• "If you reduce your break to less than 45 minutes then you'd better be careful ..." That's how one leading tachograph expert...

• Years of confusion over the interpretation of drivers' hours regulations are set to end this spring following a crown court...

• An industrial tribunal chairman may be asked to stand down after being accused of prejudice by TNT during a hearing into the...

• The first draft of a quality standard for wheel fittings is now complete. The standard is de signed to cure mystery wheel...

• Esso has been branded as irresponsible by an MP who says its decision to switch Northern fuel movements from rail to road...

• The Road Haulage Association has lost its long-standing fight to provide operating cost tables for its members. Instead it...

• A Foden artic was stolen from Roy 0 Hawes Plant & Tool Hire of High Wycombe, Bucks during the night of 0 Wednesday 15...

• Transport Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has agreed to sort out the confusion over speed limiter legislation. He will meet with...

Ford Truck Truck Quest competition. The top prize is the use of a new Cargo for a year, and 100 runners-up will receive...

invited to spend a day on the road with an owner-driver to discover the problems they face, Len Clementi says Chope's recent...

• Up to two-thirds of London's waste carriers will be breaking the law in April, according to the London Waste Regulation...

• International livestock hauliers had their best year ever in 1991 — but animal welfare pressure groups are confident that...

• Four of the final placings in last week's test of 13 diesel samples were inaccurate (CM 16-22 Jan). However, the results of...

iii The international truck show circus is going through a bit of an upheaval this year, what with the German show moving to...

• By the end of 1993 Oldhambased truck maker Seddon Atkinson will have a new 17-tonner on the market which is expected to have...

• This is the first picture of heavy haulage specialist Unipower's new 6x6 tractor. Along with its 6x4 stablemate the Unipower...

• Boalloy is launching a more basic, cheaper and lighter version of its flagship Tautliner curtainsider in a bid to win back...

• 1MS, the UK agent for German SAF trailer running gear, will soon be marketing an air suspension which, it claims, is 60kg...

Allison Transmission division which builds automatic gearboxes for bus, truck and military vehicles. Allison has a turnover of...

• Speed limiters or no speed limiters, hauliers aren't going to relax their demands for more powerful trucks, be they humble...

• Owner-drivers trade association the Transport Users Group has received a flood of threatening phone calls since it set up a...

• The Transport & General Workers' Union is advising the 2,500 drivers and ancillary staff at BRS to accept a 4.9% pay...

III Express carrier The Last Post is offering international door-to-door deliveries to 150 countries using British Airways'...

• Proposed discounts for Royal Mail customers who trunk presorted mail to delivery centres have opened the door to private...

• Former Leyland Daf managing director marketing and sales Roger Phillips has landed a top job at Iveco Ford. Phillips joins...

• Milk Marketing Board attempts to cut 5% from its transport bill received fresh impetus this week with the launch of a...

• Councils throughout England and Wales are eliminating charges to waste operators following pressure from trade associations....

• Orcol Fuels of Morley has just put five 17-tonne Steyr S21 tankers into service. They are some of the last of the...

• North Western Licensing Authority Martin Albu has granted B Swindell (Warehousing) a new national licence for five vehicles...

• Three Bulldog International Transport Express drivers face trial for allegedly falsifying tachograph charts on the...

• Drivers at Fox Brothers Blackpool were blamed for overloading offences and prohibition notices at a Manchester disciplinary...

DIRECTORY • Commercial Motor has compiled a nationwide directory of specialist transport lawyers, expert witnesses, consultant...

• A North Wales operator succeeded in getting his twovehicle licence renewed when he appeared before North Western Licensing...

• R yland Jenkins, trading as G&J Transport Services, has been granted a 12-month licence by South Wales Deputy Licensing Auth...

• Local residents have failed to get restrictions placed on Amec's night-time operations following its acquisition of Hawker...

pay truck driver Anthony Longhui £9,303 compensation for unfair dismissal and £558 in wages. He was made redundant by the...

• There were plenty of innovative PCVs at the Geneva Show, but the exhibit that drew the biggest crowds was arguably the most...

A ad now for A ad now for something different — welcome to Old Hawk's Almanac, This week the Hawk is indebted to a West...

• Reading-based haulier QTR Transport has moved to a larger 4,600m2 depot a few minutes drive from the M4 at Headley Road East,...

• Commercial vehicle shutter door and lift manufacturer Henderson Mobile is moving into larger premises next month. From 3...

