• Ulster-based Trevor Cathers has become the first UK haulier to settle a claim against the French authorities for November's...

by Michael Jewell • Operators who fail to check tachograph records can be convicted of permitting drivers' hours offences, the...

• Hauliers heavily fined for offences such as overloading could lose their 0-licences under a European Commission proposal to...

by Sally Nash • Hauliers owed £17m following the collapse of the Irish shipping firm Bell Lines could receive up to 40p in the...

• More than 1,200 British trucks were forced to use the M20 in Kent as a giant truckstop last week after French fishermen...

WON'T THEY? ill you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance.. .renewed talk of a possible marriage between...

Ford transfers by Miles Brignall and Karen Miles • A number of Road Haulage Association members have resigned their membership...

week on whether 300 drivers at Ford's Dagenham plant had the right to transfer from the Transport & General Workers Union to...

• Animal rights activists caused up to £25,000 of fire damage to trucks at Warwickshire livestock haulier T Spiers & Sons last...

For 38 tonne operation, Actros V6 tractors make a rock hard argument for better performance. Starting with all-new lightweight...

• Stara Carbon less Paper has awarded a national distribution contract to TDG Williams worth about £250,000 in the first year....

by Brian Weatherley • Wisbech-based specialist trailer manufacturer Maxilode has gone into voluntary liquidation after eight...

• The first plea of the Freight Transport Association to the country's new Government will be to retain the Department of...

• The pressure group Transport 2000 come out second best in a public debate on the need for road building staged by the...

by Karen Miles • British hauliers' battles to survive during a string of Continental blockades in the past six months caused...

by Ian Wylie • The Foreign Office has refused to back the campaign to release Essex owner-driver Steve Bryant from a Moroccan...

• A debate is raging within the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association about Operators' Licences. Rental firms are not...

• Safeway is considering random drug tests for its drivers. A spokeswoman says: "Safeway may consider introducing it at a later...

• Removals rates have gone up by as much as six times the rate of inflation over the past year, says a new report. The...

• Senior Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts is warning hauliers not to annoy their neighbours if they want to avoid problems...

by Miles Brignali • Just in time (JIT) deliveries have not increased the number of trucks on the road in the way...

• Avon and Somerset police found that 75% of 3,000 trucks inspected in random spot checks had mechanical defects, including...

• Eurotunnel has again delayed the deadline for the resumption of freight services, suggesting that a partial service could be...

• Warehousing and transport firm Seafield considered pulling out of general haulage because profit margins are so low, says...

If operators such as building materials suppliers need a long trailer on one leg of the journey and a shorter one on the other,...

ERF reckons that it builds Europe's most fuel-efficient tractors—and it's challenging Commercial Motor readers to put that...

OPERATORS who want to take part in the Fuel Duel should call the ERF control centre on 0800 221122. You'll receive a...

• Fiat has cut Fiorino van and pickup prices by £500. New prices are: diesel van, £6,900 (ex-VAT); diesel pickup, £6,475...

II Volvo has introduced measures designed to reduce operating costs and save up to lp a mile on contract maintenance. The...

• Caithness-based Norfrost has taken Dennison's first slidingbogie tipping skeletal trailer to be equipped with a powered...

• Emlyn Davies Drilling has bought a Unimog U2150L/38 to act as a mobile platform for its drilling rig and transport for its...

• European Transport Holdings, based in Blaenavon, Gwent had its licence suspended when it failed to appear at a Cardiff...

• Scottish TC Michael Betts has cut the licence held by Dumfries haulier James Bryden Kerr from 10 vehicles and 10 trailers to...

• The licence held by Munro & Sons (Highland), of Alness, has been reduced from 19 vehicles and seven trailers to 10 vehicles...

• Complaints from local residents have prompted North Eastern TC Keith Waterworth to propose imposing environmental conditions...

6 .4 • A Gwent haulage company has won the right to operate additional vehicles and trailers after giving assurances that...

• North Yorkshire haulier Edward Sadler has succeeded in having his Operator's licence disqualification lifted and a company...

• Lancashire dairy firm JE&AR Taylor is at the centre of a dispute over whether an operating centre is "available for use" as a...

• A Derbyshire based owner-driver, said by a DOT vehicle examiner to have picked up a worrying number of prohibitions in the...

• Most electrical fires in vehicles are caused by faulty wiring, says Merlin Equipment, which has launched the Blueseas range...

