1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
All quiet on the Western Fred
Page 66
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Peter Orr describes Germany's road pricing plans and survives the Paris Peripherique.
The end of September is the end of the holiday season on the Continent and people start buying again so maybe I'll see an upturn in business. My favourite freight forwarder reveals that today's problem is the lack of vehicles available in Europe.This time of year normally signals the start of the funny season ie industrial action but so far all is quiet on the Western Front.The lack of success last year by our French colleagues has perhaps dampened their enthusiasm for action but road pricing might make travel interesting in the future.
Germany. which is suffering from recession, the continued burden of reunification and, according to my paper, a pension system in a state of collapse. needs revenue fast. It looks as though we,Europe's hauliers.are going to supply it through a per-kilometre charge on the motorways if they ever get the electronics right that is Drivers visiting Germany today can already practice on 3,000 multi-lingual touch-screen terminals installed for the launch date of 2 November. Hauliers who travel to Germany should now be preparing their customers for a rate rise to cover this extra cost.
France is also suffering a recession. Mind you,paying for a ticket louse their autoroute system I thought I was already paying off the French national debt To travel from Calais to Paris costs €48 for 2081cm:that's about 13.5p/km before tax. Will French operators accept a widening of this charge to cover N-roads? Probably. yes: they'll just up their rates to cover it.
This whole road pricing business is dubious to say the least.Across Europe we act as tax collectors, we pass it on to our customers who pass it on to Giusseppi Public. It's effectively a hidden tax rise while politicians' reputations remain intact. Great.
No great tale of derring do this month. Paris has at the moment become a regular destination, earning me enough money without going too far.The most interesting part of the trip can be the Peripherique; a four-lane ring road, with no hard shoulder, round Paris. It's best travelled with your eyes shut. However, it does have an excellent overhead warning system. You can be 20 minutes from your destination and up flashes the information that your exit is 83 minutes away, and it will be. Regularly blocked by accidents, the interest then is to watch ambulances, police and on one occasion a Brinks Mat security artic squeezing through four lanes of queuing traffic.
Reloads are usually local but a trip up to Belgium, which is on the way home, can be an earner. This allows refuelling at the BP Truckstop at Roye en route, which. excluding supermarkets, offers the cheapest dery in France. The excellent restaurant there is now owned by the Arcotel chain, catering for drivers across France. Its so good that at weekends French families eat there.
French Customs has for seve years been patrolling extensive but this has not stopped many thousands of immigrants reach ing the Channel Port.The Frem Belgian border is a favourite pull-in for them. My last trip wa no exception.The whole lot we there,'enforcing with equality', treating all equally while retain their repute.The hardest part is getting the Gendarmes to sign I tacho. Onward into Belgium, al buying a vignette for about £6 per day. I load and then head fa Lokeren, where there is anothe great truckstop.
Drivers from all over Europi use Lokeren and looking aroui the restaurant one fact stands c the only country that still has a nificant number of young drive is Holland where the money ar conditions are good and, if thei cheerful manner is anything to by,fun is still on the agenda.
This trip looked like ending well until the compressor on th fridge gave up the ghost. Not b after 18,000 hours, which lain 1 is about normal. But that's this month's profit gone. •