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6th December 2001
6th December 2001
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Page 1, 6th December 2001
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STOWAWAY VERDICT As CMwent to press, a verdict was expected

on the High Court group action brought by hauliers and drivers over the controversial 12,000-a-head fine system for stowaways...

VEO SURPRISE The OVIA says it has received fewer than

the anticipated number of enquiries regarding the new VED rates that came into effect on 1 December. The FTA is urging hauliers...

YELLOW CAMAS

Speed cameras are to be coloured bright yellow to maximise visibility, reinforcing the message that they exist to prevent...

CALMS UPGRADES

The Port of Calais has started work on a year-long £9m project to improve freight facilities. Innovations will include a new...

IME GRINS

Bristol-based Lane Group's employment business, Pl. Workforce, has boosted its turnover by 50%, helped by new operations in...

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Paul Boateng, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and Eric Pickles, shadow transport spokesman, will be among the speakers at...

Fraudulent freight director sent to jail with 12-year ban

• by Dominic Perry and Melanie Hammond A freight-forwarding fraudster who for years swindled hauliers out of tens of thousands...

Road deaths seen as murder

• Fatal road accidents involving fins are to be treated as homicides under strong new guidelines produced this week by the...

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Hauliers breathed a sigh of relief as five members of

a major gang of truck thieves were jailed for a total of 20 years. Worcester Crown Court heard charges ranging from conspiracy...

• by Lucia Cockcroft The number of operators running between

one and 10 trucks has slumped by 12,900 in the past four years, according to findings of the 2001 Road Transport Market Survey...

Tasnot impressed

• Transport Minister Jahn Speilar is calling for better facilities for truck drivers on motorways and main roads. He wants...

Exel in strike threat

• As CM went to press Exel Tradeteam drivers, based in Birmingham, voted in favour of industrial action in a ballot over pay...

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Second claim problem at Ra

NI by Miles Brignall A second haulier has come forward claiming lie has been overcharged at the bunkered fuel site at Raglan...

New hope on tippermen's tax

• Suggestions of a government climb-clown on its controversial new aggregates' tax have heartened industry leaders who fear the...

Promise of a level field

It's not every day the Financial Secretary to the Treasury writes in Commercial Motor—and we welcome Paul Boateng's exclusive...

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Treasury wants your vim

EXCLUSIVE 8 by Paul Boateng MR Financial Secretary to the Treasury The haulage Industry is a vital part of the UK economy....

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ser charge...

sure. Although some other :iountries either already have or ire planning to introduce lorry 'clad-user charges, any new ;:harge...

...so will fuel tax fall?

• by Mike Gordan So finally it seems that foreign hauliers are to pay their way for using UK roads. The trouble is that so are...

Budget will include crackdown on red diesel fraud

A crackdown on the fraudulent use of red diesel is another of the measures announced last week by Gordon Brown—a move that has...

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Police need data on funeral accidents

• by Guy Sheppard Police are appealing to Commercial Motor readers to come forward if they have witnessed or have ever been...

Irish sugar beet moves agaii

• Irish beet hauliers returned to work this week as sugar beet production resumed following a four-week strike by farmers. Up...

Heavy load rule change

• A minor change to abnormal load regulations could speed up the long-awaited introduction of private escorts for heavy...

Getting a view on fuel savings

• Energy efficiency officials are offering hauliers a free video to help save on fuel costs. The techniques shown in the video,...

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Telematics systems should save fleet operators mone

• Small and medium-sized operators could save thousands of pounds by using fleet management and telematics systems, according...

IMME CHANGE Iveco's in-house finance provider is now known in the UK as lveco Finance, instead of Transolver Finance.

&FAN BONS Manchester-based Global Logistics has acquired seven new Montracon triaxle curtainsiders on a five-year TIP lease.

VW DEA13 Volkswagen is offering a range of incentives on

its vans until the end of the year. They include 09a interest/10% deposit deals on the Caddy; 0% interest/25% deposit on the...