• ERF dealer Parfrement Motor Services has opened a mechanical repair workshop at Orgeave Drive, Handsworth, Sheffield. The new...

• Owner Operators UK is holding a meeting on 26 January at 10:30hrs in the Forte Posthouse Hotel, Queens Drive, Ossett,...

Copies of the 1992 Owner Operators Handbook/Diary, will be available free to members and for E4.99 to non-members. The...

• Drivers who want to continue driving PCVs not for hire or reward on car licences must have PCV entitlement by 31 March, says...

• A paper called The Liberalisation of the British Bus and Coach Industry: An Uncompleted Enterprise, written by Professor...

• A service station open to truck and coach drivers will be built on the A50 trunk road between Uttoxeter and Blythe Bridge,...

10 BP Rolls of Andover, Hants is offering an "economical vehicle refinish" which costs up to £1,200

for a 38-tonne artic. Only two coats of finishing paint are used on the chassis and only fittings such as mirror arms and...

• Land Rover Parts is offering a range of body panels for the Series III, which was produced between 1971 and 1985. The first...

• A range of films showing commercial vehicles dating back to the 1930s is available from Vintage Videos. Subjects on offer...

Mi An adjustable-height garment rail has been introduced by Netherlandsbased Ancra. It comprises aluminium tracks which attach...

• A permanent marker pen for tyres is available from Fareham-based Tyre-Mark, priced at £6.99 including P&P. Contact (0329)...

restrictions nationwide contact one of the AA Hotline numbers listed below.

a fail-safe method of expanding a business. The most obvious transport examples are in the parcels and next-day deliveries...

FORCE In the first of a new series designed to help operators stay on the right side of the law CM looks at prohibitions. •...

as little as £.3,750; nowadays an Astravan can set you back as much as £7,950. So what's changed in that time, besides...

Last October the police gained a new weapon in the battle against fly-tippers — the right to impound vehicles. Just before...

Mi It is not only the locals of Lanarkshire who are in shock over the premature closure of the Ravenscraig steel works. From...

io t Newport-based Cardiff Transport, which describes itself as "mainly a steel carrier", faces some hard times as a result of...

• Five years ago while working as a traffic operator I was offered the chance to take an honours degree relating specifically...

• I am writing regarding a quote in your feature about Flowers of York (CM 9-15 Jan) which I am afraid may be wrongly...

Ili As someone who works on the periphery of the road transport industry, and quite often deals with calls from customers...

ROCK WELL STOREY • Roger Storey has joined trailer component manufacturer Rubery Owen-Rockwell as group managing director.

• Chesterfield-based Truck Power Products has promoted 21-year-old Simon Fantom to be manager of the truck equipment supplier.

• John Cole has been appointed to he board of directors at the Transport Development Group, where he is distribution division...

• Brian Ness, the founder and chairman of Manchester-based Abal Engineering, has retired. He has been succeeded by Stan...

p aul Marsh is the new transport manager at reefer specialist Elliott Trucking. He replaces Nick Squires who has left after a...

• "If I'd been paid by everyone I've worked for I'd be a rich man by now." Wouldn't we all? The trouble is, thanks to a rash of...

ST tractive units and four ERF E6.21 four-wheel curtainsided rigids to its 105-strong fleet — 80 of which are already ERFs....

• A Kent-based haulier has received death threats and had his truck cab vandalised after being mistaken for a tipper driver who...

• MAN in Germany is to buy the UK MAN-VW truck and bus import business from industrial giant Lonrho for £20m, but MAN's...

• The AA is diversifying into car transport work, having been awarded an 0-licence for 45 transporters at the end of last...

• The trade associations were due to meet Transport Secretary Malcolm Rifkind yesterday (29 January) to iron out confusion...

/ A Leyland Daf Roadtrain tractor was stolen from Wakefield-based Cobra Railfreight's depot in Calder Vale Road between...

/ Supermarkets are questioning the continued use of thirdparty hauliers, according to a survey by the Institute of Grocery...

/ British truck drivers were stranded for five days at Greece's border with Yugoslavia this week, as Greek hauliers launched a...

/ The confusion over UK drivers' hours rules led a court to adjourn a case last week until the law is clarified by the European...

• The Freight Transport Association has "major reservations about plans to increase London's Red Routes to more than 483km by...

• A £20m suspected fraud involving the CG Whittaker contract hire and truck dealer group is under investigation by the South...