• The latest battery fitments for light vans, commercial and passenger carrying vehicles are included in the new BSX Powerdrive...

• A new fifth wheel and slider range comes from Runcornbased manufacturer VI3(;. It has been developed to meet the demand for...

• Suspension kits made by SKF are the latest products lines to be added to GP Automotive's parts listing. The new-to-the-UK...

• Intertruck has introduced what it claims is an unbreakable plastic rear-view external mirror specifically for commercial and...

• 3-5 June: Second Fruit Handling & Logistics Conference, Terminal Operations Conference & Exhibition, Hotel Arts, Barcelona,...

Tax handbook • Allied Dunbar is introducing its tax handbook for 1997/8. Published by Pitman, it offers a step-by-step guide...

• The third edition of The Transport of Dangerous Goods, by Martin Castle, has recently been updated to include new...

• Glass's Guide's ICME Manual, the industry standard on vehicle repair times and service schedules, is now available for airs...

Brake courses • Brake pad and lining specialist company Don is running a series of nationwide brake training courses from 6...

• The Institute of Road Transport Engineers has been awarded a licence to accredit academic and training courses on behalf of...

• Logistics and mapping software specialist Kingswood and supply chain modelling consultancy Model Logic are launching a series...

• PIRA International Training group is holding a series of training seminars on dangerous goods. Cost: £226-£655. Contact:...

DHW • Ian Ware has been appointed regional manager of Driver Hire Nationwide, for the Western region.

• Gefco UK has made Clive Dowdeswell a regional manager.

• Richard Bond has moved from Rockwell to become the new marketing director for Neway Anchorlok International.

The South • Surrey, M25 J8-10: Lane closures both ways until further notice.

I cannot understand the mentality of highway planners in this country. Simple things like mileage signs along the roadside just...

W ith reference to the editorial and letter (Chart Checks) in last week's issue, I agree it is not always possible to influence...

L ook at any box of unused tachograph charts with all the pear shapes in line, or dots as they would fit on the tacho head. You...

EN arlier this month I tipped at Athens and , 1 ' set off to Bulgaria. After travelling the longest route via Kauala because...

0 veryone in the world and their most distant cousin has heard of Truckfest. But have you ever wondered bow to keep in touch...

5 he Hawk is informed that Michelin has been appointed ''Official Tyre Supplier of the 1998 World Cup". Shurely Shome Mishtake?...

Ei oung Martyn Brunt is once again taking his beloved Scania Centurion to Truckfest as an entry in the Best Kept Working Truck...

Roast beef, willow on leather, warm beer— and ERF. Even under new ownership, ERF still seems like the most traditional of truck...

For this CM road test we put an operator's truck through its paces. The operator, Triple 9 Services, runs it on behalf of feed...

SPRINTER Price as tested: £24,176 (ex-VAT). Includes £22,160 for chassis-tab and £2,016 for body. Engine: 2.9-litre...

Mercedes-Benz 0M602 DE29 LA Type: Five-cylinder chargecooled direct-injection turbo-diesel. Capacity: 2.90 litres. Bore x...

Clutch: Single dry plate, hydraulically operated. Final drive ratio: 4.37:1.

Hydraulically operated dual-circuit with load compensation, ABS and ABD (Automatic Braking Differential). Service brakes are...

litres) spare wheel, tools and 75kg driver. Kerbweight (including Tipmaster body): 2,535kg. Body/payload allowance: 2,765kg....

Speed (km/h) dB(A) Tickover 55.9 48 67.3 64 70.5 80 73.8 96 76.5 1 1 2 79.8

Changes in US engines point the way for European technology. In the first part of a series on engine development in the US we...

place for thrills and spills, but Europe's truck manufacturers now also see it as a major venue to launch models and display...

up Sheeting is time consuming and dangerous but it has to be done if you're not going to cause a nuisance to other road users...

right place at the right time to start a haulage business, Andrew Wheeler s pretty damn close to it at ybrooke, Leicestershire,...

drew Wheeler took few risks with the of work undertaken and has always ncentrated on local sands and gravels ith a hint of...

Since then, Wheeler has developed a fresh allegiance: "Any new replacement vehicles will be Fodens. They are light and cheap to...

There's no doubt Greenergy's City Diesel is a high quality product and good for the environment into the bargain. But is the...

fter five years running my own iok haulage business and driving regularly to Eastern Europe I am selling my four trucks and...