• In an exclusive interview with Commercial Motor, newly appointed Roads and Traffic Minister Christopher Chope has shown...

• A crime ring involved in the theft of over 150 trucks in South-East England is alleged to have been broken by an undercover...

• The Government agency Crown Suppliers has reversed a decision made in August to sell its inter-departmental despatch service,...

• Roads and Traffic Minister Christopher Chope has ruled out serialising tacho charts in a bid to stamp out drivers' hours...

• A relief driver for ISC Chemicals told Exeter Crown Court that he was warned by a water authority employee to keep quiet...

IN Training specialist S Jones reports that 60% of the drivers who take its hazardous packages course have previously been...

• Leyland Daf dealer Banks Truck Centre of Bedford has won BS5750 — the manufacturer wants all of its distributors to work...

IN United Carriers has presented its driver Terry Doling with a bravery award for rescuing people from a blazing car on the A3.

• The Department of Transport has opened a weighbridge in Saxondale, Notts.

age Association hopes that a consignor liability defence might be introduced. The DTp has sent forms to traffic examiners on...

national lorry ban • Somerset County Council has launched what it hopes is the start of a national campaign to ban trucks over...

• Most oil companies will be selling dery for less than 44p/lit at the pumps this week, according to fuel analyst Oil Price...

• Romanian truck drivers launched an indefinite strike this week in a bid to bring down their government.

• Iveco's managing director Giorgio Garuzzo is to head parent group Fiat's automotive operation and is now favourite to succeed...

• Two Turkish truck drivers have been charged with illegal drug importation, after a haul of heroin worth over Min was...

• Security at CPC exams has been stepped up. More inspectors are visiting test centres, exam papers are being packed...

• The Department of Transport has delayed the introduction of minimum-weight test vehicles from April 1991 to 1994 to give...

• Bodybuilder WilcoxSeadyke, which went into receivership last week, is making less than a quarter of its staff redundant so...

• Shadow Transport Secretary John Prescott has offered new Transport Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind an olive branch. "Can we take...

• Truck drivers stranded in last weekend's arctic conditions are outraged at the failure of the emergency services to get help...

iii Haulier Cormal Highland has had environmental conditions imposed on its Glasgow depot, even though it is abandoning the...

• An up-dated version of the four-year-old Leyland-bodied Lynx was unveiled by VL Bus and Coach this week. The Lynx II is...

• A motorcyclist who was nearly hanged when he became entangled in a piece of rope dangling from a parked truck has won...

• Could this be the long awaited medium-weight cab which Daf is expected to launch before the end of 1992? The photographs of...

in by next summer • US engine manufacturer Detroit Diesel says it will publish the results of UK trials on its four-stroke...

• Multidrive has won the Northern Business Award for Design and Technology for its Multidrive trailer.

Notts, has added 27 AWD TL 8-14s to its 350-strong fleet.

• Bodybuilder Allan Fuller of Chepstow has put a vacuum tanker on a Mercedes 6x4 which can suck material from depths of more...

• Concept Metal Products is introducing an adjustable trailer sideguard which it says can be fitted in 30 minutes and costs...

• Iveco plans to launch a vehicle electronics diagnostic device for 600 of its European dealers during 1992. The system is...

• Bateson Trailers of Stockport has developed three versions of a two-axle/one-car transporter. The three sizes are: 4.6m long...

• The Vehicle Inspectorate says it may have discovered inconsistencies between an ERF workshop manual and later ERF...

• Boalloy will be launching a 13.5m version of its pillarless Tautliner curtainsider trailer body early next year. The...

• Bedford haulier Ray Joyner will put his second MercedesBenz 2435 6x4 Powerliner tractive unit into service in January. He...

• Parcels company Tuffnells is restructuring its workforce to include a greater proportion of owner-drivers. Where possible...

• Lex subsidiary Chart Services has renewed a distribution contract, worth about 23m, with footwear retailer Stylo-Barratts....

• TNT is looking for 130 firms to join its 220-strong network of local collection points marketed under the Parcel Office...

• Hauliers who were part of the collapsed Time Sensitive Deliveries (TsEIL) magazine distribution network are to relaunch the...

• The owner of Inverness-based Sooty Transport is retiring and selling his 41/2-year-old general haulage business. Campbell...

• Smiths Crisps has added 20 specially converted, large capacity Fiat Ducato vans to its fleet.

• Parcels carrier Parceline is to launch a 48-hour delivery service to major European cities early next year, as part of a...

• Christian Salvesen has made half-year pre-tax profits of £36m, a 10.4% increase on the same period in 1989. Turnover is up...

• Christie-Tyler, one of the UK's largest furniture manufacturers, has replaced its Mercedes 1617 tractive units with 38 MAN,...

• Daimler-Benz shares are now listed on the London Stock Exchange.

• The British International Freight Association will present its 1990 Freight Service Awards in recognition of "professional...

• General haulier Oswald Ingham of Rochdale has been awarded quality standard BS5750.

