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15th December 2005
15th December 2005
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Page 1, 15th December 2005
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Page 6

Coroner slams Nimil after fatal accident

iVercedes-Benz has come under fire for being "slow off the mark" in responding to a potentially deadly braking fault in the...

ND scorns payment order from UK court

A BERKSHIRE subcontractor has still not been paid by Norbert Dentressangle, despite a court order ordering the French giant to...

Page 7

Higginbottom challenges Monks to lead URTU

CM EXCLUSIVE A PERIOD OF upheaval could he on the cards for the United Road Transport Union (URTU) after former...

Industry response to fuel depot fire

FUEL DISTRIBUTORS have stepped in to help out with the shortfall in petrol station deliveries following the explosion at the...

Trailer sought

Lancashire Police are trying to trace a maroon trailer with STTS2 on the bulkhead. The 12m triaxle curtainsider is pan of a...

Suspicious driver

Strathclyde Police are hunting the driver of a white van that tried to stop a HGV bound for Hurlford at around 6.30am with a...

Camera curb

Alistair Darling may limit the growth in speed cameras by changing the rules governing their funding. There are 6,000 camera...

Takeover backing

PD Ports has recommended acceptance of £260m takeover offer from the Australian investor Babcock and Brown. PD Ports operates...

Accident arrest

A truck driver from Coventry has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a fatal smash in...

405 sought A Peugeot 405 car is being sought by

police after it was spotted by a truck driver with five men acting suspiciously near parked trucks on the A20 in Kent.

Page 8

FTA slams EU for 'inflexible' changes to drivers' hours

Just when you thought no more rule changes could be generated by the EU, it meddles with the drivers hours rules. Chris Tindall...

Green light for huge shared warehouses

PLANS TO ALLOW large shared warehouses to be built throughout Britain have been welcomed by the FTA, which says they are needed...

Page 9

£1,000 agreement for 3663

DRIVERS AT CHILLED food distribution firm 3663 will pocket nearly £1,000 each this Christmas as a goodwill gesture for giving...

North-East firebombing attacks suspect bailed

POLICE IN Newcastle upon Tyne have made an arrest in connection with a string of arson attacks in which at least 18 haulage...

Self-help is the answer

Brian Weatherley welcomes the Burns Inquiry report but wonders whether it will suffer the fate of previous reports sent to the...

Page 10

Roll up, roll up for Euro-3

With 30 September 2006 as the final date for registering a Euro-3 truck, the anticipated surge in orders has begun. Louise Cole...

Mega-truck trials are blocked — for now

TRANSPORT MINISTER Dr Stephen Ladyman has refused to allow trials of heavier, longer trucks on UK roads. Despite the setback,...

Page 12

Iceland drivers win

new 4% pay deal Iceland thaws its pay freeze for almost 100 drivers in the face of strike threats. Guy Sheppard reports....

Steady business at S&S Distribution

KENT-BASED HAULAGE firm S&S Distribution says it is pleased with its first year of trading since becoming a limited company....

FTAs NI road budget anger

THE FREIGHT Transport Association has reacted angrily to proposed cuts of 20% to Northern Ireland's road maintenance budget....

Page 14

British truckers accused of smuggling 'presumed guilty'

Specialist lawyers warn that truck drivers arrested for offences on the 2ontinent aren't getting a fair hearing. David Harris...

High-tech traps on the way following trial

MORE THAN 20 roads around the country are to be fitted with high-tech devices to trap lawbreaking operators. The Department...

Page 15

Consultation on Bath bypass

PLANS FOR A il()Om Bath bypass are out for public consultation. Richard Rawlinson, Bath and North East Somerset Council's head...

URTU calls for medic&

TI - IS UNITED Road Transport Union has presented a petition to Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman calling for free medical...

ON THE MARGIN

Goodwill to nearly all Christmas ah, Christmas. The season of massive overindulgence and binge-eating is well and truly upon...

Page 16

That was the year...

1953 Elizabeth H was crowned; Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay got to the top of Mt Everest. The Korean War ended; the US...

Page 18

A bridge-bashing too far

Bridge-bashing is a 10m-a-year problem — and no-one seems to have any idea of how to solve it. David Harris reports. fl-IE...

