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Unimog: A Swiss Army Knife on the road – and off

A driver’s long, painful road to becoming a dad

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LONGDISTANCE DIARY From Italy to Oxfordshire

CALAIS CHAOS

One driver’s experiences on the front line

CUTTING EDGE Joe Sharp’s Volvo FH500 has star quality

A driver’s long road to becoming a father

Two of a racing kind: Allan McNish & truck racer David Jenkins

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Formula Services Truck Stop even provides a well-appointed area for truckers who wish to prepare their own food

A LITTLE RESPECT

Last month I wrote in this column about the lack of parking and decent facilities for drivers across the country. But it seems that even where there are facilities, you wouldn’t want to use some of them… If you are on Twitter or Facebook, barely a day goes by when there isn’t a picture posted by an irate driver from a truckstop or MSA showing substandard toilets or showers. Some of them, it has to be said, are pretty disgusting.

Nobody should have to put up with such facilities. But drivers have been enduring them for years on end. And it needs to stop. It is a scandal, nothing less.

Sadly there seems to be some intransigence from certain businesses. One thing I’ve consistently heard from drivers over recent months is that some of those who run truckstops, services or businesses they deliver to seem to think, ‘why bother giving drivers nice facilities as they’ll only mess them up?’.

It’s complete rubbish, of course; drivers want clean facilities just like any other members of society. But it does seem to be an opinion among some. The real annoyance is that it doesn’t take much – of either effort or money – to provide clean facilities and we’re all aware that truckstops, businesses et al can do this if they want to.

By the same token, of course, the good truckstops and services should be praised and highlighted. For instance, the Formula Services Truck Stop in Ellesmere Port has had a lot of money invested in it and it shows (see Truckstop of the Month, page 48). The modern, well-appointed facilities were spotless when I visited, despite it being a wet day. Formula Services manager Gerry Graham reports that drivers appreciate the high standard and cleanliness of the facilities – and they respect them too.

It may be just one example but it shows what can be done with a bit of planning and the result of such planning – including appreciation from drivers. There is no reason why others cannot do something similar. Or at least get someone to clean the toilet regularly and make sure loo paper is available.

What it boils down to is respect. Drivers do a vital job for the UK for which they should be respected. And part of that is giving them somewhere decent to relieve or wash themselves. Bosses of truckstops and businesses should ask themselves, would they be happy to use the facilities, or for a member of their family to? If the answer is ‘no’, then they need to rethink what they are offering.

Respect is a two-way street – give it and it will be given back.

Dan Parton

Editor, Truck & Driver TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

3

“WE’RE REGULARLY ACHIEVING AN AVERAGE OF OVER 11 MPG.” “I’ve just taken two new Scania R 450s. Like for like comparison with existing R 450s, we’re seeing a 1 mpg improvement. That’s an excellent fuel return over our annual 150,000 km. Driveability and modern feel are top of my agenda because driver retention is key. Our drivers love them.”

Paul Jackson, Managing Director Chiltern Cold Storage Group Ltd.

This month in Britain’s best-selling truck magazine

74 FEATURES 36 From the front line

66 Baby love A driver desperate to be a dad recounts the heartache (and pain) involved in fulfilling his dream of parenthood

A driver’s hair-raising experiences of the Calais chaos

70 The road to publishing 40 Fuel my fire Celebrating the skills of drivers is the Renault Optifuel Challenge: and one fuel-efficient Brit made it to the final

Want to get into print? Some tips from Old Pond and four authors on how to write about your trucking life

74 Jack of all trades 44 Fiddling in Rome A driver’s experiences of driving to Italy in the 1980s, when tachos were optional and tiredness was common

70

We take to the hills in a Unimog, the Swiss Army Knife of trucking, and discover it to be an all-round master

78 Peak practice 50 Editor’s Choice

Czech truck maker Tatra has a long, chequered history

Joe Sharp’s new pink and white star, a Volvo FH500, is a real head-turner with its Suicide Squad-inspired artwork

82 Growing pains A focus on the aspiring rainbow nation of South Africa

58 Step in the right direction The first in a new T&D series looking at healthy living

March issue on sale

60 Bra and back

DON’T MISS OUT

64 Two of a kind

30/1/18

Purchase of a six-car covered semi-trailer by Xpression Events entailed a Long-Distance Diary from Bra, Italy

A meeting of minds as former F1 driver Allan McNish and truck racer Dave Jenkins discuss racing tactics

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Truck & Driver February 2018

50 Cover story 36

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82 REGULARS 8

News

FTA Driver of the Year announced; Scania’s new low-entry L-series; RAC urges more space for breakdowns; Unite union says government should stop passing the buck on truckstops

14 News Extra The implementation of an Ultra Low Emission Zone for London has been brought forward by 17 months. How will this affect operators?

18 Your Place A Brummy company’s tribute to the city; Daf is named after little battler Fraiser; High-altitude driving record attempt; plus regulars The Big Picture, Picture Post and Oldie of the Month

48 Truckstop of the Month

30 Down Under

Formula Services Truck Stop in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire sets the benchmark for how such establishments should be set up and operated

For Matt Wood, work is a great excuse to track down and drive classic trucks on his bucket list

88 Compulsory Break

32 Readers’ Letters Will cyclists never learn?; Clarification on in-cab rest breaks; Relaxation on loo use applauded

16 Court in the Act Our legal eagle provides an update on the hottest cases in UK courts and public inquiries

for our new App of the Month slot; music by Matt Bianco; and a new all-time favourite by Raintimes

Make the most of your downtime and enter our five regular quizzes – you could win a prize, one of which is a model Volvo FH16 truck worth £141!

92 Classified 34 Reviews A five-star treat for Daf lovers; a healthy approach

Our ad listings include jobs, training, parts, return loads, accessories, services and insurance

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

7

All the latest news and events to affect your life on the road Thomas Kent (pictured right) has been announced as the Freight Transport Association Driver of the Year 2017, seeing off competition from drivers across the country.

Kent, who drives for Samworth Brothers Supply Chain in Derby, added the overall title to the FTA 44-tonne Driver of the Year accolade he won in September after registering the highest marks of the three category winners (44-tonne, 18-tonne and Van Excellence driver), who were all judged against the same criteria.

“Reaching the top of your profession is something that many of us strive for but few attain,” says June Powell, the Freight Transport Association’s director of operations.

“Throughout this year’s Driver of the Year competition we have been overwhelmed by the quality and professionalism of the UK’s logistics drivers but Thomas has rightfully gained the top prize.

“His skill, knowledge and understanding of the rigours of today’s logistics industry were a credit to him and his employer,” Powell says, “and we are delighted to acknowledge his efforts with today’s award.

“He really is the crème de la crème!”

More than 100 drivers entered the three categories of the FTA’s Driver of the Year 2017 competition. Contestants were assessed against a criteria that tested understanding of risk assessment, legislation and pre-use defect checks, as well as driving style, manoeuvring

FTA Driver of the Year 2017 named Samworth Brothers driver Thomas Kent wins title and economical driving.

“Pinch me, I’m the FTA’s Driver of the Year 2017 – I can’t quite believe it,” says Thomas. “The competition was incredibly tough but hugely rewarding and really tested every part of my working life.

Three-lane upgrade for a five-mile stretch of the A1 A five-mile stretch of the A1 between Scotswood, just north of the River Tyne up to North Brunton, is to be upgraded to three lanes, Highways England (HE) has announced.

HE says the planned upgrade will improve safety while supporting economic growth in the region. HE project manager Charlotte Taylor says: “This is an exciting scheme that will help improve motorists’ journeys and cut congestion near Newcastle.

“There are a number of options for the design of the access road and these will now be developed along with the rest of the scheme and further engagement will take place next year.

“The overall improvements will provide additional capacity, improve journey times and safety while supporting economic growth in the region,” Taylor adds.

Further information events will be held in autumn 2018, towards the end of the preliminary design stage.

Work is expected to start by March 2020.

8 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

“To be recognised in this way is a real bonus and a testament to the support and training I have received from my employer,” he says. “Thank you to Samworth Brothers, and to my family, for all their help and encouragement through this process.”

New Ashford junction for M20 A new junction is to be built on the M20 near Ashford in Kent after the £104 million project was granted development consent.

The new junction, 10a, will serve communities and businesses around Ashford and is designed to relieve pressure on the existing junction 10.

Chris Welby-Everard, for Highways England in the South East, says: “This major new motorway junction is the biggest boost for Ashford since the arrival of international rail services nearly 20 years ago.

“Junction 10a will bring jobs,

better infrastructure for local services and help maintain the quality of life in and around Ashford. It will also bring real confidence that we will have the road capacity needed to enable a major programme of economic and commercial development and house building.”

Junction 10a will use two bridges and connect to the existing A20 and a new dual-carriageway link road built to the A2070 near Sevington.

Work will begin early this year and the new junction is expected to open to traffic in 2019.

In the news this month 10 Breakdowns on motorway risk 11 Unite urges truckstop funding

Scania stoops low with L-series Scania has launched the L-series, a low-entry cab series designed for urban environment applications such as local distribution, waste and construction.

The arrival of the L-series completes Scania’s model lineup, which in the past 18 months has seen the launch of the S-series as well as a revised R-series, P-series, G-series and new XT. The L-series cabs, all 2000mm long, are available in three roof heights, low, normal and high.

The new cab can be specified with automatic ‘kneeling’ – which operates when the handbrake is applied – to give a single 440mm-high, 790mm-wide entry step on both sides of the cab for ease of entry. Without the kneeling option, a second boarding step is fitted.

“Traditionally, low-entry cabs were restricted to the refuse collection industry but are now being specified for more and more applications,” says Andrew Jamieson, sales director for Scania (Great Britain) Limited.

“The L-series is our response to this demand and we look

forward to presenting this attractive and innovative new product to distribution and construction operators as well as to those in the waste sector.”

To further improve visibility, a Scania City Safe Window for the passenger door (the option is

pictured above in a right-handdrive L-series) is available, which replaces part of the door panel with glazing.

The L-series is powered by Scania’s updated 9-litre engine, which, as a diesel, is available with three different power

ratings. During 2018, Scania will also add to the L-series its OC09 dedicated gas-fuelled – either CNG or LNG – engine with a choice of two power outputs.

All engines can be combined with Scania Opticruise or with an Allison automatic gearbox.

Provisional British Truck Racing Championship calendar for 2018

Jonathan Reeves

The provisional calendar for the 2018 season of the British Truck Racing Championship has been released by the British Truck Racing Association.

In addition to the usual eight rounds there will also be a passenger driving event at Lydden Hill on 18-19 August, which proved successful in 2017.

After a season of fierce competition in 2017, MAN driver Ryan Smith retained his Division 1 Championship title while Finnish driver Mika Makkinen won Division 2.

The provisional calendar is as follows: • 1-2 April – Brands Hatch (Kent) • 21-22 April – Pembrey (South Wales) • 30 June-1 July – Nürburgring (Germany) • 7-8 July – Thruxton (Hampshire)

• 21-22 July – Donington Park (Midlands) • 18-19 August – Lydden Hill (passenger driving event)

• 1-2 September – Snetterton (Norfolk) • 13-14 October – Pembrey (South Wales) • 3-4 November – Brands Hatch (Kent)

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

9

IN THE NEWS

Make more space for breakdowns Drivers should reduce their speed and increase the gap between their vehicle and any people on the hard shoulder or emergency refuge area on a smart motorway, the RAC says.

The RAC is launching a campaign to draw attention to the risk of breaking down on a motorway in response to a serious incident on 23 November on the westbound hard shoulder of the M4 near Swindon.

In the incident, RAC accident roadside technician Andrew Barrett was assisting a motorist whose car had suffered a puncture and was stopped on the hard shoulder near junction 15.

Barrett had positioned his patrol van correctly as trained, with lights and beacons flashing a distance from the member’s vehicle and the member standing well back on the grass verge. He was changing an off-side wheel when another car collided with his patrol vehicle.

The collision was of such force that it rolled the three-tonne patrol van, pushing it along the hard shoulder (below). The RAC member was knocked unconscious as he moved out of the way. The driver of the car that struck the patrol van was, although injured,

able to climb out of his vehicle.

The incident led to closure of the westbound M4 for 90 minutes.

RAC health and safety consultant Steve Robinson says: “The RAC is calling on drivers to ‘slow down, make space and move on’ when passing motorway breakdowns.

“With traffic volumes rising and several recent serious accidents involving roadside assistance patrols and breakdown contractors, we need motorists to consider a new approach to how they drive past stricken vehicles, drivers and passengers, and those working in vulnerable locations.”

The RAC has three messages for drivers: ● Slow down – take care when passing any vehicle and people on the side of the motorway, reduce your speed and reduce the risk. ● Make space – widen the gap between your car and the brokendown vehicle and roadside workers. Use all of your lane by moving over to the right; only change lane if it is safe to do so. ● Move on – avoid ‘rubbernecking’, or the temptation to stare at someone else’s misfortune; it’s a distraction from your focus on the road ahead.

Staffing matters

Plus ça change The Sun newspaper recently reported that a growing shortage of lorry drivers was putting at risk millions of Christmas deliveries – so it must be true! For those of us who have been in logistics for some years, it feels as if we have been here before, plenty of times. But I wonder if there is something different going on now: ● 70% of recruitment firms say the shortage is getting worse. ● The FTA says the UK is 52,000 LGV drivers short of its needs. ● The Recruitment and Employment Confederation highlights that half of lorry drivers are over 50.

I hope that 2018 will be the year when industry and the government finally get together to address this problem.

Wage levels could be higher but the industry’s profit margins are at record low levels, so even the most generous employer has little room for manoeuvre. Depressing for drivers, but true I’m afraid.

Trust me, if employers could simply raise their wage rates to fix this bottleneck of supply then it would have happened long ago.

Unfortunately, the training necessary to enter the occupation continues to be prohibitively pricey. Gaining a licence is expensive, hard to do and is the number one barrier. Could the government, free of worrying about state aid rules associated with EU membership, find a way to subsidise this training? This is something that the industry has needed for years, but perhaps now is the time for government to choose to do something positive. A government looking to invest in the nation’s infrastructure could do far worse than prioritise the long-neglected facilities our drivers use up and down the country.