• BRS has met the Transport and General Workers' Union to discuss its claim for a 15% wage increase, plus improvements in terms...

• Royal Mail Parcelforce has teamed up with London Carriers International to offer a guaranteed nationwide pallet delivery...

• Nightshift Express is moving into new, larger premises at Oldbury in the West Midlands this week as part of its restructuring...

• Heavy haulier Hills of Pyebridge, Derbyshire has had its 0-licence renewed despite an environmental representation by a...

• R Ward & Sons of Lowton near Manchester has been banned from running trucks over 12.5 tonnes after a resident complained that...

• A haulier who failed to meet a good repute requirement in 1985, has had his current international licence for two vehicles...

its PSV licence cut from 26 to 22 vehicles due to maintenance problems. It was seeking to increase its authorisation to 32...

To stay on the right side of the law operators have to avoid "permiting" driver offences. • A number of recent court cases...

• Wrights of Wrexham is capitalising on the Crosville Wales driver dispute which ended last month with the sacking of 120...

• Minibus specialist Devon Conversions is forecasting that its profits will more than double this year after concentrating on...

• The Scottish Bus Group's largest subsidiary, Western Scottish, went up for sale last week. It is the eighth SBG company to be...

• Shearings has taken on five Van Hool T815 integrals as part of its largest order of new vehicles to date. They will be used...

• The sale of Purfleetbased Ensign Bus now looks imminent following the collapse of negotiations with a US venture capital...

• The Government is expected to announce whether it will back Sheffield's 2230m "Supertram" project this week.

• Transport Minister Roger Freeman plans to meet with the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers in the new year to...

• Rider Group shares are now worth 28p, compared with 5p when the company was first privatised in October 1988.

IN An employee/ management buyout bid will be put forward for Tayside Buses in February, which could lead to the company being...

• An average of 17 seats are occupied on a London bus, according to this month's Labour Party News.

• Male drivers have had to be taken on for an experimental women-only minibus operation in Bradford following a lack of...

AWD managing director Dr Michael Sanderson is restructuring the business to take a bigger slice of the overseas market. • When...

a strange windfall for Westerrnann (UK) driver Anthony Bryant. His drawbar rig was blasted by a gust of wind on a bridge during...

share his collection of Volvo F88 pictures taken "during the early to mid-seventies right up to the present". A nice thought,...

and Sarah, three Asian elephants belonging to Gerry Cottie's Circus, which happened to be in London recently. "As a health...

emu, or is that ecu, we're all going to have to enjoy being Europeans. However, a British tradition of cocking a snook at the...

Bank, Rochdale for correct answers to the Hawk's competition about the first bus ever and its route (CM 15-21 November). The...

OUT OF ACTION • Cargovan, the Bridgendbased light vehicle bodykit supplier will temporarily close from January until a new site...

[RE IN AVONMOUTH • ERF Bristol is moving from the city centre to new premises at the Severnside Industrial Estate, Burcott...

Engineering of Belfast has been appointed sole distributor in Ireland for EMA Speed Control Systems. Two new agents have been...

THE GKN WAY • The GKN International College of Engineering was opened in Germany last week by group chairman David Lees. The...

Contact (0892) 26171.

1991 programme of courses in transport temperature control equipment. They range from three days for diagnostics, to one week...

The course will be held on the third Tuesday of each month at Abingdon in Oxfordshire. It costs 2105, (ex-VAT), including...

BOOKING SALLY • Sally Line is introducing a computerised freight booking

system on its Ramsgate to Ostend route. It is already operating on the Dunkirk services. Contact (0483) 595566.

LIFT LITERATURE • Power Lifts vehicle lifts, which can carry vehicles up to 40 tonnes between floors, are described in a new...

TRACKING KEGS • Kegtracker is a new in-cab computer for brewery drivers. Available from Datac, it keeps records, produces...

The synthetic chamois pad retails at 21.29, and a doublesided pad, half synthetic and half chamois, is 21.49. Clean Rite has...

loading bay buffer which is more robust than traditional buffer materials such as rubber and hardwood. Contact (0743) 236277.

a Germandeveloped oil filtration and fuel saving system for diesel engines. It is claimed to reduce oil changes to 120,000km...

help the war effort in 1941, but CFS believes it is still relevant to today's trucks and operations and says hauliers which...

up with a Freeze Beater Pack to cope with winter emergencies such as frozen diesel storage tanks and damp electrics. The pack...

now offering you the chance to spread the message that Britain needs trucks with four stylish stickers: (A) "Trucks keep...

Few drivers or their employers appear to be facing up to the implications of the changes to the HGV licensing system. • The...

Alan Bunting takes a look at the advantages of low-floored vehicles. • Vehicle deck height reductions are like pay increases —...

'bus from the wheels up' alternative to •oods-vehicle-derived PSVs. We test a 29-seater aimed at multi-dro. o•erations. in In...

