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11th December 2003
11th December 2003
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Page 1, 11th December 2003
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Page 6

Drivers hold out for better terms

Drivers flex their might over T\T bonuses and against Great Bear in a contract row. David Harris and Jennifer Ball report....

Scots firm pursued for debt

OPERATORS OWED thousands of pounds by a Scottish freight forwarder are seeking legal advice in an effort to claw back their...

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1/16 Toll feels truck wheels

TRANSPORT SECRETARY Alistair Darling cut a ribbon on a chilly Tuesday morning this week to open the M6Toll— the country's first...

Milk flows

Farmers for Action has suspended blockades at Dairy Crest depots after agreeing a 1,4p/lit increase. However, FFA leader David...

Banbury thefts

Two Volvo FH12 six-wheeler M781 RAG and M63 THD, were stolen from Allen's Transport in Banbury during the night of 6/7...

Bank history?

The BBC is looking for a truck driver with a gripe about banks to take part in a W programme about the benefits of using...

Best truckstop

The Stockyard at Rotherhar has been voted the UK's be truckstop by drivers' websit www.truckersmoan.co.uk. Runners-up include...

Dunkirk raid

Customs at Dunkirk port have seized over 850,000 Ecstasy tablets from a German truck en-route to the UK — the biggest haul ii...

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The toll bill's for you

I helped build the new M6 Toll — but that doesn't mean he'll be able to afford to use it Mind you, with the state of the 'old'...

Fuel runs dry in Midlands

David Harris investigates the apparent shortage of fuel at Nightow TRUCKSTOP OPERATOR Nightowl has been repeatedly running out...

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Pet food boys swap again

WINCANTON DRIVERS on contract to pet food firm Nestle Purina could be forgiven for feeling disoriented as they prepare to...

Pan-Europe road tolls too ambitious says EP

EUROPEAN COMMISSION plans to introduce a pan-European road tolling system by 2005 have been stalled this week by the European...

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NOT BAD, JUST NOT RIGHT

Plenty of people in this industry of ours won't celebrate the opening of the new M6 Toll. At £11 a throw it's an extravagance...

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Regional split on grain rates

Grain haulage rates are rising — but not for everyone... Emma Penny reports. HAULIERS PICKING LT grain for short journeys in...

Danger: spilt diesel kills motorcyclists

DIESEL SPILLS could be contributing to up to 6,000 serious injuries and deaths a year among motorcyclists, according to the RAC...

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Subbie fears unpaid bills will ruin him

Jennifer Ball reports on a subcontractor faced by ruin over E 12,000 worth of unpaid invoices. A STAFFORDSHIRE subbie claims...

IV uckaway eight-legger was 26% too heavy

AN OVERLOADED tipper I cost a Cambridgeshire opera and one of its drivers 11,050 fines and costs. Isleham-based Newman] Tipper...

CM helps haulier get his green grant OWNER-DRIVER Mick Hodgkinson

has won a year-long battle to receive the grant aid he is entitled to for using an environmentally friendly truck after his...

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No discussion on shoulders

Hard shoulders really are going to be used for traffic — Chris Tindall reports. THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY (HA) is pressing ahead...

Sales head for a record

NOVEMBER WAS another healthy month for CV registrations with a rise of 9.5% over November 2002. However this figure disguises a...

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At night make it bright

A PARLIAMENTARY transport chief says brighter reflective strips on the side of trucks could save operators money. John Thurso,...

Irish toll rise will hike costs by 7%

A DIESEL TAX hike of 5c/lit in the 3 December Irish Budget could force up direct haulage costs by 7`)/0.And a40% increase in...

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Capital news!

TRUCK DRIVERS are unlikely to face widespread London-style congestion charges outside the capital because only one other city...

One in five 1 in the red...

NEARLY 20% of UK I age firms are running in the according to financial analys publisher Plimsoll. In its latest report on the...

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Team

l eader • S tood outside Reading station waiting for a lift. I idly wonder what type of execmobile it's going to be.1 hope for...

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Contracts

As Sturman explains, there's no easy way to go about setting up a contract. Sales leads will come in from a variety of sources,...