Our image is not the greatest. Maybe the industry’s big players can get together and really push the opportunities we can offer.

But this means we need somebody to take the issue and those involved by the scruff of the neck. A few ‘big beasts’ could do the job; maybe now is the time for them to put their hands up.

Likewise, a government that supports the logistics sector is one that supports manufacturing and hence inward investment. So really, let’s hope that the government makes a decision to support us in 2018. It would be both a sensible and popular decision.

It’s worth noting that choosing not to do something is also a choice. If the government decides not to support logistics in 2018, whether this is through not cutting diesel tax or failing to bring in flexibilities in training (including apprenticeships and the DCPC), we need to recognise that they are making a choice. They’re choosing not to support the sector that literally delivers our way of life and on which we are dependent every day, not just at Christmas.

Maybe 2018 is the year when government in the UK will listen to drivers, as they do in other countries. I really hope it is.

Words: David Coombes ● Logistics Job Shop: www.logisticsjobshop.co.uk; admin@logisticsjobshop.co. uk; office: 0117 9859 119 ● David Coombes FCILT, MBA is the founder of Logistics Job Shop and the chairman of Skills for Logistics (2015) Ltd.

10 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

In the news this month 12 International Truck of the Year named

M6 crash driver gets 16 months A truck driver has been jailed for 16 months for causing a crash on the M6 in March 2017 in which a driver was seriously injured.

Mariusz Wlazlo, aged 47, who was an agency driver behind the wheel of an Eddie Stobart vehicle at the time, drove his fully-laden HGV into two cars at 43mph while travelling southbound on the M6 between junctions 8 and 7.

Wlazlo, who was in a 40mph zone of the M6 at the time of impact, was speeding up when he hit a Volkswagen Polo, which then smashed into a Toyota Verso.

He had apparently fallen

asleep at the wheel of his truck.

The Polo driver, a woman in her 50s, spent weeks in hospital, where she was treated for broken ribs and fractures to vertebrae.

The Toyota driver was released from hospital after treatment for back and neck pain.

The M6 southbound was closed for 90 minutes after the crash, which happened at around 9.40pm on 15 March.

At the scene, Wlazlo told police: “I think I went to sleep for a moment. I can’t explain as I don’t remember. It was like a dream.”

Wlazlo, who held a full, clean

UK driving licence and had no record of motoring offences in his home country of Poland, initially denied causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He changed his plea to guilty and was jailed for 16 months at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 29 November.

Wlazlo was also banned from driving for three years and eight months and ordered to take an extended retest.

Pc Gareth Phillips of the Central Motorway Police Group says: “The collision has had a devastating impact on the victim

in the Volkswagen Polo. Although she has made a physical recovery, she now feels unable to drive on the motorway.

“Wlazlo was clearly not paying attention and indeed was accelerating into stationary traffic at the time of impact. It shows just how important it is to keep fully focused on the road and surrounding conditions, and to always abide by the speed limit as displayed on gantry signs.

“If the speed he had been travelling had been any higher, this collision would likely have had fatal consequences.”

Unite: ‘Stop passing the buck on truckstops’ The government should provide funding and require local councils to provide adequate truckstops to address the problem of drivers parking in non-truckstop locations, trade union Unite has said.

A lack of adequate truckstops is resulting in lorry drivers being forced to park in industrial estates, laybys and even in residential roads, with no facilities. This damages their health and results in wider environmental implications, says Unite.

In 2011 a Department for Transport survey on the lack of truckstops found that in a given period there were 5676 trucks parked in non-truckstop locations. The regions with the highest level of off-site lorry parking were the South East, Eastern England and the East Midlands.

Another DfT survey into this issue was understood to be under way this year but the results haven’t been published. Unite is concerned that they have been suppressed, as the problem has significantly worsened.

Unite notes that while the DfT establishes the overall policies, responsibility for providing truck parks is with local authorities. However, financially pressured local authorities are unwilling to invest in these facilities as they are often not hugely profitable.

Unite believes that in order to meet the needs of lorry drivers a truckstop should include: 24-hour access; adequate parking

and manoeuvring; a cafeteria that provides reasonably priced hot meals; washing and toilet facilities, including showers; fuelling; overnight sleeping and maintenance facilities; and a launderette.

Unite national officer for road transport, Adrian Jones, says: “The government and councils can’t pass the buck when it comes to truckstops. The lack of facilities has massive health and wellbeing consequences for drivers.

“The lack of truckstops and the closing of laybys by councils means that drivers are increasingly being forced to park in entirely unsuitable locations, which is bad for them and bad for the local environment.

“The DfT’s approach to fining drivers who park outside of truckstops is simply putting a plaster on a gaping wound. No driver

should be expected to spend their 45-hour break in their cab. Proper facilities are vital to this important industry.

“The free-market approach to providing truckstops has been a miserable failure. We urgently need central government to provide funding and to require local authorities to provide adequate driver facilities.

“Drivers can be away from home for a week or more and, without decent facilities, they will become tired and ill. Tiredness and other health issues mean that they are at risk of becoming a danger to themselves and to other road users.

“If we do not tackle this problem, drivers will vote with their feet and begin leaving the industry at a time when the current Brexit uncertainty means that lorry drivers’ jobs are set to become even more difficult.”

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

11

IN THE NEWS

Daf CF and XF win Truck of the Year The new Daf CF and XF ranges have been named joint International Truck of the Year 2018 at the Solutrans exhibition in France.

In voting by road transport journalists from 23 European countries, the CF and XF came out top with 104 votes. The Iveco Stralis NP 460 came second with 96 votes, with the Scania XT polling 59 votes to finish third.

“The annual award is presented to a new truck or model range that has made the largest contribution to road transport efficiency, based on several important criteria including technological innovation, driver comfort, road safety, driveability, fuel economy, environmental ‘footprint’ and Total Cost of Ownership,” says Gianenrico Griffini, chairman of the jury.

“With the introduction of the New CF and

XF series, Daf has delivered a medium-duty and heavy-duty truck range that sets a new standard in terms of driveline efficiency and overall performance.”

Daf Trucks president Preston Feight adds: “The honours belong to every member of the Daf organisation. We all worked hard to make the best trucks on the market even better.

“It is fantastic that all these efforts are rewarded in such a great way.

“In addition, winning the International Truck of the Year 2018 award is a recognition for our suppliers and dealers and, most importantly, it is a fantastic tribute to all those customers who have chosen or will choose the Daf New CF or XF. The jury commented that the trucks are leading the way in transport efficiency. What to say more?”

Severn Bridge tolls reduced Charges for trucks crossing the Severn Bridge will be reduced from 8 January as its management transfers back to government ownership.

Currently, Category 3 – covering goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes – pay £20 daily to cross the bridge. The new tariff is £16.70, as tolls will no longer be subject to VAT. From 8 January the responsibility for the operations, maintenance and vehicle charges for the bridges will be managed and run by Highways England, the government-owned company that looks after England’s strategic network of motorways and major A-roads.

This is the first step on the road to abolishing tolls on the Severn Bridge entirely. It was announced in July 2017 that crossing the bridge will be free by end 2018. By scrapping the tolls, it is estimated that HGVs that use the crossing daily could save more than £4500 per year.

Britain’s best-selling truck magazine

Over and out: When your truck gets blown over Drink and driving: The importance of staying hydrated Home comforts: A trailer you’ll want to spend the night in End of a century: Truck driving in the 1990s Plugged in: Behind the wheel of the Fuso eCanter

Truck & Driver March 2018 issue on sale 30/1/18 DON’T MISS OUT 12 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

NEWS EXTRA

CLEARING THE AIR

The implementation date for the Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London was recently brought forward by 17 months. What effect will this have on trucks in the capital?

C

utting back on levels of air pollution was a key part of Sadiq Khan’s manifesto in his successful election campaign to become London mayor. Now, with the planned introduction of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), he is making good on that commitment.

But there are worries that it is being brought in too quickly and will penalise haulage firms as a result.

When Khan announced that the ULEZ would be implemented on 8 April 2019 he said: “We can’t continue breathing in air so toxic it harms children’s lung development and causes chronic illness and premature death. I am determined to take the bold action needed to address this scourge once and for all.”

The ULEZ will make a significant difference to air quality, according to

14 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Alex Williams, Transport for London’s (TfL) director of city planning. “NOx emissions from road transport will be reduced by around 20% in central London when the ULEZ covering the same area as the Congestion Charge Zone is brought into force in 2019, with over 100,000 fewer people across London living in areas exceeding legal NO2 limits as a result,” he says.

[Editor’s note: Polluting NOx, or nitrogen oxide, is a generic term that includes the highly poisonous chemical compound NO2 – nitrogen dioxide.]

Dangerously polluted The decision to bring the ULEZ implementation date forward was taken after a public consultation, where “63% of people said they supported or strongly supported the proposals that will lead to the

significant environmental benefits being felt much sooner”, Williams adds. “London’s air is dangerously polluted and we need to take urgent action to deal with the problem.”

The ULEZ will replace the Toxicity Charge (T-Charge), which was introduced in October 2017 in central London with the aim of deterring the use of older, more polluting vehicles in the build-up to the ULEZ. The T-Charge sees drivers of trucks that do not comply with the Euro 4 emissions standard paying an additional £10 – on top of the regular £200 to enter London’s Low Emission Zone – to enter certain parts of London.

From April 2019 the ULEZ will operate in the same area, alongside the Congestion Charge (C-Charge) – but, unlike the T-Charge and C-Charge, which are in place only on weekdays,

London Ultra Low Emission Zone

Words: Dan Parton / Image: Shutterstock

a material impact on firms’ ability to deliver goods and services in the capital. In addition to these environmental measures we are working with the industry to make the movement of freight more efficient by retiming deliveries and setting up micro-consolidation centres.”

However, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) disputes this figure. “The life of a truck is at least 10 years – and with Euro 6 only coming on stream in 2014 it will therefore take about 10 years to hit the point where most trucks will be at the highest environmental standard,” says Rod McKenzie, director of policy and public affairs at the RHA.

Phasing of the timescale

it will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Diesel vehicles that do not meet the Euro 6 standards and most petrol vehicles that do not meet Euro 4 will have to take action or pay.

Lorries to pay £100 a day There will be two ULEZ charge levels: £12.50 a day for cars, vans and motorbikes and £100 a day for lorries, buses and coaches. These charges will be in addition to the C-Charge, so the more polluting cars and vans would pay £24 per day and trucks £111.50 during C-Charge hours.

By the time the ULEZ is introduced, TfL estimates that 97% of HGVs will meet Euro 6 standards, says Williams.

“Compliant trucks will have been available for five years [by then],” he says. “We do not believe this will have

“So we think there is a need for greater phasing of the timescale to avoid bullying hard-working businesses.

At the beginning of 2020 just under half the lorry fleet will still be preEuro 6 and we reckon by the end of that year Euro 6 will be 60% [of the] market. Euro 5 should not therefore face restrictions until the end of 2023.”

McKenzie adds that the RHA wants to improve air quality and reduce premature deaths but believes a different approach is needed.

“The danger with the excessive and oppressive approach by the London mayor means that there’s a danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. London relies on lorries to feed and clothe it and to build it – something that we see everywhere in the capital [and] 90% of everything we have comes on the back of a truck.

“London can only be the great trading capital it is if it welcomes lorries bringing those vital supplies, not shuts them out,” he says.

“Putting extra costs on hauliers may mean they will choose simply not to operate in London or may even go out of business. How does that help the London economy? There is a need for a common-sense balance here.

Electric trucks are coming and that’s great long term, but in the short term we mustn’t demonise diesel and we need to fight for our industry.”

Previously, the RHA has branded the ULEZ as “little more than a tax grab” but Williams denies this. “The aim of the ULEZ is not to raise revenue but to reduce the number of polluting trucks in the capital,” he says. “Any revenue raised pays for the operation of the scheme or is reinvested into public transport and sustainable modes.”

There has been talk of scrappage schemes for diesel cars to help them comply with the ULEZ. To that end, TfL and the London mayor’s office are lobbying the government to introduce a national diesel scrappage scheme and to provide support for operators of specialist vehicles to retrofit vehicles to meet emissions standards through, says Williams, a national accredited retrofit scheme.

However, McKenzie is sceptical that any scrappage scheme would be brought in for HGVs. “Scrappage on an £85,000 truck is very different from scrappage on a dodgy old diesel car, so the scale required may be prohibitive for government finances,” he says. “All the more reason why some common sense is required on phasing all this in.”

Coughing up: London mayor Sadiq Khan is determined to “take the bold action needed to address the scourge” [of the capital’s pollution]

Reluctance to engage The RHA will continue to take every step to engage with and lobby TfL and regional devolved members on this issue, McKenzie adds. “But we’ve found a reluctance to engage from the mayor’s office, which is a great shame.

“We will continue to engage and try and win the argument that hauliers and drivers shouldn’t be punished for doing their job.”

Meanwhile, TfL and the mayor of London are consulting on plans to make the ULEZ standards Londonwide for heavy vehicles in 2020.●

We can’t continue breathing in air so toxic it harms children’s lung development and causes chronic illness and premature death TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

15

COURT IN THE ACT

Owner disqualified after drivers sent to prison

Shutterstock

Drivers used owner’s card to illegally extend driving hours

The owner of a chilled food transport firm has been disqualified from running trucks after two of his drivers were sent to prison for creating false tachograph records.

West of England traffic commissioner (TC) Kevin Rooney found that Bristol-based Adam Pawelczyk had committed “widespread and deeply serious” offending by allowing his drivers to fabricate drivers’ hours records.

One driver was convicted of 45 offences, while another had committed 17 offences.

The business had also been

using an O-licence issued to another company, Mike 1 (Bristol), to increase the size of its operation.

The DVSA found that drivers Karol Brzykcy and Tadeusz Dabrowski had made use of Pawelczyk’s card, which he had misplaced, to extend their driving time and avoid taking breaks.

Brzykcy was once on duty for 46 hours and 26 minutes, with his longest recorded rest period being four hours and 41 minutes.

