Road Haulage Association that it will not commit itself to the introduction of an...

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EC will investigate fuel concessions

Eby Melanie Hammond European hauliers who were granted tax concessions to end their protests over soaring fuel costs, may find...

New lobby group demands 28%

• The recently formed People's Fuel Lobby met with transport and agricultural ministers last week to demand a 28% cut in fuel...

II The Freight Transport Association admitted last week that British trucks pay the right levels of tax.

In the same week that FTA director-general David Green went to Downing Street to demand reductions in diesel and road taxes,...

• The Freight Transport Association is calling for an immediate

sign from the government that it will cut fuel duty for goods vehicles after the Chancellor announced that extra money would be...

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Oil firms blamed for distorted fuel price

a by Melanie Hammond Bulk fuel suppliers have fought back against claims that they have been ripping off their customers,...

Act now Mr Brown

What we need, says Chancellor Gordon Brown, is "a great national debate" on transport. No we don't. What we need, Gordon, is...

Hold fire on demos, says PFL

• Newly formed pressure group, the People's Fuel Lobbg says it prevented another series of fuel protests at this week's Labour...

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Lack of sleep can be as dangerous as boozing

PE by Guy Sheppard Drivers who sleep fewer than seven hours a day are more of a road risk than those who have drunk alcohol,...

Mine reopening came too late

• A proposed reopening of Cornwall's last tin mine has come too late for one of the main hauliers who used to work out of it....

Kent council's chaos warning

• A truck park with a capacity to hold at least 1,000 trucks is needed to prevent repeated traffic chaos in Kent, according to...

Banned haulier loses bid

• A bid for a PSV Operator's Licence by Malcolm Vehicle and Coach Hire has been refused on the grounds that it is a new guise...

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SODIT licensed at second try

• Sumo Overland Direct International Transport, a company originally formed by former Sumotrans director Thomas Carstairs, has...

Hauliers want to repay the public

was the belief that the public should benefit from the hauliers' action that swung the meeting. Anecdotal tales of gifts of...

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by Kevin Swallow After months of speculation and hype the

Frankfurt Show saw the long awaited unveiling of the Vauxhall Vivaro and its near identical twin, the Renault Trafic. The...

The Fiat Dob16 Cargo version will make its debut at

the Paris Motor Show later this month with the UK market getting its first taste at the Birmingham Motor Show in October. The...

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Speed limiter was defective

Using a vehicle with a defective speed limiter has cost Normans Wirral £1,625 in fines and costs. The Burton, South...

ONE DOWN The licence held by Durhambased Burn Haulage has

been cut from four vehicles to three for four weeks. The firm had been called before North Eastern TC Tom Macartney following...

UCENCE LOST North-Eastern IC Tom Macartney has revoked the licence

held by Harold Thackray of Millhouse Green. near Sheffield, and is considering disqualifying Thackray and his transport...

APPEAL REJECTED The Transport Tribunal has rejected an appeal by

Solihull international haulier Robert James against his indefinite disqualification from holding or obtaining a licence, West...

FORMAL WARNING Scottish TC Michael Betts has issued East Kilbride

haulier William Kirkpatrick with a formal warning over his maintenance standards.

WEEK'S SUSPENSION Convictions and a number of prohibition notices have

resulted in a week's suspension of the licence held by Comrie-based Ross Paton Timber Transport.

No right to centre

A South Yorkshire owner-driver has lost his licence for using an unauthorised operating centre and an unautho rised vehicle....

Driver sacking was not unfair

A driver who left his job with Selby-based livestock haulier Alec B Storey has lost a claim for unfair dismissal before a...

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Suspended for tacho offences

Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon has imposed a two-week suspension on the two-vehicle 0 licence and HGV licence held by...

Tribunal rejects deletion

The Transport Tribunal has overturned a decision to delete the Walton-on-Thames operating centre from the licence held by ET...

Check YEN rate

courtesy of CM • You can now check out the latest Vehicle Excise Duty rates on road transport.net—the web site operated by...

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FINALLY— SOLIDARITY

Well t finally happened—the British finally did it, stuck together that is. After much letter writing, lobbying of MPs, and...

PROTESTERS' WEEK

Well, what a week for fuel protests. First, I have great admiration for all of those who took part and made the government...

WIDE SUPPORT

I am a small haulier and a fuel protester involved in the Trafford Park protest I have backed the RHA for the past 18 months or...

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DIESEL PUZZLE

Can anyone explain to me why diesel is cheaper to buy at the pumps than from my regular fuel supplier? I've read in Commercial...

NEEDLESS DISPUTE

With all the fuss over fuel protests dying down, at least for the time being, my feelings have moved from anger over the crazy...