Network Rail, which supplied the statistics used in the DfT

analysis, says bridge-bashing accidents cause El Om of damage every year. The reasons for bridge-bashing are elusive,...

CS profits up despite tough trading in UK

:HE MD OF Christian Salvesen ays the first half of the year as tough for its UK transport iusiness, with no sign that volumes...

Page 19

Turn of a dial Fortec Pallets too big for Rugby

costs £60,000 FROZEN FISH worth £60,000 was ruined in an Aberdeen haulage yard last week when vandals turned down the...

PALLET NETWORK Fortec Pallets expects to outgrow its Rugby huh by 2007 if current growth levels are maintained.

The 58-member network handles 2,500 pallets at the hub every night; throughput is set to be nearer 3,500 a night by 2007....

Business Post Group boss quits

PAUL CARVELL, the chief executive of Business Post Group, has quit following a marked downturn in its fortunes. His...

Page 20

TNT's leaving logistics

TNT aims to sell its logistics arm — but who's in the market? Dominic Perry reports. T he news that express transport...

Page 24

Anything,

an y where, DISTRIBUTION I P M IE TF anyhow! Dominic Perry has been to meet the team behind Fortec Pallets — a relatively...

Page 28

Retraining needed?

RESPONDINGTO the letter from Rob Roweth (CM 1 December), 1 fully agree that the Jrivers of the HGVs involved in the 17.5-mile...

Join me in motorway campaign

MY LOCAL MP, David Kidney, recently invited Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman to meet the people of Stafford and talk about...

Reports of ERF's death 'greatly exaggerated'

10 PARAPHRASE Mark fwain:"Your reports of ERF's Jeath are greatly exaggerated." Your excellent roadtest report )f our ERE ECT...

Page 30

Putting safety first

Safety is paramount in the transport industry, so how do you increase it? CM's news team went to the Transport Research...

Page 31

Reco I nisin u safe achievement Last week's International Road

Safety Awards honoured Scan la and BP for their dedication to accident reduction. Both received awards for their comprehensive...

Reducing the risk TRL is planning to investigate why the

rates of truck-roll accidents have dropped recently after figures released this month showed that the problem has declined....

Page 33

Tad° offenders are sent to crown court for sentence

Magistrates decide that they are not able to impose a tough enough sentence and commit father-and-son tacho falsifiers to Crown...

Page 34

Company with no CPC holder

has licence cut for 30 days AVON-BASED THORNBURY Car Transporters has had its licence cut following its second appearance at...

Previously jailed haulier awaits TC's decision on fresh licence application

A SOUTHAMPTON HA I. LIER who was jailed for eight years in 1999 for conspiracy involving money laundering and the importation...

Page 35

Operator that lent out vehicles faces adion against licence after inquiry

BURY-BASED MVP (Spares), which allowed another company to use MVP vehicles with the other company's drivers, has to wait to see...

Partners who threatened violence to vehicle examiner are disqualified

TWO PARTNERS IN a West Yorkshire firm threatened a vehicle examiner with violence then failed to appear at a Leeds disciplinary...

Page 36

Skills for life

Will the driver CPC be good for the industry, or is it just more red tape? Pat Hagan asked the CM operators' panel for their...

THE PANEL

Kevin Brooke Fleelmaster Operational Support Services Leeds Kevin Brooke is managing director of a three-branch driver agency,...

Page 37

Charles Burke TRS Specialist Vehicle Sales Rhondda Valley

Truck dealer Burke has been in the industry for more than 40 years and is worried the Driver Training Directive will sound the...

Adam Purshall TM Logistics ;Manley, Worcestershire

Adam Purshall is contract manager in a company that employs 400 people and runs 200 vehicles. Like many in the industry, he...

Page 38

With its emphasis on road safety and a more skilled

workforce the move to a driver CPC has received a cautious welcome from some members of the operators' panel. As one put it,...

THE PANEL (continued) Philip Baker AJ Baker & Son Hastings,

East Sussex Owner-driver Philip Baker can see no immediate benefit for him from compulsory training; only added cost. At 57,...