Pawelczyk claimed he had not been aware that drivers were using his card and had no

procedures in place to check.

Meanwhile, transport manager Antoni Pawelczyk failed to undertake any of his duties and was banned from undertaking the role in any EU member state for three years. The business had its O-licence revoked on the day of the hearing, 30 October.

The TC said he intended to pass on his decision to the authorities in Poland, where Pawelczyk also operates a haulage business.

He also refused to grant permission to Adam P Transport, which has Pawelczyk’s wife listed as a director.

Sham load hid contraband tobacco A Lithuanian HGV driver who hid half-a-tonne of tobacco among a load of boxes filled with plastic waste, disguised to look like a legitimate cargo, has been sent to prison for 15 months.

Border Force officers discovered six pallets of non-duty-paid tobacco in the truck at Dover Eastern Docks on 28 October.

Driver Vilmantas Mikalajunas, who used false import papers in an attempt to smuggle the tobacco into the UK, was found to have evaded a total of £108,346 in excise duty.

Mikalajunas, from Mikoliskis, Pakruojo, Lithuania, pleaded guilty to evading excise duty when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on 27 November.

Mikalajunas was immediately sent to prison.

Tim Clarke, assistant director at the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “Mikalajunas must have hoped that the hidden tobacco would go undetected within the consignment. But his smuggling attempt, false paperwork and sham cargo were discovered and he is now paying the price with a jail term.”

Howdens fined £1.2m over forklift death Howdens Joinery must pay more than £1.2 million in fines and costs after an agency driver was crushed to death when a forklift truck overturned.

HGV driver Richard Bowen was struck by a forklift truck that was unloading kitchen worktops from a trailer. Bowen was hit while delivering into the kitchen manufacturer’s site at Workington, Cumbria in November 2014.

The HSE, which prosecuted the

16 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

company, found that the forklift truck had been overloaded and that HGV drivers were not kept at a safe distance from the site’s loading and unloading operations.

Howdens Joinery, which has permission to operate up to 165 vehicles and 688 trailers, was fined £1.2m at Carlisle Crown Court on 22 November after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It will also have to pay £33,902 in costs.

HSE inspector Steven Boyd said: “Standing too close to where loading or unloading work is being carried out can put people in harm’s way so people, such as delivery drivers, should be in a position of safety when forklift trucks are operating.

“This tragic incident could have been avoided if Howdens Joinery had implemented a safe procedure to ensure pedestrians were kept at a safe distance during loading and unloading work.”

YOUR PLACE

Our special section that features stories and pictures from you, the readers

18 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

The Big Picture

Words: Dan Parton / Image: Tesla

Is this a vision of the future of trucks? Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, certainly believes so. The company recently unveiled its electric truck, the Semi, which it says can achieve 0-60mph in five seconds, against 15sec in a comparable diesel truck. “This will blow your mind clear out of your skull and into an alternate dimension,” Musk tweeted ahead of its launch. Even when carrying a full 80,000lb (about 36,287kg) load, Tesla says the truck can reach 60mph in 20sec. In addition, Tesla claims that it can climb 5% grades at a steady 65mph. It will have a range of 300-500 miles. In terms of charging, Tesla says its Megacharger – a new high-speed DC charging solution – can add about 400 miles of range in 30 minutes. However, this will need to be installed at origin and/or destination points and along routes. The Semi is set to go into production in 2019. Time will tell whether it has the impact hoped for by Musk.

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

19

Y0UR PLACE Welcome to our section devoted exclusively to your contributions. This is the place if you have any pictures you want to share. Anything from weddings to funerals, children to dogs, truck shows to road runs, amusing or serious, we would love to see them. If it’s your favourite shunter or your child’s drawing, send them in. The only rule is that they should be truck related. Please email your contributions to dan.parton@roadtransport.com or post them to Your Place, Truck & Driver, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB

On a military high with MAN We’ve featured truck drivers climbing mountains in Your Place in the past, but now we have a truck that is attempting to climb one.

A 14-strong team, including extreme sportsman and off-road expert Matthias Jeschke and two military veterans, Paul Warren and Chris Bailey, plan to set a new world record for high-altitude driving.

With two Rheinmetall MAN HX trucks, the expedition aims to reach the highest point on earth accessible to motor vehicles – Ojos del Salado, at 6890m the world’s highest active volcano, on the border of Chile and Argentina. In order to set a new world record, Jeschke, Warren and Bailey will have to reach an altitude of at least 6690m above sea level.

Jeschke says: “We’re highly motivated and have done everything during the one-year planning phase to be as well prepared as possible. We’re going to have to cope with storms, huge amounts of snow, ice fields and the extremely difficult terrain up there.

“Temperature fluctuations and the thin mountain air will put our bodies to the test, as well as demanding the utmost from our vehicles. But we’re still confident of being able to reach our altitude goal of at least 6690m within the six-week window.”

Aussie Warren and Bailey from Britain are supporting veterans’ organisations in their respective countries. Warren says: “[For me] this expedition is all about capability – of

London Irish link-up Premiership Rugby Union side London Irish has recently secured a sponsorship deal with Volvo Truck & Bus Centre London in a deal made possible by the connection between the dealership and the club’s owner, Mick Crossan, who is chairman of Powerday plc.

Powerday has been a long-standing customer of Volvo Truck & Bus Centre London – for example, the company recently purchased 25 Volvo FLs – and this link further cements the relationship.

20 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

these vehicles and also of wounded veterans like Chris and myself. We aren’t defined by our injuries but by our actions. We will show grit, determination and resilience to achieve this goal with the Rheinmetall team. What’s important to me is that our abilities take centre stage, not our so-called disabilities.”

Bailey adds: “We want to show what we can do and prove how ambitious we are, just like the great majority of our comrades, both male and female. And of course we’re pushing for significant financial support for organisations that look after veterans’ needs and give them a voice in society.”

For this trip, Matthias Jeschke and his team are relying on HX 4x4 (340hp) and HX 6x6 (440hp) trucks from Rheinmetall MAN. Based on the standard Rheinmetall MAN HX series, they are in service with the armed forces of a number of nations, including the UK and Australia, where they serve in a logistics role during deployed operations.

The trucks have been modified in a few areas to ensure they can handle the conditions and the steep volcanic slopes with stony, slippery surfaces. For instance, the engine controls have been modified as at 6000m above sea level the laws of physics dictate that engines produce only around two-thirds of their normal output.

As T&D went to press, the team were preparing for their final ascent.

We’ll let you know whether they reached their goal in a forthcoming issue.

In Your Place this month 22 Trucking tribute to Brum

HEAVY

HAULAGE OF THE MONTH

Boost for a little battler as Nisa names Daf after him A little boy who has been battling health issues all of his life was given a boost ahead of going into hospital for major surgery by having a truck named after him.

Fraiser Pearson, seven, spent the first seven months of his life in hospital and since then has been in and out of medical care receiving treatment and undergoing operations.

Fraiser and his twin brother Harley were nine weeks early and spent their early days in special baby care units. But while Harley is now a healthy little boy, Fraiser continues to battle with health issues.

Mum Abi Hankins says: “A few weeks into his life, Fraiser became extremely unwell with something called necrotising enterocolitis. He had emergency surgery for part of his bowel to be removed and he needed a stoma. He then contracted staphylococcus and suffered problems with his liver owing to the concoction of drugs he was on.

“Unfortunately, at present he’s not been

doing very well. [He] has many lifelong health complications – but looking at him you wouldn’t have a clue!”

The Daf is a new addition to supermarket chain Nisa’s fleet. Naming it after Fraiser is part of the ‘Name a Nisa Lorry’ competition, launched as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of Nisa Retail and which will see 40 lorries named after Nisa customers and their friends and family who were nominated via an online competition.

“Having the Nisa lorry named after him is my way of saying how proud we are of him,” adds Abi. The unveiling of the truck came ahead of Fraiser going into hospital for major surgery at the end of November.

Chris Jones, transport manager at Nisa who assisted with the unveiling of the lorry, says: “Fraiser was a little soldier. The lorry naming was a complete surprise to him and he was absolutely chuffed, as was his twin brother.”

Russell Oliver was part of the Collett team that recently transported three silos from Newport in South Wales to Hull, an operation that took two days to complete and involved three trucks and two escort vans.

The load measured more than 4 metres wide, 5m high and 18m long.

A wee tram W & W Mackie, based in Alford, Aberdeenshire, had some precious cargo to transport recently – the last surviving Aberdeen City Tram.

The haulier returned it to the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford after it had been out on loan to the old tram sheds in Aberdeen, which have been converted into a science education centre.

The truck is W & W Mackie’s latest addition to the fleet, a Scania Next Generation R500 fitted with a Palfinger 88 T/M crane.

Thanks to reader David Halliday for sending us the picture.

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

21

In Your Place this month 24 Are you a competition winner?

Y0UR PLACE

Blinding Brum tribute When the team at PGS Global Logistics decided to commemorate the company’s 25th anniversary, they wanted to create a special truck – and, as a Birmingham-based business, decided to go for one that celebrates some of the city’s greatest icons.

David Churchard behind the wheel of the PGS Volvo he has transformed into a tribute to Birmingham

The Volvo Globetrotter is adorned with the face of Cillian Murphy, better known as Tommy Shelby in the hit BBC series Peaky Blinders, which is set amid the streets of Small Heath in south-east Birmingham.

The head-turning mural on one side of the tractor unit also includes the Electric Light Orchestra, Ozzy Osbourne, Lord of the Rings (a reference to the Bullring shopping complex, maybe?) and ’70s football icon Trevor Francis, who made his name at Birmingham City FC. On the other side are cityscape landmarks such as the futuristic Selfridges store and the Rotunda.

“Birmingham is where it all started, so the city is very important to us,” says PGS commercial director David Bayliss, whose artist nephew David Churchard spent 100 hours hand-drawing the mural.

“It was just 25 years ago that managing director Paul Eyles collected his first consignment from Carrs Tool Steels in Smethwick to deliver to London. He was then a one-man operation; now the business employs 220 staff with a global reach.

“This family-owned business has since grown and expanded with the same personal service, values and attention to detail as that first delivery. We may be a bigger player now but still remember why Carrs trusted us then and still trust us now to get their goods there intact and on time.”

Double-take in the UAE This Scania R420 was spotted by eagle-eyed Andrew Breedon, on his travels again in Masafi, United Arab Emirates. “I love seeing these doubles and, outside of the United States, the UAE is the only place I have seen them,” he says.

22 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

OLDIE OF THE MONTH

This Foden 400, which belongs to Richard Lester Transport, based in Wirksworth in Derbyshire, was spotted at Birch Services Eastbound recently by Christopher Newton.

Poundland?

Priceless!

When Roger Brown, aftermarket editor on T&D’s sister title Commercial Motor, married Jenna in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire in October last year, it seemed appropriate that a truck should feature somewhere.

And so it was that when the wedding photographer was taking some pictures of the happy couple, a Volvo FH just happened to be making a delivery to the Poundland outlet opposite the hotel where the newly-married pair were having their reception.

For not too proud Scouser Roger, it was too good an opportunity to miss – and for the sake of the newlyweds, let’s hope their guests didn’t avail themselves of the store’s retail opportunities for their gifts...

Y0UR PLACE

RUST IN PEACE

COMPETITION CORNER And the winners are…

TomTom GO Professional 6250 In our December 2017 issue we ran a competition to win a TomTom GO Professional 6250, worth £400, courtesy of our friends at Kuda UK. The question was: In which country was TomTom established in 1991? The answer was 1 – The Netherlands.

The winner is Sean Egan.

This old Unipower is stored behind Launceston Steam Railway in Cornwall and was spotted by Richard Lea. Unipower was a London-based manufacturer specialising in 4x4 trucks.

Scania 113 and 143 at Work Also in November we had five copies of Patrick W Dyer’s book, Scania 113 and 143 at Work, to give away.

The winners, who all correctly said that the 3-series won the International Truck of the Year award in 1989, were: John Woodman, Michael Earith, Huw Dodd, Gerard Newman and Graham Cook.

Sloan ranger Ian Sloan – who readers may remember featuring in T&D a couple of years ago, talking about emigrating to Canada from Scotland – is still driving and has recently taken delivery of a new truck.

This impressive Kenworth T680 mid-roof artic has been on the road since November 2017. Although Ian has been in Canada for nearly 10 years now, he still proudly displays his Scottish roots – as the detail ‘The Flying Scotsman’ on his cab shows.

Richard Edmondson, Jake Tingley, Nathan Wray, Huw Dodd, Harry Sharman, Nigel Fraser-Gaudsen, Shephen Allen, Graham Cook, Sam Beer, Ryan Mactaggart, Malcolm Marshall, Ann Myles, Stuart Ireson, Conor Harkin, Teresa Morey, Ian Butler, Nathan Hughes, Barry Wallis, Stuart Wilson, Louis Gates, Stephen Haywood, Paul Jones, Rich Ellis, Tony Cushion, Debbie Brooks, Barry Wilkinson, Daniel Morley and Neil Jenkins.

Scania XT footballs In our November issue we had 50 Scania XT footballs to give away.

The question was: How many goals did Zlatan Ibrahimovic score for Sweden in his career? The answer was B – 62 goals.

The winners were: Derek Taylor, Daniel Clay, Stephen Grant, Neil Thomas, Matthew Speakman, Mat Worden, Jemma Lees, Christine Morse, Gregor Mill, William Taylor, Jim King, Moira Nicol, Mark McCrory, Charlotte Shepherd, Dave Whitehead, Chris Quinlan, John Woodman, Peter Saxelby, Richard Abraham, Michael Croft, Ian Dalgleish, Elliot Robertson,

Astran Scania 140 model Back in our October issue we managed to get our hands on a much-sought-after Astran Scania 140 model truck worth £187.50. Our question was: In which year did the founders of Astran undertake their first delivery by truck to Afghanistan? The answer was B – 1964.

The winner is Davie Allan.

Congratulations to all our winners!

