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9th April 1998
9th April 1998
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Page 1, 9th April 1998
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BRIEFS The Government is considering using to stem congestion on the M6 around Birmingham.

Drivers' strikes could lead to in Italy, says the FTA. Jet has pledged to match the lowest ,rices within iwo miles of its 700...

Truckers' protest rolls into London by David Craik • Hauliers

are hailing last week's London TransAction truck demonstration as a success, but they warn the Government that it "ain't seen...

• Just 72 hours after helping British hauliers in their

biggest show of strength in years, John Donald of Kent's Donald Transport has been forced to "shut the doors of his business"...

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Speeding truck drivers beat ban by Richard Harris • Scottish

lorry drivers working across the border in Cumbria claimed last week they were offered incentives which encouraged them to...

First steps in M-B dealership revamp • Controversial plans by

Mercedes Benz to cut the number of CV groups in its dealer network by 50% have received a boost following the successful...

Time Directive 'will hit wages' • The average British driver

will lose about £94.50 under the EU Working Time Directive, unless the Government addresses the issue of wages. As CM went to...

Explosion in containers...

Hard-pressed container hauliers could see an explosion of work over the coming years, according to a new report which suggests...

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JS Express goes for an 0-licence by Rob Willock •

JS Express, the TNT subcontractor caught operating without its own Operator's Licence, is applying for a new licence under a...

No reprieve for jailed Brits • Peter Hobbs and John

Mills, the lorry drivers sentenced to serve seven-and-a-half years in a Bulgarian jail for smuggling 20.5kg of heroin, have had...

• The Highways Agency is teaming up with the Vehicle

Inspectorate in a bid to weed out any unlicensed HCVs being used on its contracts. "It is believed that the construction and...

irucK saws art Truck registrations leapt 25% last month against

the March 1997 figure as commercial vehicles continued their 1998 sales revival. According to the Society of Motor...

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Wheel loss hits Elddis by John Lelean • Elddis Transport

(Consett), one of the country's largest food carriers with a fleet of 106 artics, has been fined £500 after it admitted using a...

rase in Dover case The passenger in a truck stopped

at Dover Eastern Docks with 14 illegal immigrants hidden behind a load of flowers has been cleared by a jury at Canterbury...

Eurotunnel to set TDG urged to launch Ill ads •

If TDG wants something to do with its money it should launch an advertising campaign for the good of the industry, suggests one...

up own fire team • Eurotunnel has warned Kent and

Calais fire brigades that it is likely to set up its own in-house team of firefighters, following a recommendation by fire...

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Tunnel fire plan • Eurotunnel has warned Kent and Calais

fire brigades that it may create its own in-house team of firefighters, following a recommendation by fire safety consultants....

CONTRACTS • South Wales-based John Raymond Transport has renewed a

218m/three-year contract to provide warehousing and distribution for Rockwool Insulation of Pencoed. It has also renewed its...

Healthy win for Taylor Barnard By David Craik • Taylor

Barnard has beaten off competition from Exel Logistics, Lex Transfleet and Ryder Trucks to land a three-year contract worth...

Animals hauliers warned • Hauliers have been warned by Trading

Standards officials in Hereford and Worcester that they face fines of up to £5,000 if they fail to ensure that animals are fit...

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Contractor in M4 jam fiasco by Sally Nash • The

Highways Agency has promised to review its communication pr,0 cedures over roadworks follo ing a 25-mile traffic jam which...

Wife to the rescue • A Colchester owner-driver whose truck

was wrongly impounded in Italy for 15 days had to get his wife and their friend to drive out and rescue him after diplomatic...

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THE SING CONCE Scania has revised the 4-Series with new

engines and cab layouts. First seen at the Amsterdam Show in February, the changes enter production this month: new 11 and...

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BRIEFS • The overall fuel economy figure at the front

of last month's Isuzu NQR road test (CM 19-25 March 1998) should have read 17.6mpg not 16.5mpg, which was the figure for the...

Econic is launched by Bryan Jarvis Mercedes has given CM

a first glimpse of its new Econic 4x2 and 6x2/4 chassis-cabs, designed to compete head on with the likes of Dennis, ERF,...

Step-frames rejigged as curtainsiders • Transamerica is giving its stock

of unwanted step-frame tilt trailers a new lease of life by converting them into straightframe curtainsiders. Southfields...

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Scaffolding firm found inefficient pending one of the three vehicles

authorised to Swansea-based Dragon Scaffolding (Wales) for six months, South Wales Traffic Commissioner John Mervyn Pugh told...