Paul Arthurton Paul Arthurton Transport Norfolk A UK and international

haulier with 12 vehicles in his fleet, Paul Arthurton wants to know where the evidence to support the need for such stringent...

Neil James Hunts of Redditch Removals firm boss Neil James

has been running his Redditch, Worcs-based business for 15 years, specialising in international and domestic removals. He is...

Ed Pargeter

Director, EP Training Leatherhead, Surrey As a training provider, EP Training is already looking at the implications of the...

Page 39

Malcolm Millard MGM Haulage Flexiord, Southampton Road haulage veteran Millard,

has been in the business for more than 50 years and is staunchly in favour of the new dryer training measures. But like many...

Martin Barnes Operations engineer, Barnes & Hind, Somerset With 20

years in the industry, Barnes currently works as a transport manager for two owner-drivers, one of whom is his brother. He...

PROPOSALS IN BRIEF

*Every new driver will need to gain a Certificate of Professional Competence • Gaining a CPC could mean up to five weeks'...

Page 40

This week's answers have been supplied by a team of lawyers from Barker Gotelee, based in Ipswich, Suffolk.

Tagging order I was found guilty of two charges of tachograph falsification in a magistrates court and a further charge which...

Page 42

BACK ON THE ROAD AGA N

We do more roadtesting than anyone else — but readily admit that a trip around the Scottish route isn't the same as a week on...

Page 45

CS Ellis

Established in 1933, the 35-strong CS Ellis (Group) fleet operates from a purpose-built site in South Luffenham, in the centre...

Page 48

VW'S NEW BOX OF TRICKS

A s predicted, the Volkswagen Caddy van is now available in the UK with Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) automatic transmission (CM...

Page 50

Peter Jenner directs

SMALL S a five-strong skeletal tank trailer fleet from his remote East his remote East Sussex home. BEAUTIFUL tTaikmes.ma r...

Page 54

HIGHWAY TO HELL?

Knowledge of the rules of the road can be a matter of life and death. Robin Meczes checks out some new so:tware designed to...

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Or fa votw e INIG 4o

It" tfI GS CM'S centenary quest for the greatest ever commercial vehicle is finally over — and there's a clear winner......

Page 64

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Key performance indicators are a proven way to maximise productivity and thus profits. Tim Maughan explores the right way to...

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KPI implementation guidelines If possible, transport bosses should provide incentives, and managers should involve personnel in setting targets.

Review dates should be established, and current performance compared with earlier figures. This is a vital opportunity to take...

Page 66

Time for a new route from north to south

Stan Robinson took his wife truck racing, which got him thinking about the future of Foden. He's also been talking to the...

Page 69

Going, going, gone

Chris Hart has started up an independent used vehicle dealership after more than a decade working for a franchised vendor....

Page 70

Fleet of fancy

Manheim Auctions' Jeremy Martell gives CM the inside track on the products going through at auction. We've saved the best till...

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Manufacturers

The main manufacturers reflect the current marketplace for lateyear products: Volvo, Scania and Mercedes-Benz.The older export...

Prices

Prices are strong here as there seems to be a demand for just about every kind of tractor, from day cabs and low horsepower to...

Buyers

For older stock, buyers tend to be direct exporters; for late-year stock with low mileage, buyers are more usually end users,...

What to look for

The key here is to know your market. Decent late-year stock will sell itself, but exports will make just as much money. Classic...

What to avoid

If you're planning to export, auto boxes and electronic-managed engines are no-nos, as is late-year stock with low horsepower...

Conclusion

Export stock or late-year, tractor units will sell well at auction. Manheim has worked hard to get its sales philosophy right...

Page 72

Used market slows as Christmas approaches

Christmas is renowned for the seasonal lull it brings to used truck sales, but 7.5-tonners and anything unusual are still...

Page 73

Easier finance hits sales Qf older tractor units

DEMAND FOR older used tractor units is being hit hard by the ease with which hauliers can finance late-registered examples,...

Euro-4 is set to boost demand for Euro-3

D TRUCK dealers are expressing cauoptimism about sales in 2006. Faced with ew technology associated with Euro-4, not to mention...