24 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

COLLECTOR’S TOYS I N NISHANNON- COU NT Y C OR K - IR ELA N D

▲ MCGEOWN S730 WITH FRIDGE

▲ ALSOP TRANSPORT VOLVO

▲ W WALKER

FH4 WITH CURTAINSIDER

▲ GERARY LIVESTOCK SCANIA R620 WITH PEZZAOILI LIVESTOCK ▲ DAVID PHILIP

▲ A BINNS DAF XX105 SSCAB

Future Releases

▲ CHRIS WAITE SCANIA R730 WITH PEZZAOILI LIVESTOCK TRAILER

▲ RW STEWART SCANIA 143 WITH 4 DECK PARKHOUSE HOUGHTON LIVESTOCK TRAILER

▲ M KEYS, SCANIA 143 WITH PARKHOUSE HOUGHTON LIVESTOCK TRAILER MAY

▲ SCANIA R 580 TAG AXLE WITH PARKHOUSE HOUGHTON LIVESTOCK TRAILER

R560

▲ MC CULLA F12, 4X2 VOLVO UNIT WITH TANDEM AXLE FRIDGE, IN STOCK

▲

JULIAN DAVIES T-CAB WITH TIPPER

Tekno Back Catalogue Irish, UK & European models in stock

TRI NATIONS A Binns XF ssc (Firefighter) Dec IRISH COLLECTION McGeown S730 with fridge Dec McCurdy R730 with Pezzaoilli livestock trailer Dec Tinnelly T-Cab unit only Dec

Currently in Stock ▲ KEOHANE READYMI

VOLVOFH4 6X2 WITH HALFPIPE TIPPER TRAILER (STOCK)

▲ C ROCKS SCANIA

▲ S & N CARAVANS

SCANIA R 4X2 NO. 1 UNITS COLLECTION

COMMERCIALS SCANIA RIGID RECOVERY UNIT

▲ ZEELWOOD

DADXF106SSC 6X2 WITH FRIDGE TRAILER LATE APRIL

Chris Waite R730 with livestock trailer W Walker R560 with livestock trailer RW Stewart 143 with livestock trailer JM Bell R560 with livestock trailer S & N caravans scania r unit only M Keys scania 143 with livestock trailer last few C Rocks scania r unit only last few Zellwood Daf xfssc with fridge McCulla F12 with fridge Derry Bros 110 with fridge Keohane FH4 with tipper PJ Gillane Fh4 with fridge Barna R560 with fridge Hayes R730 with crane Cunningham R620 unit only last few Hanlon twin set FH4 & F12 last few

Tel: 00353 (0) 21 4775218 Tel: 00353 (0) 21 4775301 Mob: 00353 (0) 872355379 Open 7 days a week 10am - 8pm

MAIL ORDER A PLEASURE www.collectors-toys.com

PICTURE POST Send us your photos!

Send T&D your photos of interesting trucks and we’ll pay £10 (in the form of a high street voucher, exchangeable anywhere) for each picture published For digital images, set your camera to its highest-quality setting and email them to: dan.parton@roadtransport. com only and not to any of our other email addresses. If you send prints (we’d rather you didn’t) and want them returned, add your name & address to the back of each one. Please don’t send prints taken from digital images.

Send your prints to: Dan Parton, Picture Post, T&D, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB. NOTE: The photographer owns the copyright to his or her submission. All material submitted to Your Place/ Picture Post is on the understanding that T&D retains the right to use it again, possibly in other formats, in the future. Also, T&D cannot be responsible for material mislaid or lost in the post.

STAR H PHOTO

Each month the sender of the ‘star’ picture will also receive a superb 1:76-scale modern truck model, from Oxford Diecast, that retails at around £18.95. See the full range of models on the website www.oxforddiecast.co.uk

SEAN COOK: This striking Renault is run by Beverley-based David Hodges and, as the truck is driven by his daughter, is painted to match Mel’s favourite nail varnish

RICHARD ELLIS: This monster – a seven-axle Scania P420 underbridge inspection unit from Germany – was seen parked up at the New Hollies Truck Stop in Cannock

MARK McCRORY: Well done Mark for spotting our November 2017 T&D Ed’s Choice, M A Ponsonby’s Scania S580, at Belfast Docks waiting to sail to Heysham

IAN LAWSON: Francis Flavin Volvo FH16 750 Tridem with tri-axle trailer – ‘750 Moo Power’ – pictured at Punchestown in the Republic of Ireland

26 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Picture Post

The best of this month’s readers’ snaps

ELTON COOK: A McGeown Commercials Scania T480 snapped at dusk at Lymm Services on the M6

JAMES EMBERTON: A Scania R620 V8 operated by Martley photographed on the A45 Coventry Road

DAVID BURDETT: Jordan International Scania R580 V8 seen loading at Kilmore Quay in County Wexford, Ireland

RAYMOND PENMAN: This Daf Super Space Cab was spotted on Bonnybridge Main Street on a very wet Tuesday

STAR H PHOTO

LUCY SAMES: Cranage Haulage’s Volvo FH16 600 Globetrotter transporting a Volvo dump truck spotted passing Toddington Services on the M1 TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

27

F F O £5 de

Old Pond Special Offer for Truck & Driver readers

o c h t i w

TD5 £19.95

Receive £5 OFF any Old Pond titles if you spend £25 or over before 31st January 2018. Simply quote discount code TD5 when ordering.

Brain Haulage: A Company History 1950-1992

The Writing’s on the Truck: The Tales

and Photographs of a Traditional Signwriter

Peter Sumpter

John Corah The Writing’s on the Truck is a pictorial look at the traditional art of signwriting on commercial vehicles, by renowned signwriter John Corah.

ISBN: 9781910456996

Brain Haulage tells the history of Brain and the container revolution as well as the story of Charles Brain.

£24.95

Robert Walker Haulage Ltd: The History of the UK’s Largest Fork Truck Transport Company

Bonnie Scottish Trucks: A Celebration of Scottish Style Bill Reid

The beautiful vehicles featured in this book were spotted by author, Bill Reid around the country, in towns, in cattle markets, on the road, and anywhere else trucks or lorries can be found.

£19.95

ISBN: 9781910456491

Publishing May 2018 ISBN: 9781912158164

Carl Jarman

£22.95

This book details the history of Robert Walker Haulage’s success, including many anecdotes and 185 previously unprinted pictures.

ISBN: 9781910456323

Go to www.oldpond.com for our complete range of trucking books and DVDs

The Trucks of the Trans Pennine Run: A Photographic History

Foden Export Vehicles Wobbe Reitsma

Roy Dodsworth

The Trucks of the Trans Pennine Run is a must-have for any driver who has ever participated in the annual run of historic commercial vehicles from Manchester to Harrogate.

£19.95

£29.95

This comprehensive book detailing the lorries that Foden exported around the world, follows on from the publication of the author’s first book, Foden Special Vehicles.

ISBN: 9781910456767

ISBN: 9781910456507

£19.95

Working Scottish Trucks: Through the Lens

Scania 113 & 143 at Work

£19.95

Patrick W. Dyer

Ian Lawson

Working Scottish Trucks is a photographic book bringing together 262 images of commercial vehicles spotted across some of the most scenic parts of Scotland.

ISBN: 9781910456927

ISBN: 9781910456972

£19.95

With over 200 photographs provided by the manufacturer and enthusiasts, Scania 113 & 143 at Work charts the story of the 3-series through informative text in the popular and familiar style of previous ‘at work’ titles from the same author.

You Call, We Haul: The Life and Times of Bob Carter

The Vodka-Cola Cowboy: Trucking Russia 19901995

Not all Sunshine & Sand: The Tales of a UK-Middle East Truck Driver

Mat Ireland

Mick Twemlow

Paul Rowlands

This is the account of Bob Carter’s extraordinary life, from ‘witnessing’ nuclear testing on Christmas Island to driving his Humber Sceptre overland to Iran in support of his transport company. It includes almost 300 colour photos.

The Vodka-Cola Cowboy vividly illustrates the conditions that British truck drivers encountered, such as the atrocious winter weather in a wild and unforgiving landscape, police harassment and the dangers that came with the dissolution of the USSR.

This book takes the reader on a ride through foreign lands in the cab of a long-haul lorry, providing an insider’s perspective on overland travel. The new edition of this hugely popular book incorporates 72 photographs taken at the time.

£14.95

ISBN: 9781910456583

Contact: 01865 237733 marketing@5mpublishing.com

ISBN: 9781910456538

£14.95

ISBN: 9781910456309

DOWN UNDER

TICKED OFF

A couple of Macks can now be removed from Matt’s test drive bucket list, leading to pangs of guilt about his job…

The deep-throated bop-bop exhaust note of the old 16.4-litre EA9 V8 will be familiar to European old-timers, as the Mack engine is closely related to the Scania V8. The old-school Superliner has long been an iconic rig. A big square bonnet out front and a slow-revving V8 burble makes for a fun day at the office.

This old dog was rated at 400hp, quite a big deal in 1981. The EA9 was bumped up to 500hp for the Series 2.

It acquired quite a reputation for hard-earned thirst when working hard as well.

The 12-speed Mack crash ’box took a little settling into as I’ve spent most of my time stirring the cogs of a Road Ranger or Spicer, so initially the Mack transmission seemed a bit arse about. The splitter on the Mack gearbox uses a rotary dial, much like a Spicer. I made sure to try and block this out of my mind because, unlike a Spicer, reverse is selected on the splitter. You don’t have to think too hard about the consequences of stuffing that one up!

Pointy shoes, peroxide mullets

Big Mack: Matt was a scabby-kneed school kid when the rumbling, squarejawed Series 1 arrived in the 1980s

S

ometimes I feel a little guilty about my job. The boss hasn’t clued on to the fact that I’m really using work as an excuse to track down some classic heavy metal to tick off the test drive bucket list.

I’ve climbed behind the wheel of some legendary trucks; W900 Kenworths, GM-powered Whites, B-model Macks, Peterbilts and even a GM-equipped KM Bedford. But there was one truck that I’d been busting to drive for a long time – a Series 1 Mack Superliner.

A mad-house at night

Matt Wood

Truck driver / Freelance writer

Back in the halcyon days of Aussie road transport in the 1980s, these things were legendary. Speed limiting for trucks didn’t come into force here until the early 1990s, after a couple of horrific crashes between coaches and trucks. Even then the 100km/h speed limit was only loosely enforced.

Australia’s main freight routes were a mad-house after dark.

There were a couple of legendary trucks from this period.

The W900 Kenworth would be one, along with the aerosleek Kenworth T600 that arrived in the latter half of the decade. But the Mack Superliner was also up there; a big, lazy, low-revving V8 that sounded fantastic in full flight.

The Series 1 arrived at the dawn of the 1980s, the Series 2 update arriving six years later. Aussie versions sat about five inches higher than their American counterparts to help keep the big bent eight cool.

Of course, I was just a scabby-kneed school kid at the time but it was the big, rumbling, square-jawed Mack and its very politically incorrect clouds of fuel smoke that mesmerised me back in the day.

30 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

I spent the day hauling gravel out of a rural quarry in South Australia. While I’m sure the steel-sprung ride and engine noise (not to mention the pneumatic windscreen wipers) would get wearing after a while, it gave me a nostalgic glimpse of trucking back in the decade of skinny ties, pointy shoes and peroxide mullets. The sound of those old thumpers can’t help but make you smile.

I also got to jump into another legendary Mack, a 1990 V8 Valueliner. While the Series 1 was a bit of fun, the later model Valueliner blew me away. It was as tight as a drum and a testament to the build quality of these old trucks.

This truck used an 18-speed Road Ranger rather than the Mack transmission and was just a joy to drive.

Only a couple of years after this Valueliner rolled off the Brisbane assembly line, Renault bought the Mack brand.

Consequently, when Volvo bought Renault’s truck business Mack was part of the deal.

Mack trucks still roll off the assembly line in Brisbane, albeit with Volvo-based running gear. The big-bonneted Mack is still an Aussie engineered and built truck that bears little in common with its American counterparts.

Over the past 18 months Australia has lost its carmanufacturing industry, with General Motors, Ford and

A big square bonnet out front and a slowrevving V8 burble makes for a fun day at the office Toyota all shutting down their local factories. This leaves Volvo Group (which includes Mack) as Australia’s biggest automotive manufacturer.

Of course, Kenworth and Iveco still make trucks here locally and, given the sales success of both Volvo Group and Kenworth, that’s not likely to change any time soon.

Many things have changed to make Aussie trucking safer, though when listening to that old V8 Mack haul it’s hard not to get all sentimental. l

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LETTERS Blessed relief SO PLEASED TO read in T&D January that, following a concerted campaign by both Unite and Truckers’ Toilets UK, drivers have won the right to be allowed to use toilets at commercial premises they are delivering to.

It’s a victory for common sense.

Many older drivers are still in the industry and, if forecasters are to be believed, it’ll be one of the coldest winters for some time.

Imagine being stuck waiting to tip at an RDC for several hours and not having access to basic, essential facilities.

Spare a thought also for the industry’s many female drivers for whom it is even more difficult to improvise. Thankfully, recently I retired from the supermarket/ transport/distribution industry but, as both a delivery driver in my time and also having had drivers and deliveries to deal with, I never personally had a problem.

I also bent over backwards to point drivers to facilities as I knew what it was like.

Let’s hope that a small number of irresponsible people do not spoil it for the majority and that the new system works.

Malcolm Hall, South Devon

Taking 45 AFTER READING ‘Clarification on in-cab rest breaks’ in News, December T&D, I went to the RHA for the full DVSA policy statement. In part, the DVSA says: ‘If proof can be provided that the full weekly rest was taken appropriately (including evidence of rest taken outside the cab or in a formal rest area), then no action will be taken.’

How does this compare with the legislation? The ban on full weekly rests in the cab is based on the following phrase from the official guide to drivers’ hours, document GV262: ‘Where reduced weekly rest periods are taken away from base, these may

32 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

The Letter of the Month sender will receive £10, in the form of a high

LETTER OF

THE MONTH

street voucher that can be exchanged anywhere. Email your letters to dan.parton@road transport.com NOTE: We reserve the right to edit your letters and, although your name and/or address can be withheld if requested, if we are not told your details there’ll be no publication.

Will cyclists never learn?

