by Sally Nash III Do you drive a rigid truck between six and nine years old? If so, be warned—the Vehicle Inspectorate has...

• The Vehicle Inspectorate is to work with operators following a rise in the number of trucks failing the annual test which...

• PHH Vehicle Management has launched a low-sulphur diesel hotline to identify sites around the UK. Contact: 0800 018 7767....

• The Highways Agency began its new role as network operator this week with the claim that if British roads were better...

• Video cameras on the M5 in Worcestershire recorded this lorry crashing into a car and a police car, help ing to convict the...

by Karen Miles and Rob Wino& • A Northamptonshire haulier who took part in TransAction's protests against fuel duty increases...

• A Runcorn-based driver who claims he simply happened to be in a South London garage when Customs raided it has been...

FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS A mbivalence is a lovely word. It means you can blow hot and cold about something, both at the same time....

by David Craik • Shropshire Trans-Action member Jim Jordan is urging hauliers up and down the country to lobby their MPs...

• Rather than waiting for the Government to announce its new Vehicle Excise Duty rates following changes to domestic weight...

by Sally Nash • More than two-thirds of all planned road schemes are being axed or put on hold, but two controversial...

• The Irish Republic is to introduce a UK-style penalty points system for road traffic offences. It will cover offences from...

II Volvo Contract Services is being sued by a Littlehampton haulier who claims it refuses to refund his down payment after he...

1 New motorway service areas are likely to be built at least 30 miles from their nearest rivals under a government plan to...

• The controlling interest in Lex Vehicle Leasing has been bought from Lombard North Central by its parent firm, Lex Service....

• An eight-man drugs smuggling gang, including the truck driver who imported the narcotics, have all been jailed for their...

being asked to spearhead a national campaign designed to save the lives of hundreds of cyclists a year. Don't be a Space...

by Rob Willock • Non-EU drivers working for British companies are "very unlikely" to be doing so legally, according to the...

*The British Government is to consult British businesses on how transactions involving currencies participating in will be...

• Welsh farmers' organisation Farmers Ferry is confident that its new livestock ferry service will be running by the end of...

• A West Sussex haulier which has been in business for a quarter of a century is the latest victim of increasing fuel...

Considering how long Volvo has taken to replace its long-serving FL range, cruel cynics might be forgiven for suggesting that...

by Brian Weatherley • By the middle of next year Volvo will offer electronically controlled (EBS) disc brakes allround as an...

• Volvo recently sold its lindesberg drive-axle factory to Mentor (formerly Rockwell), under a scheme whereby the component...

by Brian Weatherley • ERF is stepping up its attack on the municipal, waste and utilities markets with a fourman crew-cab...

• Krone will launch its "Liner" range of semitrailers at next month's Hanover show. The line-up includes a reefer, a coil...

• The Dennis Group has agreed terms for a merger with bus and coach maker Henlys. The main aim for the deal is to combine...

• Ford will re-enter the one-tonne pickup market next May with the Ranger—a 4x2 and 4x4 pickup range which is the result of...

Scotland's summer, noticeably absent for so long this year, finally came out from its hideaway to welcome the opening day of...

• Consideration of disciplinary action against BJ Moore & Sons, of Cheddar, was adjourned by Western TC Christopher Heaps at...

• The transport manager of Wetherby-based AB Couriers, who was called out of bed in the early hours by a driver whose truck...

• A Merseyside company whose fleet has attracted 99 prohibitions in the past five years, has had the authorisation on its...

• Bath-based Paul Rodgers and Joe Smith, trading as Abracadabra Waste Disposal, have 14 days to comment on proposals by...

• Kennedy Construction Group was given an absolute discharge for an overloading offence after St Helens magistrates heard the...

• The UK arm of a Romanian shoemaking business, whose sole direc tor admitted he did not know much about operator licensing,...

CM 's Haulage Factfile pages provide busy operators with brief news items on: forthcoming events, services, business products,...

Do you want to comment on any of the stories in Commercial ? Does someone in the industry deserve a pat on the back—or a...

I would appreciate it if you would print the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency's response to Jonathan Lawton's letter 'Twas ever...

H aving read the item "Binmen urged to join smoke protest" (CM 23-29 July), which included a comment by pro-smoking group...

T ravelling back from Patras after a long haul I was fortunate enough to read several copies of Commercial Motor—no doubt...

haulage very seriously. However, once a week our quirky correspondent, the Hawk, steps off his perch to take a humorous look at...

I don't know about you, but the Hawk likes nothing better on his day off than to get all steamed up . The old bird thoroughly...

illy the Goat is a beast who likes to travel in style. He is seen here accompanied by Goat Major (honest!), Colour Sergeant...

jj he year 1277? Even the Hawk can't quite remember that far back. In fact this was the year that the city of London passed...

BULLETIN VOLUME 2 NUMBER 11 AUGUST 1998 Overweight? There's a heavy penalty to pay Do you know the law on weighing and the...

BULLETIN NEWS SAFETY: Statistics on wheel loss Wheel-loss stats The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions...

Late payment The DTi is warning companies which fail to disclose the average time they take to pay their suppliers that...

Export house provisions With effect from 1 April 1999, supplies to UK export houses will no longer qualify for zero-rating...

Euro preparations The Treasury has published a pack of factsheets on the introduction of the Euro and how it could affect...

The DTi is carrying out a review of the arrangements for delivering official support to exporters. Anyone wishing to contribute...

w Public interest disclosure The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 has now received Royal Assent (a Commencement Order is...

Traffic Commissioners have wide-ranging powers over hauliers who try to buck the 0-licensing system. RECENT REPORTS in...

Britain's twin-steer tractor population has grown steadily in recent years, and with six-axle 41-tonners just around the corner...

Many hauliers issue their drivers with fuel cards, some of which are valid for a wide range of goods and services. Now a...

Alternatives Abound The trusty old diesel engine is getting cleaner and more efficient—not least due to ever-tightening...

ground and is hailed by some as revolutionary. But what's in it for road hauliers? Mike Sherrington reports. F ull of sound...

a successful haulage company, says David Ir lam, managing director of Cheshire-based James Irlam & Sons. 'Just-in-time...