Licence granted on conditions Hudson's Telford, which had been operating

under interim authority, had applied for a new national licence for seven vehicles and nine trailers at a Birmingham public...

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Drivers falsified records Commissioner Richard McFarlane at a disciplinary inquiry in Edinburgh.

DOT traffic examiner Richard Loftus said the company had been convicted of four offences of breaching the London Boroughs...

Application refused • South Eastern & Metropolitan TC Brigadier Michael

Turner has rejected an application by SMT Services of Canterbury for a new international licence for five vehicles and five...

Bid rejected for convictions The company, of Heath Hayes, Staffordshire,

had applied for a new international licence authorising the operation of four vehicles and two trailers. The application was...

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bird's eye view by the hawk he Hawk has always

been a big fan of healthy exercise— as long as someone else is doing it. So your avian correspondent was particularly impressed...

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Show business Having just read a very up-beat letter from

the SMMT regarding the Commercial Vehicle Show, I felt it important to write to our fellow exhibitors (of both the CV and IRTE...

Cool clarification May I take this opportunity to clarify the

erroneous impression left by the article headed "Reefermen hot under the collar" (CM 1925 Feb). In my capacity as...

Not sad, nor sick Iwholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed

in Dave Lee's letter regarding us "sad, sick people" (CM 26 March-1 April). Does the Econofreight driver regard his own mates...

Leyland club call There have been many suggestions and comments

about the formation of a Leyland club or society to promote and support the restoration of the products of Leyland Motors, and...

Safety with sense Ialways read Commercial Motor with interest. I

am, however, sick of reading that in the name of safety we must comply with complex regulations and risk prosecution when a...

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RHA conference: not a holiday Although your anonymous correspondent (CM

letters 2-8 April) is correct in saying that it is possible to book a cheaper holiday to Cyprus than the conference package...

Legal action Today I write to inform 1 you and

your readers that writs have been issued against United Automobile Services by my legal advisers for personal injury sustained...

Driver shortage Agreat deal has been written recently about the

shortage of HGV drivers. I find it surprising that some industry commentators are apparently confused and unsure why our...

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ERF EC11.380 The ERF was a bit of a cheat—a

high-roofed twin-bunk model rather than a meat-andpotatoes fleet unit; so its noise figures turned out rather better than they...

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IVECO FORD Eurotech Another cheat, this. ..another twin-bunk high-roof sleeper.

Not only that, it had air suspension front and rear, giving it some of the best ride results in the group. But what you gain on...

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MAN 18.343 This is a proper fleet cab: a lowroof

single-bunk job with few bells and whistles and low-key trim. But it scored well with our resident sleeper and with Rover's...

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mER(EDEs ACTROS 1835 Mercedes' Actros may not be a dramatic

advance in the state-of-the-art of the truck cabin, but it has established itself as a logically designed workplace with quite...

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SCANIA P1lit Now this is a proper fleet tractor! Despite

more than 160,000km on the clock, this Weetabix fleet tractor looked new, which is a testament to good use of materials. And...

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VOLVO 11112-380 The Volvo was the odd truck out in

that it was a 6x2 twin-steer, albeit with a straightforward single sleeper cab and mid-range "C" trim—spartan standard trim and...

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C=1253 Test notes: ride and noise As with previous CM

cab tests, we backed our subjective impressions with careful measurements of ride quality and noise. MIRA's Peter Randle and...

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TOYOTA HIACE POWER VAN GS Price as tested: El 3,249 (ex-VAT).

Engine: 2.4-litre diesel, 78hp (58kW). GVW: 2,800kg. Payload: 1,120kg (with 75kg driver). Fuel consumption (laden): 28.3mpg...

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Dec disposa Have you ever wondered what happens to human

waste after it's been treated at the sewage works? In the London area some of it is hauled out of town by Thames Water...

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n sickness a nd in hea th Drivers over 45

risk losing their licences if they fail mandatory medical checks. Now a range of insurance policies offer them some peace of...

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ECONOMIES As VI funding continues to fall in real terms,

some hauliers say they are prepared to pay more for their 0-licence if it means waging effective war against rogue operators....

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PROIII SES After years of debate and thousands of words,

the Government's long-awaited White Paper on transport will soon be with us. Freight Transport Association's director-general...

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441AD 91E4 ECKONEIR When it comes to running a successful

haulage operation, financial ratios are a lot more important than gear ratios... Successful transport businesses are made by...

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The revenue would have completed the motorway network' Alf Buckman,

an owner-driver working out of Dover Docks, wonders why road accidents cause so much delay—and why the Government is so slow to...