I’ve just had an interesting chat with a group of drivers from a well-known tipper operator in the South East and inevitably the conversation moved on to cyclists. In my ignorance, I had assumed the numerous safety initiatives that have taken place over the past few years had improved cyclists’ awareness of trucks – and in turn helped to make them more safety-conscious – but apparently not. The drivers all agreed that the situation is getting worse, with more cyclists undertaking, wearing headphones and even holding on to the side under-run bars at traffic lights. Apparently, the worst culprits are young men.

One driver, a cyclist himself, raised an interesting point. He wanted to know why we insist on encouraging cyclists to creep to the front of the queue at traffic lights, using advanced stop lines (aka bike boxes). “Not only are we

be taken in a vehicle, provided that it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.’

The ‘rules’ are silent on where a driver may take his reduced weekly rest. Provided his vehicle is parked legally, there is no basis for penalties/prohibitions. In accord with this, the DVSA assures the RHA that reduced weekly rests may still be taken in any legal parking place and need not be taken in ‘formal rest areas’.

However, the purpose of the rule is to distinguish between a reduced weekly rest and a full one and, by implication, a full weekly rest may not be taken in the cab wherever it is. The DVSA seems to have created an equivalence between ‘outside the cab’ and ‘in a formal rest area’ that does not exist in the legislation.

The DVSA’s statement ‘DVSA will be enforcing a ban on lorry drivers taking full weekly rests in cabs on or adjacent to public roads’ is confusing at best,

encouraging them to undertake, but then we are putting them directly into a truck’s blind spot. I don’t get it.” Neither do I! Will Shiers, Editor, Commercial Motor

misleading at worst. The ban has nothing to do with location, it is a ban on a full weekly rest in the cab. This applies equally to full weekly rests taken at the roadside or in ‘formal rest areas’.

The primary aim of all drivers’ hours legislation is to enhance road safety by ensuring that drivers are properly rested and fit to drive.

The effect of the rules as drafted is that drivers on the road for more than two weeks should spend at least 45 hours away from the truck. This has to be a good idea!

The problem is, of course, that the existing infrastructure would probably not be able to provide a room for every driver taking a full weekly rest ‘on the road’.

Hence, in attempting to address public nuisance by at least getting drivers to take 45 hours in a place with access to facilities, the DVSA realpolitik approach has merit but doesn’t seem to be supported by the legislation.

What would happen if the law

was enforced as written? Yes, there would be the increased cost of a room and ancillary facilities in which the driver could take his ‘45’, but who would wind up footing the cost? It would be passed on to the consumer, as are all other costs and, provided proper enforcement took place, all haulage would see prices rise equally with no individual haulier being disadvantaged.

A demand for truck accommodation, not just ‘formal rest areas’, would also be created that would be worth millions each year and would attract the sort of investment in facilities that would benefit all drivers.

In addition, jobs would be created in construction and in the service industry, all funded by a modest surcharge on haulage supported by existing legislation and paid for by consumers.

Am I naive in thinking this would be a win-win scenario?

Adam Thomas, via email

e i t s n b H a C olland s ’ n e B Gildenweg 16 8304 BC Emmeloord info@benscabinemeubels.nl

TEL:(31)527-621221 www.benscabinemeubels.co.uk

Beautiful Lighted Mirrors

Cupboard rear fitting in MCB MP-4 Big Space

in a with leather look padded mirror holder for on the backwall off your cabine

REVIEWS

EDITOR’S CHOICE OF

THE MONTH

A treat for Daf lovers

It is now more than 50 years since the first trucks from Dutch manufacturer Daf appeared on UK roads, and Bill Reid’s lovingly crafted and meticulously researched book covers the entire span of Daf in this country, including its time in the 1980s and ’90s as Leyland Daf. The format will be familiar to those who have read any of Reid’s previous trucking books: two pictures of trucks to a page, with a sentence or two below to give information and context on the model and operator. Why bother to change a winning formula?

It’s the pictures that make this book stand out. All in glorious colour – many taken by Reid himself over the years – they not only give a great

history of the trucks but also of fondly remembered UK hauliers, while the information provided helps to bring the photographs alive with the sort of detail truck aficionados love.

Daf Lorries covers the familiar main models but also some of the lesserknown ones, such as the Daf 65, making this book an essential for Daf enthusiasts. As usual with Reid’s books, they are great for dipping into or reading cover to cover, and would make a great addition to any truck lover’s library. Dan Parton Daf Lorries by Bill Reid, published

by Amberley Publishing; go to www. truckanddriver.co.uk/daflorries

HHHHH

APP OF THE MONTH Yeh yeh?

Reign time

Matt Bianco’s ’80s output wasn’t hideously bad, but it wasn’t especially good either – its jazzy Latino style was harmless enough if a tad gutless. However, if the likes of Yeh Yeh had you thinking ‘yes’ back in 1985, then this 2CD reissue (which packs in 21 bonus tracks) released by reissue maestro Cherry Red will in 2018 doubtless have you saying ‘yes please’. Shaun Connors Matt Bianco by Matt Bianco (2CD). Released on the Cherry Red label. Go to www.truckand driver.co.uk/mattbianco

Destined to be one of my favourite albums ever. The production is what lifts this album to a totally different level. It’s perfect, with Michael Shotton’s made-forgenre vocals front and centre but always complemented and never overpowered by the scorching lead work of Ivan Gonzalez and Sven Larsson and the so-solid bongo drums of Pierpaolo Monti. What Bose headphones were made for. Shaun Connors Raintimes by Raintimes, on the Frontiers label. Go to www.truck anddriver.co.uk/raintimes

HHH

HHHHH

34 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Change4Life Be Food Smart: This app, produced by Public Health England, is part of the wellestablished Change4Life campaign.

This free-to-download app provides a simple way to check what’s in your food and drink in terms of fat, salt, sugar and the like. It also gives hints and tips on how to make healthier food choices. It is also particularly useful if you have children, as it shows them what goes into foods and has activities designed to help them learn.

The app is available for Android and iPhone. Dan Parton l See the first instalment of our new Healthy Living series, p58

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DRIVERS’ LIVES You’ll have seen all the news reports, but what’s life really like for the truckers in the ‘war zone’ who have to deal with the would-be migrants at Calais on a day-to-day basis?

P

roblems with migrants attempting to stow away on trucks headed for England at the French Channel port of Calais have been in and out of the news for a long time now, but we don’t hear a lot from the poor souls who are stuck shipping in and out this way on a regular basis.

One driver tells us in the first person about what he’s seen and heard, along with his own close encounter.

They were polite once…

I’ve been shipping through Calais for over 10 years now. Migrants have been around the place for all that time, but the kind of people has changed over the years and that’s when the problems have increased. Before the last EU

FROM THE

FRONT

36 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Coping with Calais

Interview by Lucy Radley / Images: SARAH ALCALAY/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock

LINE

expansion it was mainly Eastern Europeans trying to get in; you’d always see them in and around the service areas and along the side of the road. They were never dangerous like they are now, they never tried to stop trucks, they’d just sneak in the back when they could. They were quite polite actually, a lot of them.

About four years ago we noticed there was a change, with more people coming up from the Mediterranean.

These people generally became a lot

Since closure of the Jungle camp in Calais, drivers don’t know where they’ll encounter would-be stowaways to the UK

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

37

DRIVERS’ LIVES

After 10 years of transiting through Calais, our driver says the chancers have changed over the years – they’re now more desperate and more aggressive

more aggressive, quite intimidating.

The problems have got worse as they’ve got more and more desperate and started doing more daring things to try and stop the trucks.

I think it was a couple of years ago they started putting objects in the road to slow us down, or even create an accident they could take advantage of.

They would use anything – hay bales, trees, even themselves.

This wave of migrants seem to be quite clever in their tactics and they’re very blatant about what they’re doing as well. You see reports of them trying to climb into cabs, though I don’t know quite what they think they’ll do when they get in; you see them at the services breaking windows and trying to smash their way into trucks.

We’ve said for a while now that it’s almost like a war zone. You can see the type of people they are as you pass them, the way they glare at you, and the services are just overrun.

At one point last summer, when there were big problems with them storming the ports, you were going through all your customs and passport checks and so on, driving onto the quay and they’d just be walking around.

You’d wonder what the point was of doing all those checks when you are then sat inside for 45 minutes and they’re all wandering about and sitting

38 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

down by the loos. They were just walking in and no one was stopping them, it was absolutely ridiculous, but when there are only five security guards and 200 migrants running at the gates there’s nothing they can do.

A lot of the problem now seems to be on the north side of Calais, running up the A16 corridor towards Dunkirk and Belgium, so we come in to Calais from the south.

There have been lots of reports of vehicles getting damaged, and just recently there were a couple of photos going round online of drivers who have actually been injured by stuff being thrown at them. There was one report from the French police of a hijack but the guy only got about 700 metres before they stopped him, so he can’t have known what he was doing.

A temporary solution Clearing the Jungle camp towards the end of 2016 has only been a temporary solution, really. To start with it was lovely; all the roads were quiet and it was back to how it used to be, but it only took the migrants a matter of weeks to start coming back.

The police were saying, unofficially, that for quite a while they were all camping out in the woods on the other side of Calais, all congregating again.

At the time they were clearing the

camp all the people in it were bundled onto buses and taken to different centres all over France, the idea being to house them and give them food and so on, but that’s not what they want.

So now you’ve got 10,000 people who are no longer in one location so you don’t know where they are, and can pick up any lorry that’s going north, heading back. They’ve already got to Calais once from wherever they started, after all.

Towards the end of 2016 it was getting really bad. We pull low-loaders and they’d get on, loaded or empty.

I’ve been going out, come off the ferry and gone round to the AS24 for fuel and had them get on the load.

One time six of them got onto the back and I was going south, down to Spain. The police came over and started removing them but there was one in particular who wouldn’t get off so I told the copper where I was headed. He told his colleagues and they all laughed – it’s become a bit of a cat and mouse joke to them really.

Because we move abnormal loads we use the Convoi Exceptionnel route through the town but even that’s not foolproof. We came round the corner once to find a group of around 60 migrants stood in the middle of the road; I thought “oh shit” and then floored it, and fortunately they

Coping with Calais scattered, but ever since then my escort van has always gone ahead of me instead of behind like he’s supposed to, just in case. We did six trips in a row around that time and without fail, going out and coming back, we had them on the back of the low-loader. The last lot I picked up were the biggest joke of all though; that’s a story in its own right!

It was a short while after they got rid of the camp. I did a few trips out and it was like a ghost town, you could go down and fill up and you wouldn’t see anybody, it was lovely.

On this particular trip I decided to get some fuel on the way home, so I came off at the AS24 and started filling up. There were two fridges down on the far bays and I’d got about half a tank in when I saw a load of feet run down the far side of their trailers.

I thought “here we go” and, sure enough, they walked across and I heard the back of my trailer go up and down twice. I knew they were on there so I finished filling, locked up the truck, walked round and there’s one on the top of the load in broad daylight. I said “come on, off you come” and he did, so I said “and your friend as well”, but he said “No, no, just me”.

I opened the door on the load and there’s a third one staring at me, with a fourth tucked away in the darkness, so I decided not to mess about and drove straight to port security.

Not my job!

I pulled into the port and the French security shed, telling them I had migrants on board. One of the security guards took me up on the load, lifted the door and the hatch beneath and grabbed hold of the two men. Then he told me he had to call the police, he didn’t know how long they would take and that he wanted me to pull out to the side of the shed then stand at the back of the load to stop the migrants getting off!

I told him he had no chance, it wasn’t my job to stop them, so he had a chat with his colleague who said “yeah, okay, just pull outside”.

An hour later the police appeared, sent me back into the shed, dumped off the two we’d found then went right

through the whole load and declared me good to go, giving me a slip of paper to hand over at English customs with my passport. The lady there looked at me and said “what’s this?”, so I explained and she was still none the wiser, but said that if they’d cleared me I didn’t need to go through the English customs shed as well unless I wanted to.

I decided I would anyway, just for peace of mind, and thank goodness I did – they put the heartbeat sensors on the trailer, pushed the button on the computer and it went to red.

They looked at each other and, without saying a word, got onto the load and went through it, but they couldn’t see anything so they ran the test again and got another red. At this point we were all confused, so I asked what the sensors actually measured. It turned out to be a combination of movement and vibration, so we talked for a bit about the nature of the load and the fact it would have fluids sloshing about inside, agreeing that this was probably the cause of the problem. Even so, they decided that to be double safe they’d get the sniffer dog down. “Good idea,” I said.

A whole 45 minutes passed and the dog handler arrived, walked down the back, along the side of the truck and round the front then said “Yeah, you’re all good mate, away you go.” So I headed out, checked myself onto the 21.50 boat and, with just over an hour to wait, pulled down to the lane and parked up. But I couldn’t settle, I kept thinking about the heartbeat sensor – by the time they ran the check again, any fluids should surely have settled?

Something just didn’t seem right, especially when the load had so many hidey holes, so I took my phone with its built-in torch and started going through it again myself. I’m looking up and all around in case there’s someone wedged up inside, flashing the torch about until I come to a panel

with a small hole cut in it, through which I could see a grey sweatshirt.

My heart was in my boots as I went over to one of the port security cars to relate what I’d found. Within five minutes there were three cars and a dog van from English customs alongside me. I showed them and next thing they’re pulling out yet another two stowaways. Long story short, by the time we’d waited for the police van to turn up I’d missed my crossing – in fact, eventually the dog handler, who’d stayed with me, admitted the delay was “getting embarrassing now” and arranged for customs to take away the migrants instead so that I could go.

It was a fiasco I eventually got the 00.55 boat, having arrived in Calais at 18.00 the evening before. The whole thing was just a fiasco from start to finish – and can you imagine if I’d done as that first lady had suggested and gone straight down to the quay after the French had signed me off? That’s six of them I might have brought in!

We don’t stop at all in that area now – the closest I’d stop is probably the other side of Rouen, about 130 miles to the south. We then run all the way up into the port using the motorway, even though we’re not supposed to, simply because at 50mph they can’t get on the back of you and it goes straight into the port. I’m always a bit of a worrier, but the last few trips I’ve done I’ve felt differently heading back towards Calais than I would in the past. Not scared exactly, but certainly uneasy until I get on the ferry.

