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20th May 2004
20th May 2004
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Page 1, 20th May 2004
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Page 6

FTA calls for short fuel duty respite

Industry makes urgent calls for a cut in fuel tax as the price hike continues, and fuel protesters bridle. Chris Tindall...

Quarry dispute goes deep despite return

THE BLOCKADE by drivers at Lafarge's Mountsorrell quarry in Leicestershire (CM 13 May) seems to be over for now, but the bitter...

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Heat, dust and full tipper action at CM'S truckzone

SED 2004, the construction industry show at Milton Keynes, is normally associated with pools of mud, but by 9.30am on the first...

Run freely with 12 feet

THE ANSWER TO relieving the congestion on the UK's motorways lies in adding an extra lane just 12 feet wide, according to some...

And the bidding starts now for LRUC technology hopefuls

THE GOVERNMENT last week formally began the selection process for the private companies that will provide the technology to run...

RHA profits

The Road Haulage Association has announced a profit of £356,000 for 2003.

Going shopping

Seafield Logistics has acquired East Anglia-based Ken Thomas Group in a move that will provide a combined turnover of 128m.

Operators' lobby

Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce, headed by former RHA chairman John Bridge, has launched a committee to lobby the government...

Gist award

Supply chain specialist Gist has won a prestigious safety award from the British Safety Council.

Broken shoulder

The HSE is investigating after a stevedore for the Milford Docks company fractured his shoulder when he was hit by a tractor on...

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Fast container moves pledged

The new chief at Southampton Container Terminal has promised to deliver a quick turnaround of less than one hour for truck...

Edinburgh £2 charge 'a tax on haulage'

A PROPOSED £2-per-day congestion charge planned for Edinburgh has been condemned as anew tax on haulage. Phil Flanders,...

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Driver raises insurance worries over unloading

SAFE WAY HAS promised to stop asking delivery drivers to break down loads after one driver complained that he was being asked...

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF

Barry Proctor rounds on the public, who want goods on demand, but don't want to meet the cost of delivery or share the roads...

Scania scraps plans to sell CNG 4-Series in UK

SCANIA HAS shelved plans to introduce Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered 4-Series trucks into the UK because of the reduction...

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DON'T FEAR US, WORK WITH US!

Hold on guys, we're back on the fuel escalator. The world oil price keeps rising, and so the price of diesel just keeps soaring...

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Europe must improve driver training

THE ROAD HAULAGE sector in Europe needs to better train its drivers so that they can deal with the increasing demands of their...

Operators criticise failure to curb illegal spares racket

Joint action group blames insurance companies for not stopping criminal activity in salvage. Guy Sheppard reports. INSURANCE...

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Test centre strikes will cause chaos

THE DRIVER AND Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) will be forced to cancel up to 5,000 vehicle tests for each week of indefinite...

European pay structure

THE BRIGHTON branch of the T&G union's transport arm will meet with its European counterparts later this year in a bid to come...

On the road trainees

A NATIONAL distribution company is adopting a new approach to recruitment in a bid to overcome driver shortages. Instead of...

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The future stops faster...

Brian Weatherley sees a revolutionary automated braking system in action. VOLVO IS ACTIVELY working on an automatic braking...

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JAGUAR HAS BEEN praised by the Department for Transport for

cutting the fuel used and miles travelled by the companies that supply it with car parts. Jaguar, which used NYK Logistics to...

Wincanton drivers stage walk-out. David Harris reports.

MORE THAN 120 Wincanton drivers on contract to clothing giant Matalan staged an unofficial walk-out last week to vent their...

Renault van's now rear wheel drive

RENAULT VANS has launched a rear-wheel-drive 3.5-tonne Master van, completing the latest stage of renewing its LCV range. The...

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Thanks a lot...

Take a stroll with us through the little side roads of haulage, the diversions and detours, the quirky, the quixotic and the...

Page 19

Freight market records 1% year on year increase

THE AMOUNT OF freight carried by British trucks rose by 1% last year compared to the year before, the Department for Transport...

She's leaving home...

WINCANTON IS to abandon its West Country headquarters in the town from which it takes its name and move into newly built...

Driver hurt in brick incident

A DRIVER narrowly escaped serious injury after a youth threw a brick through his windscreen in Newcastle.The incident happened...

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Out of the frying pan...

I WRITE with reference to the "Frying tonight" article (CM 29 Apii1).The implication given by James Hygate is that it is a very...

We need a united front and a united effort

I have read with interest the many letters published in CM regarding the Working Time Directive and its implications for the...

Let them eat cake — and some trifle

AGAIN THE Working Time Directive has featured in CM and not surprisingly it has highlighted the main problem: bosses with their...

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Sales head for new record

CV REGISTRATIONS are running at record levels, with 29,207 units registered in April up 3% on April 2003. Rolling-year...

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Green shoots of recovery

Andy Salter talks to MAN/ERF sales and market ing boss Fred van Putten who has led the group out of tough times. We doubt if...

Page 29

Operator can't say he wasn't

warned... When three qualified sources say you're running illegally it makes sense to listen... A WELSH operator who ran six...

Page 30

First curs the deepest? Try two in a year...

A SCOTTISH plant-hire firm has had its licence curtailed for the second time in a year for breaking the terms of the original...

Timber operator gets a warning after improvements

A TIMBER merchant facing his second public inquiry in two years has escaped with a warning after the TC heard that the...

Page 31

Great Yarmouth driver blames local firms for breaking rules

A GREAT YARMOUTH driver fined £225 for falsifying tachograph charts claimed to have come under pressure to complete deliveries,...

Fined for hours and tachograph offences

FAILING TO produce tachograph charts and two hours offences have cost a Cheshire driver £1,070 in fines and costs. Richard...

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Not for the faint-hearted

What should a driver do if he's diagnosed with an illness which could threaten his licence? Sally Nash has been finding out....

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Call of the

Foreign Legion The enlarged EU offers a new pool of qualified workers. But beware — there are strict rules about employing...

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Up and coming law with the HA Future legislation 'EU drivers' hours rules: The European Commission has published proposals to...

Act now!

The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004, CIF 10 May 2004 These...

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BOUNC

BACK After two years out of the game the Fiesta Van is back — but with plenty of alternative CDVs out there will the all-new...

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STAND ALONE

Despite the huge numbers of new trucks sold with R&M packages some operators still insist that in-house servicing offers...

Page 49

AT YOU SERVICE

Is it really cheaper to look after trucks in the North? Do van wor'Kshops really charge more than their HGV counterparts?...

Page 54

A QUEST 1 ON

OF TIME Once the Working Time Directive comes into effect monitoring working times could be a nightmare. Robin Meaes reviews...

Page 62

LUCKY IVIASCOTT?

Renault's light truck gets a second chance to prove itself in the UK marketplace. The Renault Mascott was launched in...

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One year in, and still going

Celebrating his first year in business, Rob Salter now knows why the first anniversary is called paper — the 'to do' stack is...

Page 65

Buyers galore

The boom in used sales continues apace at IVanheim Auctions. Manheim Auctions reports that its January-March sales were up by...

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Lock stock and barrel

CM recently reported that Gordons of Bonnybridge had called it a day; but that still left the task of selling off the fleet....

Page 67

Keep it clean Used van dealers think repair and

valeting stock will cost them. Dealers should invest in repair and valet preparation to guarantee sales as there is a shortage...

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Daft bloom on Solway's forecourt

With more than 25 years under its belt, Carlisle-based independent dealership Solway Dal's story is one of growth and...