II bait Bob Triggs suffered the lorry drivers' worst nightmare when he lost his HGV licence through ill health. He now runs...

about the case of the Ribble Motor Services fitter who was sacked after a lost wheel case involving a Mercedes 608 midibus (CM...

I hold an HGV Class I drivers licence and, although faced with all the usual problems of finding employment and so on, I'd like...

general manager of ERF Bristol. He comes from Leyland Bus where he was general manager, South-West parts and service centre.

its traffic office: Harry Baker joins as traffic clerk after 40 years with Brooke Bond in Bristol; transport manager Chris...

new training manager at Lynx Express Delivery Network. It is a new position and Algar will be responsible for training the...

as systems manager. His job will be to provide better quality systems support to new and existing operations. Sands comes from...

AL 1 ARAC Armin Altarac has joined the LEP International Management main board as director for Latin America. Based in Miami,...

of Bibby Distribution Services, the contract distribution arm of Liverpool-based Bibby Line Group. He was a divisional manager...

Truck Components — Europe. It is a new position and Best will be responsible for all European manufacturing, product...

to be general manager — braking parts and service. He succeeds Peter Mitchell who retires early next year.

• The eighth annual conference of the European Transport Maintenance Council (ETMC) will be remembered not for its theme of...

• The National Tyre Distributors' Association (NTDA) has launched an Approved Tyre Repairer Scheme and published a poster...

• Luton Borough Council's transport division has installed a computer-controlled brush wash capable of cleaning any vehicle...

• Renault has bought Reading Transport's Bennet Road commercial workshop for more than £.2m and plans to open a new dealership...

• AWD now fits Lipe clutches as standard to its entire range. The light-weight rigid range and the urban tractive units will...

• Ainscough Engineering has launched a PSV contract maintenance scheme, where the operator carries out the work in his own...

E Scania has begun a drive to improve its customer aftercare service, and will introduce a £150a-day compensation system in the...

• A training video entitled 'How you can reduce workshop risk' has been produced by General Accident. It covers the risks...

• K S Winston, UK distributor for OE engine component manufacturer Kolbenschmidt, is looking to include maintenance engineers...

• A new training centre dedicated to fitters employed in the fast fit industry has been opened in Cannock. Lloyds Br,itish...

III The commercial vehicle lift and rolling road division of reconditioner Swift Equipment, has been bought from the receiver...

• America's leading truck and trailer tail-light manufacturer, Truck-Lite, is about to enter the European market with a...

E Trent Buses is running a trial of Carbon Clean equipment at one of its depots in an effort to reduce the number of smoking...

• liendrickson Norde has issued a warning to operators using its suspension systems to watch out for non-genuine rubber springs...

E Impact Accident Repair, the commercial vehicle and fleet bodywork specialist, has opened a new branch in Birmingham. In a...

• A 45 million replacement programme, over the next four years, will ensure that all of the Vehicle Inspectorate's 91 test...

• Pirtek, the Pirelli-based hydraulic equipment repair service, is to set up 70 branches throughout the UK. Five are already in...

• The Gremlins crept into Workshop Ways in our October issue. On stage 22 the Volvo F12's wheel nut tightening torque should...

Colin Sowman reports from the eighth ETMC conference in Vienna. • Two papers and one session were of special interest to fleet...

Even small workshops can run a cost-effective and efficient parts store using main agents, factors and computerised systems...

back in 1988 and its tractive units scored an instant success but the 8 x 4 is not a big seller coming well down the league...

Workshop's guide to choosing vehicle lifts: What to look for in the various types, their pros and cons and mobile versus...

Privatisation has bought a streamlined operation and the opportunity of a share in the company's future for the workforce at...

III PITanton is importing a range of glass-filled nylon fittings for connecting vacuum hoses to centralised extraction...

II Transit is a new multi-functional fuel management system from FT&P of Banbury. It is based on IBM compatible components and...

• X-amp is a mobile battery booster designed for fitting into a service or breakdown vehicle. The unit is wired into the...

• A range of dispensing bars for bulk stored oil and fluids has been introduced by Aro. The bars are a clean non-drip method of...

• Motoplat has introduced two items for the testing of diesel engines, a timing light and a smoke meter. The CV230 timing...

• Millers Oils has introduced a range of specialist lubricants and maintenance products called Aerosol Workshop. The range...

• Akzo Coatings has introduced a chromate-free etching primer for use under all its topcoats. The new primer, Washfiller 590...

• Grinco sanding discs and sheet abrasives are now being marketed in the UK by Airo. The range is said to cover all industrial...

product cleaning • Trafficair has launched a single product cleaning system for truck, bus and coach operators. Called...

• CK's Safe Line pliers and cutters are designed to conform to \IDE specifications as required by the new Electricity at Work...

II The new SICMO 8 spray gun removes many of the problems relating to in-situ spraying, says the manufacturers. The adjustable...

• A low-cost spraybooth system for large commercial vehicles has been introduced by Accent. The new booth can be manufactured...

• A M Test Systems is distributing a new model of radiator tester made by Zeca in Italy. The system, called the 415, finds...