It’s just such a volatile situation; you’ve only got to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s not until you find them hidden on your trailer that it sinks in that this isn’t just stories, it’s real, and the migrants have got absolutely nothing to lose. To be honest, I think I’d be happier not going over there at all. l

I opened the door on the load and there’s a third one staring at me, with a fourth tucked away in the darkness, so I decided not to mess about and drove straight to security TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

39

FUEL

ECONOMY DRIVE

MY FIRE

The Renault Optifuel Challenge sought to find the most fuel-efficient drivers – something often neglected during training – from around the world

W

ith vehicle manufacturers publicly battling it out to chisel small percentages off fuel consumption, it’s easy to forget where most of the potential saving comes from: those driving the trucks on the road.

Given that the responsibility is laid at the feet – almost literally – of drivers to cut their employers’ costs, it was a welcome move from Renault Trucks to host an international competition to celebrate the very best of fuel-efficient driving.

In October last year, 29 finalists from around the world gathered in

The trouble is, a lot of the time the focus is on just getting loads to where they’re going, so this gets overlooked 40 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Toledo, Spain, to battle it out for the crown in the 2017 Renault Optifuel Challenge (News, January T&D).

The competition finalists completed a 40-minute open-road driving test in a Renault Trucks T480 Optifuel on a hilly motorway route around Toledo, and then had to complete a questionnaire on eco-driving and reducing fuel consumption.

Fighting talk With a Renault Range T up for grabs as the grand prize, excitement levels ran high during the event. Wherever you looked, a finalist or their team would be waving their country’s flag and there was no shortage of goodnatured fighting talk.

But at the heart of the Optifuel Challenge was a common sentiment: everyone was there to celebrate the talent of the drivers.

The UK’s finalist, Stephen Rountree, drives for MTS Logistics in

Leicestershire and has spent more than 30 years in the industry.

Identified by his fuel figures via Renault Optifuel software, Rountree’s transport manager, Jack Partner, got the call inviting him to the UK final with the country’s top six drivers.

He says: “It was brilliant news.

Good for Steve especially, but very good for the company. We’re very excited about it and it’s a nice treat to come out to Spain.

“It’s nice how driver-orientated the whole thing has been too,” Partner adds. “It’s not about MTS; it’s about Steve and the drivers.”

Rountree placed 20th overall, with drivers hailing from Romania, Bulgaria and Luxembourg taking the podium spots (see separate panel, page 43). But Renault Trucks says the final results were extremely close and, regardless, Rountree maintains that his final position didn’t sour his experience of the competition.

Renault Optifuel Challenge Words: Emma Shone

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” says Rountree. “On my drive there was a bit of a language barrier with my guide and the satnav broke, so it was tricky to know when the turns were coming up. But we figured it out in the end, and it’s just been great to be a part of the competition.”

Efficiency via training His transport manager adds that a lesson learned from the Optifuel Challenge is that he could do more at MTS Logistics to boost fuel efficiency through his drivers and by giving them some extra training.

“I’m definitely taking it on board and it’s something I’ll take back with me and assess,” says Partner. “I’ll be looking at maybe getting Steve to do some training with the other drivers and concentrate on fuel consumption.

“The trouble is, a lot of the time the focus is on just getting loads to where they’re going, so this gets overlooked.

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

41

ECONOMY DRIVE

“I’d like to get the go-ahead for Steve to go out one by one with the other drivers and go over it.”

Renault Trucks echoes the idea that driver training is the key to success when it comes to fuel figures.

Best in Europe Vice president Christophe Martin says: “Drivers are essential to fuel consumption, and so is driver training.

We will see from the spread of results that we have here among the best drivers that exist in Europe.

“This competition is part of

Renault’s commitment to improving our fuel consumption and supporting our customers and society. It’s a large training exercise in a way. And it’s a test of drivers’ skills. It creates awareness among the drivers, of course, and among their managers, and helps motivation and recognises the effort that everyone is putting in.”

Events such as the Renault Optifuel Challenge should be held more regularly in the transport industry, Rountree (pictured above) believes.

“I think it’s something that is missing in the industry. Drivers are

Drivers are essential to fuel consumption, and so is driver training. We will see from the spread of results that we have here among the best drivers that exist in Europe 42 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

taken advantage of and don’t really get any recognition for what we do.

“You’re expected to do it and then you go home. So I think Renault has done a good thing.”

Stephen Rountree started driving more than three decades ago in Canada, and he still loves his job and is motivated to excel at it.

A tough job “I have been driving for 33 years, but why do a job at 90% when you can give it 100% and do your best?

“It doesn’t matter what job you’re doing. If you do your best, you’ll always be employed. If you can’t be bothered, then you’ll wallow and you’ll never get anywhere,” says Rountree.

Partner adds that it’s clear Stephen enjoys his work, and “there aren’t enough drivers who enjoy their job”.

Responds Rountree: “It’s the long

Renault Optifuel Challenge

And the winners were…

Plamen Ivanov, a driver and manager of Bulgarian company Sunny Co, took the Optifuel Challenge title, with Romanian Adrian Ţintea second and Jochen Becker from Luxembourg taking third place.

Plamen won a €6000 (£5550) voucher for the shop of his choice as well as a Renault Trucks Range T480 Optifuel truck to expand his 23-vehicle, exclusively Renault fleet.

Clearly a loyal Renault customer, Plamen claims he was the first in Bulgaria to drive a Magnum. Of the competition, he adds: “I was able to keep my consumption low while

hours that put people off. It’s a tough job. I start work at 4.30am. I’m 52 years old and sometimes you think, after 33 years, it’s time for the younger people to step in.

“But there are no younger people to come in! And it’s that that’s the worrying thing, because I can go out and do training with people but it’s hard trying to teach an old dog new tricks. But I guess you’ve got to try.”

That said, it’s the hard work he puts in to doing that job that makes Rountree proud to be a truck driver.

The Renault Optifuel Challenge, he says, has taught him that he should also be proud of himself.

“I am proud to be a driver, in all fairness. And I’m proud of what I’ve done in this competition.

“To be one of 29 finalists from 2500 drivers – it’s about time I learned to pat myself on the back.” ●

maintaining my speed and I only used the brake pedal three times over the entire route,” he says. After receiving eco-driving training from Renault Trucks Bulgaria, Plamen now trains his company’s drivers. Ţintea, who drives for Tintar Spedition, won a €2000 store voucher of his choice and a €5000 voucher for his company, valid throughout the entire Renault Trucks network.

Becker, a driver who works for Luxembourgbased company Tri Kipper, won a €1000 voucher of his choice and the company also won a Renault Trucks voucher worth €2500.

But there are no younger people to come in! And it’s that that’s the worrying thing, because I can do training with people but it’s hard trying to teach an old dog new tricks

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

43

DRIVERS’ LIVES

FIDDLING IN

ROME We’ve all heard tall tales from the heyday of international transport, when men were men and tachographs optional. One driver tells T&D what it was really like in practice

O

ur driver here talks in the first person about running to Italy in the 1980s: and it isn’t pretty.

His name has been withheld for his own peace of mind because he’s still working in the industry.

I passed my test when I was in my late 20s at the end of 1986, but didn’t start driving full time until about ’88. I owned a taxi at the time, and though I wanted to drive a truck it took a while

to sell the car and pack up the business, so I just did odd days here and there in between driving the cab.

I didn’t know anything about transport really, just that the Sally Line ferry was still coming in and out of Ramsgate then, and on my night off I would go out to the pub with friends and watch all the trucks coming off the boat. They all had these exotic things painted on them: ‘Weekly Service to Athens’, ‘Daily Service to Milan’, that kind of thing.

I could do that I loved driving anyway so I looked and thought, “Yeah, I could do that, I’d love to go to all those places and be paid for doing it.” I had no interest in trucks or the mechanical side of things – I’ve never been one for going up the yard on a Saturday polishing the diff with a toothbrush or any of that, I just saw it as an opportunity to travel while earning a wage.

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Driving to Italy in the 1980s

Words: Lucy Radley / Images: Shutterstock

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

45

DRIVERS’ LIVES I knew what the hours rules were, or what they were supposed to be, but I didn’t know the law was broken as much as it was... it was pretty endemic In Kent at that time it was easier to get Continental work than domestic.

The whole area was just full of companies doing international work, particularly Italy, which was the big thing then. I went on for a nowdefunct company that mostly did bulk tipper work with the rest in tilts, about 70% of which was down to Italy.

I knew what the hours rules were, or what they were supposed to be, but I didn’t know the law was broken as much as it was – the hours you’re allowed to do were already long enough and you were expected to do a lot more than that.

It wasn’t just that company either, it was pretty endemic at the time.

Fiddling the tacho

Our miscreant drove a Daf 3300 like this one. The days of running bent started to come to an end once the French began to clamp down on drivers

First I had to learn how to fiddle an analogue tachograph. At that firm you had your interview then went over to the workshop, where one of the mechanics would take you for a test drive. Round the gearlever was a little length of wire with a crocodile clip on each end and my fitter said: “You know what that’s for, don’t you?”

I had no idea, so he explained how they would cut into the wiring behind the steering column and pare back the insulation on the black wire. If you clipped the wire onto the bare section

and earthed the other end somewhere else on the truck it would stop the tachograph recording movement.

It would still record the time but the mileage trace stopped dead, the speed trace stopped dead; it just showed to all intents and purposes that you’d been stopped for that period, so you could put the wire on for 45 minutes then take it off again and it would look like you’d had a break.

People did used to say that if they magnified the chart they could see where the truck had been vibrating as it went down the road, but that might just have been urban legend – I certainly never heard of anyone being done for it.

Everybody used to do this; if you didn’t, then basically you were out of a job. I never wanted to, but it was a case of “if you don’t, I get 10 blokes in here every day after a job...”. When the fitter first told me I was a bit surprised. I did what I was expected to do, but I never liked it and I was permanently tired as a result. I remember that if we ever got back on a Friday and a group of drivers went to the pub, somebody would always fall asleep in there, sometimes a couple of people. Always.

While we just had this bit of wire, some of the owner-drivers had really sophisticated set-ups, there were a lot more of them about then than now.

There was always a chance you’d get caught putting the wire in as you had to stop and get out to look up behind the steering column, so these guys would wire things up so that if you pushed in the cigarette lighter it had the same effect. A flick-switch hidden in the ashtray was another one of their tricks.

Time bandit We used to wind the clock forwards and backwards as well. For those who don’t remember, the analogue tacho head was effectively the entire front of the speedo and the whole unit dropped forward so you could put a card in. Behind there, you would find a knurled wheel to change the time on both the exterior clock and the recording part of the head so if, say, you ran out of spreadover at 6pm, you would merely take the card out, wind the clock forward to 6am, put in a

46 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

new card and carry on.

Obviously you had to catch up that time somewhere, so winding the clock was more commonly done on the last shift back to the UK so you’d get back Friday night instead of Saturday morning, and depended on having enough time back at base to make up that 12 hours. You could be quite flexible with it, show 11-hour breaks when you really had nine hours… whatever you had to do, really.

Pulling fuses was another favourite, though as a reaction to that the tachographs were changed so that if the power supply was interrupted it spiked – the trace would go straight to the top and then back down again – so they could see what you’d done.

Lots of trucks had their own little foibles, which people used to discover as well. I had a Daf 3300 and if you just wanted to move round the yard, or needed to load in the middle of a nine-hour break, you turned the engine on then immediately turned the key back one notch into the radio position and the truck would run but wouldn’t record anything. There were a few trucks that would do this.

As a result of all this, we were expected to make our way down to Italy in one hit – it wasn’t unusual to do 15 to 17 hours’ driving pretty much non-stop, and I’ve known blokes who’ve done more. Where we used to make it up was typically when we stopped to clear customs, up until 1992. So you put the wire in or wound the clock forward to get you to the border, then if you put your papers in

Driving to Italy in the 1980s

at 2pm, say, you wouldn’t be cleared until the following morning and you’d catch up on some sleep.

The problem was you’d be going to sleep in the afternoon, so you’d be awake again at 11pm and ready for bed just as it was time to go back to work, having been awake all night. It threw out your body clock completely.

Where am I? I don’t really know how we stayed awake to drive, to be honest, but I felt awful for the vast majority of the time, just shattered. Exhausted. When you’re that tired it almost feels like you’re drunk. I’d forget where I was quite often – I’d be on the motorway and all of a sudden I’d think, “Where am I?”. I’d have to wait until I got to the next exit to see the signs and then it would come back to me.

I shipped back into Ramsgate once and the customs bloke asked me where I had been. I couldn’t remember. Then he asked me which country I’d been to but I couldn’t remember that either. I had to look at my paperwork in the end.

I didn’t have any accidents but they did happen to a lot of people. You’d see lots going up and down Mont Blanc particularly; if you got it wrong coming down there it was very easy to come a cropper, especially on the

French side because it was a much longer climb. There used to be plenty of wrecks they couldn’t recover, so you’d go over a viaduct, look down, and there would be a truck 300ft down in the valley below.

Enforcement wasn’t like it is today, even in the UK, though we used to do only five or 10 miles at each end of a trip in this country, with the rest of our driving abroad.

The French police just seemed to get a nice little screw out of stopping British truck drivers and taking backhanders from them; I was forced to hand over 100 francs – about a tenner – a few times.

If you were running bent you always made sure you had a 100-franc note in your passport. You’d hand your passport over and a bit later they’d give it back; you knew the note would be gone, but then they’d just turn a blind eye to whatever you were doing and nothing more was said.

Funnily enough, it was when the French started clamping down heavily that it all began to come to end. It was very sudden; some decree must have been handed down from somewhere because next thing we heard was people getting horrendous fines, and then it all seemed to stop. That would’ve been around 1993 or ’94.

The ministry on the English side

started getting a lot more serious then as well. I remember them following one of our UK drivers all the way down to the yard from Leicester, stopping him as he drove through the gate and, finding his card, said he’d been on rest for the previous four hours without a movement.