PUBLIC SUPPORT

As a member of the public, please could you let the truckers know we thank them, and fully support them for their action taken...

GOVERNMENT MESSAGE I note in your issue of 21-27 September

that Home Secretary Jack Straw is considering the immediate revocation of operators' licences for anyone involved Ira fuel...

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ALL THE BETTER FOR SEEING YOU WITH

This Mercedes-Benz Mobile Eye Unit is said to be the first mobile phaco-microsurgical eye unit in the world. It was shipped out...

PUMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

The Hawk is always harking back to the past and with good reason. Things were cheaper then! May I present to the jury exhibit...

GOOD SAMARITAN IN JAIL

The Hawk was distressed to learn of the case of Rick Hudson, a KFOR driver who has been arrested in Kosovo. Hudson is a...

OUT OF ORDER

"Hello I'm in the Robin (Reliant)" is a phrase you are not likely to hear The Hawk utter as this old bird has long resisted...

FROUNDABOUT WAYS

Here in the UK we are well used to coping with American imports. However, our cousins across the pond are finding it somewhat...

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OU

Iveco Ford's Super Cargo is tough and reliable. Its relatively small engine certainly hasn't hurt its productivity—no wonder...

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"We buy on price, reliability ad the support we receive from our

preferred New dealer" Steve Benson For the past 27 years World End Tiles of Battersea has been producing ceramic tiles in...

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"We expect to keep them for about seven years"

Andy Carr Business relocation specialist Romford Office and Commercial Removals (ROC) is a company on the move—Andy Can,...

• Commercial Vehicle Auctions, based at Doncaster, is the only

independent auction house in the country that deals in trucks, trailers and plant. The company has been trading for more than...

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"Its light chassis gives an advantage in payload over much of the

Opposition" Steve Jenkins 9 East London main dealer Dagenham Motors holds franchises for the Iveco Truck and Ford CV ranges....

VERDICT

The Iveco Super Cargo is a light, strong, pricecompetitive 17/18tonner, but in the sales league it comes in behind Daf, Scania,...

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A RIVETING TALE

Disc brakes may be the vogue but an awful lot of drum systems will be around for years to come—and the brake lining...

Old shoes are first de-riveted before going through the wash,

de-grease and shot-blasting process prior to a detailed examination. Defective shoes are rejected; the rest are resprayed in...

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OPEN AND SHUT CASE

Drivers and operators rarely give body shutters a second thought, until one jams in the roof; that's when a relatively low-cost...

PROBLEM AVOIDANCE

"Driving with the shutter part way up or in the roof is a prime cause of early failure," says Dormon. The doors are...

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JOHN T EVANS HAULAGE

J D ohn Evans wasted no time getting started in the transport business. He was only 21 when he bought his first truck, a...

• South Wales hauliers can apply for assistance, ranging from

business advice to financial help, from a variety of sources. Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) feature prominently...

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L ocated in the port of Goodwick, west of Fishguard, WF

Hall is a family-run general haulier which has turned the challenge of its west coast location to advantage. The company was...

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GERRY JONES TRANSPORT

G 0 erry Jones had taken the morning off to sign the papers on the new house he was buying so that he could be nearer his work...

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S ince its establishment in Swansea in 1907 Robbins & Sons

has weathered the many economic storms which have swept through the town. The family business, which started as a furniture...

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C Herbert might be a small company, with a fleet

of just nine vehicles, but what it lacks in volume it more than makes up for in tradition. "My greatgrandfather was one of the...

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n 1973 John Pearce chucked in his job as manager

of a coal factor and bought a second-hand Bedford for 1350. A year later, he was running five lorries delivering automotive...

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MONDAY

Set off for Hemel Hempstead at 6.30am. The day is one meeting after another with my colleagues on the Gillette logistics...

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Roll up for free cars

• Operators willing to take a Mercedes-Benz Actros on a threeyear contract-hire agreement can have the use of a diesel Mercedes...

= UK prices i too high'

• A leading independent dealer has called on manufacturers to cut the prices of new trucks in the UK. "I believe operators are...

Fuel crisis has not hurt sales

I Despite the fuel crisis used truck buyers seem to be in the mood to spend, says Steve Smith of independent dealership Smith...

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Saturday sales are a success

• Saturday auctions held for individual operators are a continuing success story for independent dealer Malcolm Harrison, says...

Demand rises for used trucks to avoid delays

• More and more fleet operators are buying late-registered used trucks rather than waiting five or six months for new ones to...

EXPORT SALES

The export market for second-hand trucks is opening up again after a long slump, says Richard Hall, vehicle remarketing manager...