News

As our operators' panel reveals, most people working in the industry think the conditions truck drivers have to endure are little short of shocking. Adam Purshall from TM Logistics says: "It's becoming increasingly difficult to find somewhere safe to park.

A Manchester-based subcontractor accuses building materials company Lafarge of behaving in "a childish and spiteful manner" by repossessing his artic after he handed in his notice. Colin Howard, who runs J&J Bulk Haulage, says after he terminated his agreement with the Readymix arm of the company the French firm withheld payment from October and cancelled his contract with its aggregates arm. Howard says his Readymix agreement had not been making him any money for some time and he had only remained profitable through the aggregates work Lafarge provided.

Most EXPOSED bridges in the UK would have been closed to high-sided vehicles if winds were as strong as they had been when a truck was blown off the Foyle Bridge in Derry last year, an inquest has heard. In January 2005 driver Peter McGuinness plunged 30m to his death when his empty artic was blown over the edge of the bridge. But civil engineer Phil Tindall from Hyder Consulting, which had previously written a report into the accident, told the inquest that the Foyle Bridge was the only one in the UK that did not have restrictions short of closure.

DHL Exel Supply Chain has admitted "administrative errors" after union officials discovered that drivers' time sheets at the company's site in Redditch, Worcestershire had been changed by managers without the drivers' knowledge. The Transport & General Workers Union (T&G) uncovered the changes in August when one driver checked his time sheet after the company said he needed to complete extra driving hours to fulfil his contract.

This country is heading for gridlock. It may not be this year, it may not be next year. But in the coming decade parts of this country will grind to a halt on a daily basis. In some areas you can already see it happening in the rush hour, or if there's even a minor accident or a breakdown on roads already running at or above their design capacity. It took my transport manager three and a half hours to get from Halifax to Stoke the other day, thanks to a jam that snaked back from Greater Manchester all the way to Leeds.

Truck drivers in the European Union (EU) should not let a drop of alcohol pass their lips when they are working, a European Parliament report has recommended. Following the European Commission's review of the EU road safety action plan, a European Parliament transport committee report says: "There should be an EU-wide zero-alcohol limit for new drivers as well as for professional CV or bus drivers." The report says this is one of the measures needed to reduce the 40,000 road fatalities recorded in the EU every year.

Beleaguered Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has won two key votes this week, allowing it to restructure its £6.2bn debts. Eurotunnel had faced the possibility of liquidation if the financial establishments committee - creditors who hold some 70% of the firm's total debts - had voted against its proposals. Several US hedge funds had abstained from the meeting in the hope of forcing the company over the edge, gambling that they would receive more from a liquidation than the rescue package.

Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman has admitted that the Road Haulage Forum is due for a shake-up. His comments came during a meeting with Andrew Tinkler and William Stobart, the bosses of Eddie Stobart, which had been set up by CM. Referring to the forum - set up by the then Transport Minister John Reid in 1999 - Ladyman said: "I said some time ago that I wanted to look at its structure. I'm not sure that we're getting the right messages from it," he added. "We get one line from the forum and another from people like yourselves. Is it working?

Keighley, West Yorks-based trailer equipment manufacturer Bradley Doublelock has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise (Innovation) for its auto-reverse trailer braking system. Around 6,500 of the devices have been fitted to general cargo trailers for the British Army. The award was presented by the Duke of Kent.

European judges have dashed the hopes of hauliers who thought cheaper fuel was on its way. In a landmark ruling which will prevent the UK Treasury losing up to £10bn in duty, the European Court of Justice rejected a proposal to allow shoppers to pay duty at the level imposed in the member state where the goods are bought. Media reports had focused on the purchase of cheap alcohol and cigarettes over the internet but financial experts such as the PKF consultancy thought it could also have applied to fuel.