It wasn’t just the British drivers either; the Dutch were the other big transport nationality then, and they were running bent as well. I remember coming up to one of the more notorious péages [tollbooths] one afternoon with the wire in. I could see the French police on the other side, waiting to stop someone, but there was already a Dutch truck under the canopy so I thought I’d be okay.

It took me a while to get through the queue but this truck just wasn’t moving; as I pulled up at the booth next to him he looked across, and you could see him gesturing to show he had the wire in and asking me to go on in front. Unfortunately, I had as well, so I made signals back and pointed out that he was there first! In the end he did go, they did stop him and they didn’t stop me!

I don’t miss those days, no matter how much people say it was the best time to be on the road – I was glad when they started clamping down in the early ’90s and I was also glad when they brought speed-limiters in. We were always encouraged to drive faster than I felt safe driving.

Bypassing the hours rules inevitably led to tired drivers and thus accidents – particularly when descending French side of Mont Blanc

A huge relief People talk about making more money then than they do now, but we were all on trip money or percentage and that inevitably influenced what we would do to earn. All I can say is that when I eventually ended up with a company that ran legal it was a huge relief, even though they went to Russia where there were no tachographs at all!

Running bent was never something I wanted to do but I didn’t have a choice, so I for one am glad those days are behind us. l

I don’t really know how we stayed awake to drive but I just felt awful most of the time, just shattered... it almost feels like you’re drunk TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

47

TRUCKSTOP OF THE MONTH The Formula Services Truck Stop in Ellesmere Port has only been open for a couple of years but is already building a reputation as one of the best in the region

FORMULA

ONE S

tep into the café of the Formula Services Truck Stop and you know it’s no ordinary place for drivers to park up at.

Rather than just a featureless room, the establishment has a 1950s diner theme and it is bright – even on a dank, rainy day, as it was when T&D visited – and spotlessly clean.

The comprehensive menu includes a tempting range of crowd-pleasing food such as steak, lasagne, curry and cod & chips, and everything is cooked fresh on site. It is also reasonably priced – main meals are all under £7

and hot drinks less than £2. There are also lunch and breakfast options.

A lot of money has clearly been invested in Formula Services, just off jct 10 of the M53, and, as a result, the facilities are of a quality superior to that of your average truckstop.

For example, in addition to a large TV lounge, which is stocked with numerous comfy seats – and massage chairs – there are also individual screens so drivers can plug in their headphones and watch what they want in peace. There is also a TV lounge showing European television,

What the drivers think Mike Watson “I come here once or twice a week. It’s better than going to the motorway services because they are expensive and the showers are often terrible.

“The food at Formula Services is great as well. I like that there are places here where you can relax and chill out on your 45min break – and it’s all free to use, which is great as a lot of places don’t do that. You don’t feel like you have to stay in your lorry. It is also just truck drivers here, which I like.”

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Louis Crook “Facilities-wise, this is the best I’ve seen. The showers are always clean and you don’t have to queue here, which you often have to do at other places.

“It’s good that there are things to do outside your cab. In 90% of places you go for a bite to eat and then go back to your cab but here there are places to chill out. I don’t know any other truckstops with half of the facilities they have here. It’s definitely one of the better truckstops, and it is rare that you can’t get a space.”

reflecting the number of overseas drivers who come through. Along the corridor is a games room, with pool and table tennis available, among other games, and a laundry room.

Prepare your own food As well as the café, there is a wellappointed (microwaves, hobs, hot water and pots and pans) kitchen area for those who want to prepare their own food. “All we ask is that if people use it they clear up after themselves,” says Gerry Graham, Formula manager.

Moreover, these facilities come at no extra charge. Even the classic arcade game machines can be played for free. That might be a small touch, but it adds to the feeling that drivers are getting value for money and aren’t just viewed as cash cows.

One thing that comes through at Formula Services is that it really has been designed with drivers in mind.

For instance, one regular complaint from drivers is that truckstops don’t have enough showers and they often have to queue for them. Not at Formula Services: it has 14 in all and they look like the sort you find in a good hotel. They are also regularly cleaned throughout the day.

Formula Services Truck Stop

Words & images by Dan Parton

Truckstop fact focus

FORMULA SERVICES TRUCK STOP

Location: Bridges Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 4LB, just off junction 10, M53 Capacity: Lorry park can accommodate 110 trucks Security: 36 CCTV cameras and 24-hour manned patrols Parking: Open 24 hours Fuel: Open 24 hours Cost: £16 per night, including use of facilities. Add £7 for a meal voucher Contact: Tel 0151 350 6594, email info@formulaservices. co.uk, website www. formulaservices.co.uk

And the truckstop continues to listen to what drivers want. Comment cards from drivers are collected monthly, the selected comment card provider receiving a cash prize.

“We ask people for their comments, good, bad and ugly,” says Gerry. “It is about listening to the customers. We do get some complaints, but I don’t mind that because that allows us to improve our facilities. The majority will be basic things – for example, no toilet rolls at 3am. How did we get round that? We introduced an extra cleaner, which isn’t a massive cost and that problem has now gone.”

When several drivers make the same request, Formula will discuss it and try to accommodate. For instance, the outside eating area is there as a result of drivers’ requests, as is a relaxation area, this including a blood-pressure monitor.

Gerry adds that more developments are planned for Formula Services, such as adding gym equipment – again requested by truck drivers – which he hopes will be in place in the first few months of 2018.

“At the end of the day, the drivers are the ones doing eight, 10, 12 hours’ driving and they just want to come in here, get a nice shower, get some food – whether it is their own, from a vending machine or the café – have a drink if they want to, watch some TV and all that stuff and then have a sleep,” says Gerry. “That’s what we are trying to give them.”

Averaging 75 trucks a night Currently an average of 75 trucks park up at Formula Services each night – up about 40% year-on-year – these being a mix of SNAP account holders and drivers who come on the day, according to Gerry.

You can’t help feeling that the number of drivers stopping here will continue to grow as word spreads about Formula Services. For anyone looking to set up a truckstop, this is a model that should be followed because the range and quality of facilities available, at no extra charge, are some of the best we’ve seen and are clearly appreciated by the drivers too. l

We ask people for their comments, good, bad and ugly...

A truckstop that really does have the correct formula for keeping drivers happy: clean, plentiful washing facilities (there are 14 showers), good, freshly cooked food, massage chairs, and a large, comfortable TV lounge; there are even individual screens

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

49

ED’S CHOICE Joe xx Sharp Volvo FH500

Fact focus Make/model: Volvo FH13 6x2 pusher Engine: D13K, 12.8-litre straight-six Power: 500hp Torque: 2500Nm @1000-1400rpm Gearbox: AT2612F 12-speed I-Shift Company: Sharp Freight International Ltd, based in Heywood, Lancashire

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Volvo FH500 / Joe Sharp

Words: Dan Parton / Images: Tom Cunningham

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

52 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

CUTTING Volvo FH500 / Joe Sharp

EDGE Although its white and pink livery always sets the Joe Sharp fleet apart, Joe’s 17-registration Volvo FH500 with its Suicide Squad blockbuster-inspired artwork is a real head-turner

W

hen the film Suicide Squad hit cinemas in the summer of 2016, it was one of the biggest blockbusters of the season and some characters and imagery have gone on to become iconic, especially Margo Robbie’s Harley Quinn. So, when Joe Sharp, managing director of his eponymous company, was buying a new Volvo FH500 and wanted some artwork on it that would help it stand out from the crowd, something from the film seemed like an obvious choice, with Harley Quinn central to it.

“I was unsure at first as I thought it might look a little bit cartoony but

when I saw the proofs, I thought ‘yeah, it’s going to work’,” says Joe. “I love the bit that says ‘let’s go save the world’ on the front of the truck.”

“It’s absolutely stunning,” adds Darren Price, the truck’s regular driver. “When it first turned up in the yard it was dark and the truck was packed up in a corner, so when I got in the next morning I was gobsmacked with how well it had turned out.

“I wanted to get all of the characters from the film onto the Volvo but I wanted to make sure Harley Quinn was the main one on the back of the truck,” Darren adds.

Darren was involved in the design

Suicide (left) is dangerous: FH500 wears standard Sharp colours, for which Joe still gets plenty of stick – but he persists because his fleet stands out from the crowd

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

53

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Approachable and appreciative of his drivers, Swedish truck enthusiast Joe Sharp buys the best he can for “his lads”

of the truck from the off, adds Joe. “I told him what we were thinking of doing – I quite liked the film – and as soon as I mentioned it, Darren said ‘yeah, I love it’.

Haydon Autospray The truck’s artwork was airbrushed by Adam Haydon at Haydon Autospray in Radstock, near Bath. “We get everything painted at Haydon Autospray – we’ve been with them for 18 years now and they have always looked after us,” says Joe. “We use two airbrushers, Adam Haydon and Matt Pennycock. The latest trucks have been by Adam. They are brilliant and I wouldn’t use anyone else. I am a great believer that if you are happy with something and have a great relationship you stick with them.

“For the alloy wheels we used TyreTracks in Stafford – and, again, I

wouldn’t use anyone else as we’ve used them for nearly 20 years.

“The bars we had from Darren Longden at Kelsa; we’ll always use him too. He supplies all our bars and is a sponsor of the racing team [see panel ‘Formula 4 success’]. Daz is a true gent. He never lets me down – if we need something, he’s there.”

In line with the other Sharp trucks, the FH runs in Joe’s well-known pink and white colours, a livery that goes back to the early days of the company in the late 1990s. After running as an owner-driver with a second-hand Scania 142 doing European work for four years, Joe had saved up enough money to buy a second truck – a Scania 143 – which was the first one they could afford to paint.

“It was my idea for pink,” he explains. “It was a white and pink cab with blue chassis – the same colour

scheme we still have now. Blue was Jackie’s [Joe’s wife and a company director] favourite colour. Pink wasn’t my favourite colour, but we needed something that was going to stand out and be a bit different.

“It was around the time everyone was starting to do a bit of specialist paintwork, which we couldn’t afford to do at the time. So we tried these colours together and I thought it didn’t look too bad,” says Joe.

Plenty of stick “We got loads of stick for it – absolutely loads – but it stood out.

And you think, if you are getting that much stick off people, they are noticing you, aren’t they? So we stuck with it. It was never intended to be set in stone that this is our trademark colour, but it just sort of stuck.

Everyone just knows us now for it.”

They haven’t let me down. As far as reliability and the product goes, they are as good as Scania and I feel we made the right decision. We are up to 12 Volvos in the fleet now 54 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Volvo FH500 / Joe Sharp

The Suicide Squad artwork, airbrushed

by Adam Haydon at Haydon Autospray.

The lightbars are from Kelsa’s Darren Longden, who also sponsors the Joe Sharp racing team

But it isn’t just about the presentation, the truck has to be good too – and Darren and Joe are both pleased with the Volvo. “[The truck is] beautiful to drive,” Darren says. “For example, the gearbox, for an automatic, is so on the ball all the time. It’s never been caught out – Volvo has got it so right. You can drive for up to 10 hours and it doesn’t feel like it, no backache or anything.

And it’s good on fuel economy too.”

An increasing number of the Joe

Sharp fleet, currently comprising 23 trucks and 40 trailers, are Volvos.

Having had a Scania-based fleet for many years – “I would never say a bad word against Scania, they’ve never let me down,” he says – he switched to the rival Swedish marque in 2014.

A dozen Volvos Joe is more than happy with the performance of the Volvos.

“They haven’t let me down. As far as reliability and the product goes,

they are as good as Scania and I feel we made the right decision. We are up to 12 Volvos in the fleet now.”

Joe purchases all his Volvos from Thomas Hardie Commercials in Knowsley, near Liverpool. “We have a good relationship with Thomas Hardie – they have looked after us and done what they said they would do, so we have carried on with them.”

Joe places great stock in having well-specced trucks, inside and out, for all his drivers.

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

55

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Formula 4 success Last summer Joe’s son Jamie, 16 (below), joined the family business on leaving school. He’s now learning the ropes in the haulage industry but his real passion is motor racing – and his dad is backing him all the way. “Jamie passed all his exams with flying colours,” says Joe, proudly. “But he wanted to work for the company [rather than stay on at school]. He wants to be a racing driver ultimately, but he’s going to work for us until he moves through the ranks with that.”

In 2017, Jamie raced in the British Formula 4 Championship – his first season in single-seat racing cars – and finished a creditable 15th place, especially given that he was up against some drivers three to four years his senior. However, Joe believes he could have finished inside the top 10 had his car not had an engine problem in the second half of the season that was only located at the final race.

Joe is committed to backing his son’s racing ambitions, so much so that he established his own team, Sharp Motorsport – even though Jamie did have options to run as a driver for established outfits as well. Sharp Motorsport has been set up as a stand-alone business with a long-term future – Jamie and his sister, Jessica, are both heavily involved in it – with ambitions not just to run Jamie but, in the future, other drivers as well.

But for the 2018 season there is only one goal for Jamie – to take the Formula 4 title. After that, Joe believes his son can go far in motorsport, certainly through the more senior Formula 3 and 2 classes and maybe even realising his ultimate ambition of racing in Formula 1. However, Joe admits that is a long way off yet.

Jamie’s success thus far is down to his own hard work, Joe adds.

“Jamie’s done it on his own merit. There is no background there [in racing] but he has raced karts since he was eight. We have backed him up with the team to do this but he has worked so hard and been

56 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

so dedicated with the training and fitness work and all that sort of thing – it’s all down to him and he’s excelled. Next year is his year to shine. It is his passion and it’s all he’s ever wanted to do.”

As befitting a team set up by a haulier, the transporter for the team is top quality – a Volvo FH750. “Originally I was driving the truck to the races and we’d done it as a flagship and it was my baby,” says Joe. “But as the year has gone on, it has got so busy with work and the team that the driver who normally drives it in the week – the truck has to work during the week – drives it at weekends as well.

“We wanted to make an impression with the truck. It is a massive paddock – Formula 4 is on the British Touring Car Championship bill – so we went at it all guns blazing to look the best, and we did win an award at the end of the season for the best-turned-out team.