• Eurotunnel has admitted that carrying unaccompanied trailers through the Channel Tunnel will be a loss-leader, although it...

• The first 50 CM readers are about to receive Nintendo Game Boy computer games for being runners-up in CM/Iveco Ford's Truck...

• Newport-based Cardiff Transport is the latest haulier to try out an environmentfriendly version of the Perkins 400Tx Eagle...

• Trailer manufacturer Crane Fruehauf has won a £1.6m order from Brewliners to convert more than 200 12-metre tandem-axle...

• Owner-driver David Ruth of Bexhill, East Sussex has fitted an air-suspended tag axle to his 4x2 MAN F90 tractive unit to beat...

• Dennis Specialist Vehicles has won orders for 28 Rapier fire appliance chassis. They will go into service with five fire...

• Full results of the Brewery Transport Advisory Committee's tests into antic braking compatability (CM 19-25 Sept 1991) will...

the first application for a new driveshaft range from Spicer. The Series 90 driveshaft has a nominal torque rating of 9,000Nm...

• Heavy haulier Econofreight is making a bid for the record books next month by transporting the heaviest single load ever...

• Britain is not the only country to suffer a traumatic slump in commercial vehicle registrations: HGV sales in the United...

Suffolk abnormal loads specialist HC Wilson has bought the country's first low-height 6x2 MV Scania rigid, which is being run...

• A concept distribution vehicle from Mitsubishi, the Fuso Super Fighter, will make its European debut at the Amsterdam Show...

MA new technology which could revolutionise tyre maintenance has been unveiled by Goodyear. The company has developed an...

• P&O European Ferries has offered to freeze its contract rates for freight and coach operators for a year with an adjustment...

• The Department of Transport has denied reports that the Government is to slash Section 8 rail freight grants by £300m. It...

to supply a dedicated fleet of demount and drawbar vehicles to office furniture manufacturer Samas Vickers. Reuters deal • UK...

• Hauliers who are dependent on the Cleddau Bridge over Milford Haven, which links North and South Pembrokeshire, face toll...

• Hepden's Transport is still waiting for a response from supermarket chain Morrisons to its claim for £240 for a 14-hour delay...

• The Government has been urged by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to cut diesel duty and to slash commercial...

• NFC has £80m available for acquisitions this year — but it does not expect to spend any of the money in the UK. Chief...

• Priority must be given to training in the Scottish road transport industry when the Ravenscraig steel works closes in...

Omega boost • Securicor Omega Express reports that it has increased its market share to 12% — up 1% on 1990. Switch deal •...

• Waste Management has won authority to operate from premises at Farnworth, Greater Manchester, until the end of the year,...

• A former director of the failed Finney Bros Haulage has been granted a new national licence for 12 vehicles and trailers by...

• Narbethbased Wendy Smith, trading as Smiths Haulage, had her twovehicle/one-trailer licence revoked by South Wales Licensing...

DIRECTORY • Commercial Motor has compiled a nationwide directory of specialist transport lawyers, expert witnesses, consultant...

• The fourvehicle/fourtrailer licence held by Haultech (Cardiff) has been revoked by South Wales Licensing Authority John...

III A haulier's operating centre does not have to be big enough to cope with all the vehicles on its 0-licence, the Transport...

awarded £4,565 compensation for unfair dismissal. A Manchester Industrial Tribunal heard that Jones was made redundant with the...

• Kassbohrer's new Setra 315HDH coach may be marketed in the UK with the Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine following a successful...

• Grey-Green Coaches has saved £500,000 by converting 16 surplus Volvo BlOM coaches to buses. The London-based operator hopes...

to Scania earlier this month, has started to sell coaches through his new company, Thriftlogic. He has been retained as a...

• Car Chair Vehicle Builders is producing its first coachbuilt PCV following a £200,000 order for eight Iveco Ford 49.10s from...

• The holding company of Northumbria Motor Services and Kentish Bus has decided against buying troubled operator Maidstone...

• RDB Freight Lines has moved from its Birmingham depot at Oldbury to larger premises on the Union Road Industrial Estate. The...

• Polar's new £2m commercial vehicle centre at Monk's Cross, just outside York, is scheduled for completion in March and should...

• The Wallace School of Transport at Wembley, Middx has received RTITB approval. It runs courses on roping and sheeting and...

• A two-day Health Service Transport seminar is being held on 27-28 February at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool. The...