Members

Ling is made up of 28 family run haulage firms that, between them, can offer full UK coverage, including the far-flung parts of...

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The devil's in the detail...

I HAVE JUST read with interest your road test of the Transit.While I totally agree with most of what was written in this...

Jamie Oliver has the right idea

I HAVE READ with interest the continuing saga of driver shortages and how the industry will grind to a halt in 2005 if we do...

Dibden Bay: how nearby is nearby?

1WAS VERY interested to read that Southampton ContainerTer (SCT) problems are caused by its failure to develop - nearby" Dibden...

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Recruiting drive

The UK faces a driver shortage of at least 60,000 and rising. So what's being done to resolve it — and why do so few youngsters...

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A shower of tack) problem

AYRSHIRE INTERNATIONAL haulier P&C Hamilton and four of its drivers have appeared before a Dumfries disciplinary inquiry to...

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Promises save the day

WIDE RANGING undertakings about vehicle maintenance, driver training and the checking of tachograph records, enabled a South...

Domestic problems no excuse says TC

PERSONAL PROBLEMS were blamed for a poor maintenance record over a 14-month period when Wishaw-based Kevin 1 lenderson appeared...

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Record lapse leads to licence cut

A CHESHIRE OPERATOR who gave up keeping maintenance records "years ago" has had his twovehicle licence cut to one until the end...

Firm and drivers hit for hours breaches

DRIVERS' HOURS and tachograph offences have cost an Essex company and three of its drivers £4,392 in fines and costs....

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Flag of convenience?

The grass may look greener for hauliers in another country, but flagging out has plenty of potential pitfalls. Steve Banner...

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Clamping comeback

Park somewhere safe and still find steel wrapped round your wheels? CM looks at the case for clamping comeback. O ne driver's...

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10 things you need

to know about.. LAYING OFF STAFF WITH CHRISTMAS fast approaching, even the best run companies can suffer a temporary drop in...

By mutual consent

union, or a Joint Industry Council agreement or similar agreement which the employer follows. Such agreements only have...

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WORTH GETTING USED TO

W hen CM tested the TG-A 410 4x2 tractor (19 October 2000) we concluded that the hype surrounding a major launch was, for once,...

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FIRST OF THE NEW CROP

The UK spec of the new lveco Eurocargo has arrived here. But will it be as popular as its predecessor? Emma Penny reports. W...

Page 48

Shortfalls

at pitfalls HGV workshops can be dangerous places to work. But, as Tim Maughan finds out, operators who do their homework can...

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Covering your back

Busy operators may not have the time to scrutinise every potential hazard in their workshops and, even if they do, it may...

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Risk Management

DrJohn Powell is head of the Health and Safety Executive's engineering national group. From his high rise Birmingham office, he...

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DO IT YOURSELF?

Some hauliers outsource maintenance, others opt for the DIY approach. Bryan Jarvis talks to a group of operators with very firm...

Dodds of Sittingbourne

Distance isn't an issue for Dodds Group's Sittingbourne depot, which out-sources truck maintenance to its neighbouring Mercedes...

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In-house maintenance

While many maintenance packages embody a great deal of flexibility and common sense, many operators still come down firmly on...

Samworth Brothers Distribution

Samworth Brothers Distribution (SBD) has strong views on in-house maintenance, Its sizeable fleet of eye-catching yellow artics...

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TOUGH AS 01.

BOOTS! W itness this: elderly Hilux drowns in the Severn Estuary. is driven into trees, down steps, set on fire and then has a...

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MICRO MACHINES

W hat the Mega lacks in sophistication it more than makes up for in personality. It may draw strange looks from passers-by but...

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Fuel saver fuels success

I n August. we were approached by the manufacturer of a fuel-saving device. No doubt many of you have been offered miracle...

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Top prices for top trucks

Glass's reckons the healthy demand for used trucks will extend into 200 , T he used truck market has been building a solid...

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Conned-big people

Ford is keeping a tight control over the emergence of the Transit Connect into the used market. CAP editor David Hill looks at...

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Tidy tipper is fair to Midium

agent for the Stoke-on-Rent area, and while the site is tucked away down a side street in Fenton the location is handy enough,...