AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

6th November 1997
6th November 1997
Page 1
Page 1, 6th November 1997
Close

Page 6

VI snubs hauliers' harassment clai

by Rob VVillock • Allegations that vehicle examiners in Merseyside have victimised local hauliers, following an incident...

First for Dentressangle

• Norbert Dentressangle has launched its first joint venture company in the UK, joining forces with FDB Distribution. The...

BRIEFS

• Gerber Foods is using English Welsh & Scottish rail freight to move up to 66 tonnes of soft drinks a day from its Somerset...

Page 7

British hauliers face a new French blockade...

by Miles Brignall • Hundreds of British and Irish international hauliers were facing uncertain futures this week as striking...

...as drivers demand 20%

• The striking French truck drivers swore earlier this week that they will hold out for as long as it takes to win wage...

COMMENT'

WHO PICKS UP THE BILL? N o one likes being held to ransom, least of all by French lorry drivers. But right now British...

Page 8

Foden denies merger

by David Craik • Foden is denying that a series of dealership mergers between Foden and Daf outlets are imminent despite one...

Ireland resumes livestock exports

• A new shipping service has been introduced between Ringaskiddy (Cork) and Cherbourg, and live animal exports from Ireland...

Eastern Europe goes green Crackdown on crime

• Used truck dealers hoping to sell pre-Euro-1 trucks into Eastern Europe are likely to be out of luck as the region moves to...

• A pre-Christmas crackdown on lorry theft is being launched

in Northamptonshire. The month-long police campaign is part of Operation Demolition, which kicked off earlier this year to...

Page 10

Cash for old vehicles

by Rob Willock • Cash incentives for operators who scrap older vehicles is one of six schemes being proposed to cut traffic...

Illegal booze is seized in Ireland

• Irish Customs has seized two trucks at Rosslare Harbour, each of which was carrying 20 pallets of undeclared alcohol....

Lady truckers stay faithful Problems on display • An angry

haulier is planning to paint a message on the cab of his ERF EC14 to warn other hauliers not to follow his example and buy the...

• Ilona Richards, founder of the Lady Truckers Club, has

abandoned threats to quit the group and will stay on to head a "slimmed down operation". Prior to the club's annual general...

Page 11

Call-out time fears

by Sally Nash • Fears about road safety have been sparked by reports that some big-name recovery clubs are pressurising...

Ban will hike costs

• Powys-based hauliers face extra costs if the local council bans the use of HMIs on the popular B4358. The Freight...

Utilities among slowest payers

• Construction firms, hire companies and privatised utilities are the slowest payers in the whole of the UK's industry,...

CONTRACTS

• Car transporter specialists Axiol and FISL Automotive joined forces to carry out a major logistics exercise, delivering...

Page 12

Trucks make way for London buses

by David Craik • Hauliers in London could soon be facing tougher restrictions as more emphasis is put on keeping buses moving...

Inadequate pay

• A fair weekly wage For agency drivers is 2263 a week, and nearly a quarter of them are dissatisfied with their pay,...

Sales hiccup for Scania in Europe

• Scania is warning that a rush of orders will extend delivery times to five or six months. The company reports a fall in...

Page 14

New Cat roars in Foden 3000

by Brian Weatherley • Less than a month after ERF announced that it is to fit the American-made Detroit Diesel 60 Series in...

RJS gets under cover

• A Leyland Daf 75270 6x4 tipper belonging to RJS of High Wycombe has been fitted with Transcover's latest sheeting system....

Cummins aims to cut running costs

• Contrary to last week's article on M1 1 engines, Cummins is not extending its service intervals for conventional or...

Trinity Holdings renamed Dennis

• Trinity Holdings has changed its name to the Dennis Group of companies, a change that takes account of Dennis's 100-year...

RVL cools Tesco's Transits

• Tesca is adding another 50 Ford Transit insulated panel vans to its home delivery service fleet. After operating a...

Page 15

Booker acts on Actros

by Bryan Jarvis • Food wholesaler Booker has become one of Mercedes-Benz's first fleet customers for its Actros tractive...

Extra-smooth Actros kit

• Hatcher Components has developed a range of air management systems for the Mercedes Actros distribution and long-distance...

Scania 8x4s for gas work

• NcNicholas Construction has taken eight Scania P114 340hp (253kW) 8x4 tippers and will operate them from its Oldbury, West...

Whale cleans up in the tunnel

• Whale Tankers has supplied the Hong Kong government with a special vehicle to scour the inside of Lion Rock tunnel. Based...