SHORT SWIG Ferry crossings charged by the vehicle metre were

the incentive for Oban-based food carrier J Forteith & Son to acquire a pair of 7m Daf 65CFs. Despite their size, the 220hp CFs...

TOUCH BUM Schmidt has launched a range of corrosion-free snowplough

blades. Made of a special polymer which is claimed to be stronger than steel and lighter than aluminium, the SNK ploughs are...

11111 sni

Vehicle logistics specialist Eurofleet has opened what it says is the UK's first dedicated van and truck refurbishment site. It...

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MAINTENANCE WARNING Though granting M&C Plant Hire of Stirling a

new six-vehicle licence, Scottish DIG Richard McFarlane issued the company with a formal warning about its future approach to...

UGENCE REVOKED The use of an unauthorised operating centre and

a series of prohibition notices has led to the revocation of the licence held by Oldbury-based B&C Metals. The firm appeared...

LICENCE TIMM Unsatisfactory maintenance led to the licence held by

Birmingham-based West Midlands Skip Hire Ltd being cut by two vehicles for 14 days by West Midland DIG Alan Bourlet.

Holyhead, Isle of Anglesey, magistrates fined Bangor lorry driver Ian

Owen £200 after he admitted interfering with the speed limiter in his vehicle.

POW MAIIIITBUINCE A poor maintenance record has led to a revoked licence for Edinburgh-based John Burns at an Edinburgh inquiry.

RYE DM Dyce, Aberdeen-based Ashley Group's licence has been cut

from 67 vehicles and 100 trailers to 62 vehicles and 100 trailers for a week by Scottish TC Michael Betts at a Turriff...

Fresh chance for buy-out

Allegedly using eight unauthorised operating centres and breaches of the tachograph rules have led to Bilston-based Starr...

Haulier wins first stage of appeal

A Wiltshire haulier has won the '.'irst stage of its appeal against its licence revocation for tachograph and hours offences....

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Farmer gets maintenance warning

A Cumbrian farmer whose firm's one vehicle was found to have serious brake defects was told by the North Western Traffic...

Residents' claims not justified says Simms

Local residents have failed in a bid to remove the operating centre of a Lincolnshire haulier from its licence. However...

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Do you want to comment on any stories in Commercial

Mote Does someone in the industry deserve a pat on the back, or a dressing down? Drop us a line at Commercial Motor, Room H203,...

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By our Northern Correspondent, Eric Strongitharm, Oswaldtwistle.

Staff in the the ladieswear section of Osw - aldtwistle's finest department store, Thrifty's, were aghast this week after the...

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S 0 eddon Atkinson is able to draw on many

years of experience in truck manufacturing as the separate entities of Seddon and Atkinson, and as a unit for the past three...

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FORD TRANSIT FWD 300 LWB HIGH ROOF

ilif hen Ford introduced the latest generation of Transit it was a rearwheel-drive design, like every Transit before it. But...

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00 11' 0 0 11 A Dutch truck driver can count on a consistent

wage wherever he or she works in Holland. Every two years employers and the unions, FNV and CNV, sit down and negotiate a...

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RUNNING VI

Thousands of goods vehicle drivers may unwittingly be using the wrong licence, says a report which blames a mixture of...

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O R E HO U LE S S P A A comprehensive report on drivers' pay

shows that drivers are right to feel hard done by—they do get paid less than comparable workers in industry. Steve McQueen...

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Operation Munich was born after hauliers in North Yorkshire fell

victim to an unusually high number of nocturnal thefts. Adam Hill reports on how good, old-fashioned detective work eventually...

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If you've ever wondered what effect punitive taxation, growing foreign competition and working within an increasingly "freefor-all" free

market have had on road haulage, then read on. The latest NOP survey shows just how rough the ride has been. Brian Weatherley...

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GIVE-WAY DILEMMA

• I was driving all-tonne truck at about 30mph on a main road which had a speed limit of 40mph. I was only a short distance...

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dd To the surprise of many who remember the old

Greater London Council, Ken Livingstone has been the distribution industry's friend since being elected London Mayor last year....