• Transport Management Publications of Slough, Berks has produced a domestic hours version of its Drivers' Guide to the...

• A free 40-page booklet which argues the case for networking personal computers, as opposed to using a mainframe or mini...

• Sally Line is increasing the frequency of its freight services between Ramsgate and Dunkerque with the introduction of a new...

• Prudential has increased the no-claims bonus available on its PruTruck insurance policy for commercial vehicles by up to...

• Irving Transport Services is setting up a new division in Newcastle to service fleet trucks up to 17 tonnes. It will be...

• Securicor Datatrak has enhanced its Datatrak vehicle location service with the launch of an "intelligent status keypad" which...

• Trailer axle and suspension manufacturer Rubery Owen-Rockwell has launched a series of air suspensions called the Flexair...

• New legislation governing the temperature foodstuffs must be kept at during distribution has prompted Lucas Kienzle to launch...

• A continuous tyre pressure monitoring system has been developed by Pirelli subsidiary CPK Auto Products. The Tyrewatch...

ii he courts have heard some rich ii he courts have heard some rich excuses from speeding motorists, but Defence Minister Alan...

est Midlands Travel has returned the £6.85 it charged Edna Winters, 78, to return a purse she lost on one of its buses. And I...

hen can a bus pass save you from being beaten up? Answer, when you use it to pretend you are a policeman. That's exactly what...

ne of the drawbacks of working abroad is when you find yourself craving some delicacy from home, such as a Mars bar or Heinz...

echanics who service British Telecom's vehicle fleet will no longer be able to face the music at work. BT has banned its 2,175...

olice are testing a new way to beat car thefts — it involves leaving an unattended car in an area where thieves have a record...

Club has produced extra copies of its 1992 calendar to meet public demand. The calendars cost £9.50, including P&P, from...

Freight forwarding firms which collapse in suspicious circumstances have jeopardised the livelihoods of hundreds of hauliers....

offered work by freight forwarders should use the following checklist: • Ask for bank references and check if the forwarder is...

which is likely to see some of the fastest growth in the UK during the next few years, Combine the effect of lower speed...

T he two-day 878km route took the form of a loop, starting and finishing at the southern edge of Munich. The test began in a...

ollowing established practice for our Eurotests, beyond the prototype engines fitted to the Daf and the MAN, our test vehicles...

e began this comparison by questioning how the introduction of Euro 1 specification engines would affect the performance of...

he 95.400, currently Daf's flagship, will be displaced this spring by the 95.430, with modifications to reduce exhaust...

AN's 19.422 FLS tractor from the Munich truck maker forms part of the revised ECO range of trucks, first seen in the UK at the...

he 1838LS is one of the new LEV (Low Emissions Vehicle) Mercedes models. It is destined to replace the 1735 in the UK, the 18...

cania's entry in the group test is without doubt the most interesting from a technical point of view. The R113/400 takes the...

Risking poor roads and dodgy derv, drivers are still delivering charitable loads into Romania. Some, like Challenge Anneka...

• During the past 12 months Commercial Motor has been contacted by a number of operators and drivers who want to do their bit...

book distributor. He was previously the finance director of Exel's newspaper distribution company, Newsflow, and has five...

• David Coombes is the new courier manager at Freelane, the home delivery division of the Bristol-based Lane Group. He joins...

• Larry Kilby has been promoted to managing director at Maritime Haulage. He joined the company last year as business...

• Parceline has a new financial controller. Michael Slater, who will be responsible for the financial administration of the...

• Midlands-based S Jones Truck Centre has chosen Ron Wyld to be its training centre co-ordinator. Wyld, who was a freelance...

Q Last July it was reported in Commercial Motor that the overloading tolerance was to be increased from 5% to 10%. Is that...

Q We are a household removals' company and employ two men on a 17-tonne van. What are the maximum hours they can work in one...

• I am currently in my third year of a BSc honours degree in Maritime Studies at Liverpool Polytechnic and I am currently...

• Like many people in the road transport industry, I have followed the news of speed limiters and lower speed restrictions...

11 I read with horror that Bedfordshire County Council is buying Hino trucks. Surely this is kick in the teeth to AWD and...

• With reference to the enforcement of the maximum speed for trucks throughout the EC Mr Rifkind has once again shown that he...

• I have been following with interest the arguments for and against the new speed limits for HGVs and PCVs. From my own...