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8th January 1998
8th January 1998
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Page 1, 8th January 1998
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Page 6

GB Express calls in the receivers

by Sally Nash • GB Express has become the industry's first major casualty of the new year, calling in the receivers just weeks...

Rosier snaps up two tanker firms

• Rosier Holdings has bought two tanker firms: Sandbachbased Roger Bettley Transport and Bristol-based Chemic-Haul. The...

BRIEFS • Cheshire haulier [le, Ham and SOH has ordered

more than 700 new Leyland Dafs, boosting its fleet to 230. Newport police are seeking a tanker driver responsi ble for a on...

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Prospects are good for a 44-tonne limit

by Rob Wiflock • Extensions to the 44 - tonne haulage limit seem to be on the way. Brussels is consulting on a higher limit for...

Raitfreight costs threat

• Cash-strapped hauliers could face yet another hike in costs if the railfreight lobby wins Government support for a...

COMMENT

FAT LADY IN FINE VOICE W hen Commercial Motor welcomed the New Year last week with a warning that the cull of UK truck...

Page 8

Owner-driver held in France

• A Doncaster owner-driver is being held on remand in a French jail on suspicion of smuggling more than 500kg of cannabis....

Hotline aims to shame bosses

by Sally Nash • A 24-hour Government hotline to "name and shame" directors who run phoenix companies has been launched after it...

Check reveals long list of offences

• Birkenhead haulier Kilco Dairyfarm Chemicals has been fined a total 23,900 after admitting a catalogue of tachograph and...

Immigrants try cover of holiday

• Four lorry loads of illegal immigrants were caught in the last week of 1997 as organised gangs used the Christmas holidays to...

M25 tops RHA's 10 worst roads in the country

• The M25 is officially the Road to Hell, but you're unlikely to get there on time, according to a new study. The London...

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Falcon saves Channel link

by Ian Wylie • The FolkestoneBoulogne freight ferry service has been reprieved and might even be expanded following Falcon...

Pay rise hopes for Red Star staff

• Red Star staff will "almost certainly" get a pay rise this year for the first time since the company was privatised,...

Page 10

Fold-over log carrier

By Bryan Jarvis • Improved productivity is the aim of a new Australian log carrying trailer system being assessed by Tasmanian...

Weightlifter buys PPG Fabrications

• Weightlifter Bodies has bought Peterborough-based tipper body specialist PPG Fabrications. The PPG name will be retained, and...

Full turn for pallet truck

• A new pallet truck is available from Pimespo. The SIROTA Rider has a 2,000kg capacity and is capable of 71cm/h. It can...

Name and shame smokers to the VI

• The RAC is stepping up pressure on hauliers to cut pollution by urging other road users to report smoking trucks to the...

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Foaming trailer raises the roof

by Steve Banner • Nene Trailer Services and Global Truck Equipment have teamed up to build a semi-trailer with a 2.5-tonne roof...

Senator opts for 95XF drawbars

• Two of the UK's first 6x2 95XF drawbar rigs have entered service with office furniture manufacturer Senator International....

Satellite system maps fleet action

• Econ Engineering, which builds winter highway maintenance equipment, has developed an on-board data collection system which...

Bridge Bodies base shuts

• Newly formed United Trailers has shut Bridge Bodies' plant in Sutton Bridge, Lincs and switched production to WBS's factory...

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Warned for maintenance

• North-Eastern Deputy Traffic Commissioner Mark Hinchliffe has formally warned a Humberside haulier about his maintenance...

Less licence: 1

IN The poor maintenance record of Thomas Miller Junior, trading as White Cart Freight, of Paisley, has led to the authorisation...

Director banned indefinitely

• Jonathan Seward, the director of Cardiff-based Jayward Transport, which has gone into liquidation, was disqualified...

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Fined for fraudulent use of roadtax disc

• Using an untaxed vehicle and the fraudulent use of an excise licence cost Loughborough-based Jaggard Transport, and its...

Licence suspended until finances are in order

• A Telford operator who had Sal December to arrange an overbeen given until the beginning of draft facility of at least...

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haulage factfile

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

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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...

Pulling out

nue to our members' concerns that the Recovery LI Industry Focus Group had lost its way, along with the concerns of our...

No licence

W e have this week been invited to quote for a delivery contract for a third party. It should be a great opportunity to expand...

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

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

Making the world safer

5 hese two tractors have recently been purchased from New Holland by the HALO Trust to help with the dangerous job of land-mine...

Spiritual mishap

O n occupational hazard of a spiritual nature was uncovered when Father Jacek Trochim of Kidderminster was found to be nearly...

Weight watchers

g rom the country that introduced Sumo wrestling to the world comes a priceless example of the pot calling the kettle black. It...

Record breakers

2 oak at all that smoke.. it must be a bit of a drag—literally, for this Leyland Daf truck is taking part in a quarter-mile...

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Crisis point

No one wants to be a driver anymore. Applications to HGV training schools have halved this year alone, putting existing drivers...

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MEIII1JJ1 ROADTEST: TRACTOR ROUND-UP

TRACTORS on TRIAL Commercial Motor tests more trucks than any other magazine—around 40 every year. During 1997 we took a dozen...

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Taxing time

Hauliers who fail to send their tax return in by the end of this month face heavy penalties under the new system. Let CM'S...

Page 27

Reversing trends

Some drivers believe reversing aids to be expensive luxuries. Happy not to invest, many operators are quick to agree. But sales...

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FLEET FOCUS =Mk

Mind the gap! Every truck operator should prevent accidents at work. Besides the disruption they cause, accidents can lead to...

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LEGAL DRIVER'S RIGHTS

lz-The right to say In an important test case a driver who refused to take out an unsafe vehicle and was dismissed has...

Page 34

Traci and

The Beer Seller wholesales booze, particularly Real Ale, and soft drinks to outlets up and down the country, claiming to move...

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Resolutionary tendencies

Love them or hate them, most of us make one resolution just before we break it. CM checked out some of this year's crop of New...

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HAULAGE

BULLETIN VOLUME 2 NUMBER 4 JANUARY 1998 1998 and beyond... Moves to clampdown on tax dodging, operator-licensing for light...

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HAULAGE

BULLETIN NEWS Customs and Excise: Product exclusions ilen-Generalised System of Preferences rw 1 From 1 January 1998,...

Driving Standards: Manua update

Driving Manual The Driving Standards Agency has published a revised edition of The Driving Manual. Manuals are available from...

Employment: Minimum wage bill

N mon Minimum wage bill The National Minimum Wage Bill has had its first reading in Parliament. If enacted, it will provide the...

Health and Safety: Regulation changes

Fire safety The Home Office has published a consultation paper proposing a simpler fire safety regime. It will consolidate...

Taxes: New rates and allowances „Ii,L,RL-w Changes to national insurance

contributions 3 The Department of Social Security ()SS) has announced the new National Insurance Contribution (MC) rates for...

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Courts: Small claims procedure

The Lord Chancellor's Department has published a consultation paper proposing changes to the current small claims procedure....

Transport: Green machines

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) has joined with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)...

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Practical reminders on fleet maintenance

Traffic Commissioner John Mervyn Pugh has offered fleet managers a tip on encouraging drivers to look after their trucks...

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The heavy haulage industry has faced considerable upheavals'

B y the start of the new millennium we will witness many changes, due to today's accent on parity and harmonisation with...