Latest Nene low-loader

• Shefford, Hatfield-based machine-tool haulier J Parrish's latest 3+3 artic rig combines an ERF Ecn. 6x2 with Nene Trailer's...

Page 16

Brazil leads to Mercosul sales

South America is huge and diverse, with European and North American truck builders fighting it out with a few home-grown...

Page 17

VOLVO AND MITSUBISHI: WHAT'S THE DEAL?

The agreement between Volvo and Mitsubishi covers three key areas: • From the beginning of next year Volvo dealers in Italy,...

Page 18

Speeding complaints

• Complaints from the public about speeding vehicles belonging to Galloway Refrigerated Transport and breaches of the...

No holiday pay

• Claims for holiday pay and bonuses brought by Pontardulais lorry driver William Dodge against Swansea based DP Transport,...

Singh makes good after cut

• A Wolverhampton tipper operator who had his licence cut from four vehicles to three 12 months ago, after one of his...

Page 19

Revocation after a fourth inquiry

• A Lancashire operator called to public inquiry for the fourth time in three years has had her licence revoked....

Cattons promises to improve system

viL - 4 Okt • A Wirral haulier who told North Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Patrick Mulvenna that he was "not...

Page 22

haulage factfile

Haulage Factfile page provides busy operators with brief news items on: forthcoming events, services, business products,...

Page 26

letters

Do you want to comment on any of the stories in Commercial Motor? Does someone in the industry deserve a pat on the back—or a...

Page 27

URTU agency D ouglas Curtis of the United Road Transport Union

says (CM 31 Oct-S Nov) that employers should behave more responsibly to their employees. URTU must have some new-found money...

In praise of the EU hours limit

I am all For the planned maximum 48I hour working week—only a 55-hour working week would be safer at the moment considering...

Page 28

bird's eye view by the hawk Commercial Motor takes road

haulage very seriously. However, once a week our, quirky correspondent, the ti,iwk, steps off his perch to take a humorous look...

Top of the pops

'm sorry to say that the Hawk's attempts to keep abreast of cur rent trends in popular music have long since fallen by the...

A Hawk and a birdie

5 he Hawk likes nothing better of a Sunday morning than to throw his clubs into the back of his old Reliant Robin and head off...

Page 32

jfl ROADTEST: STRATO 26.305N16x4 TIPPER

The 6x4 tipper has a relatively low profile, but there's a consistent demand for this class of vehicle, with a strong British...

Page 41

HAULAGE

BULLETIN VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2 NOVEMBER 1997 CPC standards are to be upgraded The European Commission has issued a draft...

Page 42

Health and Safety: Fire and hazards

Health and Safety Guides The key common areas of risk at work are summarised in a new HSE publication. An Introduction to...

Taxation: Expenses and self-assessment Travel Expenses The Inland Revenue says

the Finance Bill 1998 will simplify tax relief provisions for employees' travel expenses. The change will allow relief for the...

Page 43

International: Entry requirements

Transport Council EU Transport Council ministers have agreed to tighten the professional competence requirements and to...

Road News: Red Routes and limits

Road Orders New orders have introduced: • A red route on the A501 at Camden, Islington and Westminster (SI 1997 No 2002,...

Transport: Freight statistics Transport Statistics

The latest transport statistics compiled by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) shows that, in...

Page 44

Tackling traffic congestion

The Government's Roads Review consultation document must lead to a sustainable policy to keep Britain's trunk roads rolling....

Page 48

TECHNOLOGY OPDATE

We've been through the introduction of Euro-1 and Euro-2 emissions regulations without too much pain. But Euro-3 is just around...

Page 50

PROFILE SOVEREIGN ROAD FREIGHT

CM hears how a former national hunt jockey and his business partner in haulage survived some unfavourable odds. • "We bought...

Page 54

Don't be a

BRIDGE BASHER! Avoid the potentially tragic consequences of striking an overhead obstruction—or costly diversions—if your...

Page 55

MONEY MATIERS

Filthy acre? Your company is expanding. An attractive deal is being offered on a nearby industrial estate and the property...

Page 56

INTERNATIONAL FOREIGN DRIVERS

A row has erupted after CM revealed that a number of British international operators are cutting costs by using Turkish drivers...

Page 58

Tony Berkeley, peer and chairman of the Rail Freight Group—the

voice of the rail freight industry—sees roil and road freight gaining customer satisfaction by working together. 'Well...