“The FH750 looks mint in the paddock. You can tell I’m still passionate about wagons, can’t you?” laughs Joe.

Volvo FH500 / Joe Sharp

“We buy the best we can for the drivers and make sure they have every facility they need to be away from home – sometimes you can be home every night or away all week.

“You never know, and the lads are used to that. They have to live in the truck and we need the drivers to be happy. Pay-wise, I think we’re up there, but it’s not just about that – you have to enjoy your job.”

Family feel To that end, Joe has worked hard to cultivate a family atmosphere at the company. Says Darren: “I enjoy what I do. He [Joe] doesn’t treat you like an employee, more as a friend.

“He’s one of the most approachable bosses I’ve come across. If he’s in when you come in to the office, he’ll make you a brew. He’s so easy to work for.”

Joe is appreciative of the work his drivers put in, often in their own time.

“I have massive respect for the lads here,” he says. “They spend so much time away from home. They are dedicated to what they do and still spend their Saturday and Sunday washing their trucks.

“I’ve come in the yard at 8am on a Sunday and there was someone on the wash washing their truck.

“I always run it as a family company and my door is always open, the lads can always come in and see me. We have the best set of drivers we’ve ever

Customers don’t all just want to be a number and deal with different people every time. We have had customers leave us but come back for the service we provide.

That’s the way forward these days had and they all work really hard.

“I know I sound old saying it, but the camaraderie [in the industry] isn’t like it used to be. But, that said, I think we have retained quite a bit of it here in our own little pod.

“Our lads will have a laugh together, and work together – for instance, they will come back on a Friday night and two to three people will jump on one wagon to wash it.

Working together “I think in a company of our size you need that – without everyone working together, the job would never get done.”

This family approach extends to customers too. Several have been with the company for more than 20 years, and Joe and his team work hard to build up good relationships with them.

“The customers are like friends, really. We talk on the phone to our customers regularly; at this company we don’t have a customer we don’t get on with,” Joe says.

“There are too many transport companies and big players out there

that have lost the familiar and family side of it. I’m not saying we’re better than anyone else, but we are friendlier and we never let anyone down.

Little fish in a big pond “That’s the only way you can build a business these days because there are so many big players,” he adds.

“Sometimes you feel like a little fish in a big pond but they haven’t got what we’ve got in the family side.

“Customers don’t all just want to be a number and deal with different people every time. We have had customers leave us but come back for the service we provide. That’s the way forward these days.

“I don’t think I could come to work in the morning if it was just a job, it has to be a way of life,” says Joe. “If you are talking to customers every single day, how could you not become friends with them? To me, it is part and parcel. We’ve never let anyone down or upset anyone. Of course, problems do crop up but you deal with them.” ●

Top: Joe went in with “all guns blazing to look the best” so took on this striking FH750, reg FH16 VOL, for his racing team – but it works all week too

TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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STEPDIRECTION HEALTHY LIVING in association with Walker Movements

IN THE RIGHT

In the first of a new regular series for T&D, personal fitness trainer Vicky Hadley demonstrates simple exercises that can improve your fitness and also provides tips on eating a better diet while on the road

P

About Walker Movements This healthy living feature is sponsored by Walker Movements, a leading supplier of quality used trucks and a dedicated champion for the improvement of long-term health and wellbeing within the industry.

From its 21-acre base in Sawley, Nottingham, the family-owned company maintains one of the largest inventories of second-hand wagons in the world, specialising since 1991 in the likes of Scania, Volvo, Daf, ERF, MAN, Iveco, Renault and Mercedes-Benz.

Its knowledgeable staff – all ex-mechanics and truck enthusiasts – have given expert advice to thousands of happy customers, helping them to find the right unit for their needs. For more information go to www. walkermovements.co.uk or phone 01332 216612.

58 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

hysical health is a vitally important issue for truck drivers. Health standards for HGV drivers are much higher than for those driving a car or riding a motorbike, yet they are often overlooked. But they shouldn’t be.

Disturbingly, research by the Office for National Statistics in 2011 indicated that transport workers rank among the lowest in terms of life expectancy when compared with other professional groups.

In addition, it is known than a large percentage of drivers are classed as clinically obese, making them more susceptible to developing life-limiting

conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

While sitting in a cab for upwards of eight hours each day is not conducive to an active lifestyle, and getting to the gym can be tricky if you’re out on the road – especially for trampers – there are still ways that you can exercise wherever you may be parked up. The exercises I’ll recommend in this series don’t require a gym, expensive equipment or Lycra to undertake – just you, your truck and about five minutes of your time a day.

Also, while some truckstops and motorway service areas are now providing healthier options for meals,

Life-enhancing tips for drivers

Words: Vicky Hadley / Images: Kieran White

Breakfast Breakfast has long been said to be the most important meal of the day – and that’s for a valid reason. Breakfast provides you with fuel for the day.

You wouldn’t start your truck without any diesel, would you? The same goes for starting your day on an empty stomach.

Researchers have found that, on average, people who eat breakfast are able to maintain a healthier weight than those who don’t. This is because the act of eating breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, activating the thermogenesis process within your body.

it can still sometimes be difficult to eat a balanced diet when out on the road.

But again, by making a few simple changes – that don’t cost more – you can eat better too.

With that in mind, T&D, in association with Walker Movements, will in each issue of the magazine present a simple-to-follow exercise, as well as giving hints and tips on improving your diet, to help you live a healthier life for longer.

Step-ups Step-ups are a great way to burn calories and to get the body moving after a long drive. Sitting down all day can make your body stiffen up, which is particularly bad for the hip flexors – the muscles around the front of hips – and leg muscles.

The best breakfast choices are foods that are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates, as they not only provide you with energy but the protein source helps keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Protein can also help to counteract the effects of muscle atrophy, which is where muscle mass decreases owing to long periods of inactivity.

Most people tend to eat simple or refined carbohydrates such as white bread, sugary cereal or pastries for breakfast and, as nice as these choices are, unfortunately they can lead to a sugar spike and drowsiness as well as weight gain.

With the latter foods you may also find

Regularly practising step-ups will help to improve your balance, strengthen the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh and loosen the hip flexors.

How to do it Standing outside the cab, hold the handles as if you are going to climb the steps into it. Start with one foot on the first step or, if you’re particularly tall, the second step, with the other foot on the ground.

Keeping your core tight – do this by tensing your stomach – and your shoulders pulled back, raise the leg that bears your lower foot while bending your knee to step your body up, so you are standing straight with one knee raised in the air. Slowly lower the same foot back down again

that you feel hungrier quicker and, after a couple of hours, experience a dip in mood.

Swap them for a healthier, more balanced breakfast alternative such as brown bread or wholegrain toast with a nut butter, such as peanut or almond.

For a healthy protein source eat eggs or a bowl of oats with a good-quality protein powder. An easy and healthy breakfast to have while on the go is a porridge pot, where you merely need to add hot water.

Can’t bear the thought of giving up your bacon roll? Then simply swap the white bread for a brown, wholemeal bread and try to limit your consumption to just a couple of occasions each week.

to complete the move. Breathe in as you lower the foot to the ground and breathe out as you drive the knee up.

Repeat for 12 reps on the same leg before swapping and repeating on the other side. ● You can see a video of this exercise being performed by Vicky, as well as more on healthy breakfasts, on the T&D Facebook page – go to www.facebook. com/truckanddriver and ‘like’ the page to keep up with the latest posts.

Meet Vicky Hadley The star of our fitness videos and the writer of this feature, 24-year-old Vicky, is a Level 3 qualified personal fitness trainer, model, blogger and freelance writer. She also participates in bikini competitions, having won numerous trophies for being placed in the top five.

Vicky cofounded the Bikini Girls Diary website – www.bikinigirlsdiary.com – with her friend Deni Kirkova, where they share advice on keeping in shape and eating a balanced diet.

You can follow Vicky on Instagram: @vickyhadleyfitness/@bikinigirlsdiary

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LONG-DISTANCE DIARY

BRA

LONG-DIST ARY

AND BACK After deciding to buy a vehicle semi-trailer, Xpression Events opted for one from an Italian maker – but this meant getting it back from its factory in Bra to the firm’s Oxfordshire base

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Bra, Italy to Upper Heyford

Words & images by Jonathan Hill

TANCE DI-

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arrying cars from one venue to another all over Europe is something Upper Heyfordbased Xpression Events has years of experience of – but with the business growing, the time had come to expand the fleet of trucks and trailers.

When we started looking to add our first covered vehicle semi-trailer to the fleet, we concluded that our purchase could come from only two countries – Italy or Austria. We chose Italy.

At the time we operated three covered single-car trailers and one covered single vehicle, all made in the United Kingdom. But if we wanted to take the six-car route, then it was into mainland Europe we would go.

For patriotic readers, we have since added a new single covered vehicle and I’m proud to say that the coachworks were from a local UK company.

Yes, you can see the famous Fiat rooftop test track – as seen in The Italian Job – on landing at Turin

Fresh experience

TGX XP17 CAR picks up “its perfect match”, a covered six-car trailer, from the Rolfo factory

But owning a six-car covered trailer was going to be a fresh experience and, as with almost every vehicle purchase executed by Xpression Events, a slightly speculative one at the same time. Sure, we had customers who we hoped would increase their requirements but, with a lot of competition and expertise in the marketplace, why should people choose us?

When combined with a proposed new tractor unit, this was the single most expensive investment we had made to date. Nervous? You bet.

And, as time went on, the TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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LONG-DISTANCE DIARY Who needs a satnav when every resident in Bra can direct you to the main factory and, what’s more, is pleased to show you the way? investment grew – in the period between commencing our search and the actual purchase, exchange rate fluctuation saw us losing at least 14% on the original purchase price. Ouch.

Bra men But we pressed on and, in November 2016, made the initial trip to the small town of Bra [stop sniggering – Ed] in north-west Italy. We flew in to Turin – and, yes, you can see the famous Fiat rooftop test track on landing – and then took a 70km hire car journey south-east to the factory.

Now, among the famous poets, activists and philosophers to come from Bra over the years there are also two other celebrities – no, not the Top Gear duo who once stayed in the town during filming, but one who founded the Rolfo trailer business in 1885 and another who invented a very famous hazelnut chocolate recipe. History states that one even built a refrigerated vehicle for the other.

So who needs a satnav when every resident in Bra can direct you to the main factory and, what’s more, is pleased to show you the way?

Currently led by the fourth generation of the founding family, Rolfo is a global name, as the company’s products are exported to numerous countries with the exception of the USA, where trailers are produced a little differently. So, for us, such a trailer seemed an obvious and tested choice.

A quick tour of the production line left us suitably impressed and our order was placed. Including options, the trailer was scheduled for a build time of 22 weeks. This gave us a collection date of May, which we anticipated with relish – but still with that sense of trepidation as well.

While the trailer was being assembled, we looked for a tractor unit to match and on this occasion we chose an MAN. A new TGX low-

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height 460 was ordered, with a collection date scheduled for two weeks prior to completion of the Rolfo. All seemed okay as long as there were no delays. This was our third MAN and ever since purchasing the first, we have received personal and excellent customer service support from our local agent.

May arrived and we took the first of our journeys, chequebook in hand, to Reading to collect the new TGX. The MAN was slightly delayed but this was mainly due to the need to fit lights and bars, together with the application of the necessary branding.

Matching tractor For everyone who has ever collected a new vehicle there’s always an air of anxiety, just in case any of your options are forgotten to be included. But we needn’t have worried – everything was as ordered, including the new Scania gearbox. It drove like a dream.

With only one day in the yard, the TGX was prepared for Europe and driven to Folkestone to catch the ferry.

Bra, Italy to Upper Heyford A solo tractor unit ride for 1400km is not everyone’s idea of an ideal journey. It isn’t mine either so, armed with the ‘long straw’, I headed off to London Gatwick. My plan was to meet our Xpression Events driver at the factory in Bra, complete the final handover and double-man home.

Upon arrival at the factory we were treated like VIPs and, following a second tour of the production line – just in case we had missed their engineering accomplishments the first time round – it was time to see our trailer. Or so we thought. No, it was time for lunch. In Italy, you’ll find there is always time for lunch.

We had already handed over the keys to the MAN, as the Rolfo technicians needed to fit a switch in the cab as well as an Italian ‘Anderson’-style umbilical lead for powering the trailer.

Before being treated to lunch, we were informed that the ‘marriage’ – as they described it – or the coupling of tractor unit to trailer would take place during our meal. If any issues were encountered, then our host’s phone would ring immediately.

Another occasion for anxiety. Did I order the correct MAN? It turned out the meal was a cause for celebration, as the phone remained silent. Then it was back to the factory to see our new combination. It was worth the wait – it looked beautiful, a perfect marriage.

Practice makes perfect Now it was time for the demonstration – roof up, tail-lift down and as many configurations of floor position as possible, as well as being shown the trailer’s do’s and don’ts. Practice will make perfect, I thought.

With all the relevant documents in place, and a final signature, it was time to head north to Turin and join the Italian rush-hour traffic.

We had decided to drive without an overnight stop as we had sufficient hours to reach our Oxfordshire base.

The planned route would take us through the Fréjus Road Tunnel, towards Lyon and the obligatory route north past Dijon and Reims and onwards to Calais.

But just when we took a moment to relax after exiting Turin, the office

Exiting Turin, the office rang. Would we mind a slight detour to Cannes to collect a sports car worth in excess of seven figures? rang. Would we mind a slight detour to Cannes in order to collect a rather expensive German sports car worth in excess of seven figures?

Now, like any asset, it is always good to ‘sweat it’ and this one vehicle collection would pay for the return journey. However, we had only just been shown how to use the trailer and, although a single car on the rear would be easy, even for a couple of near novices, it was a dilemma.

Shall we? Shan’t we?

We perused the map and, once the street for the car’s collection was confirmed, it was an easy decision to reject this job, mainly owing to the fact that the new combo would only be able to get to within two kilometres of the vehicle. And I wasn’t prepared to drive a car worth north of £1 million to meet the trailer! So, onto Fréjus then.

As darkness fell on the Alps we felt a huge sense of relief as we had not only specced two individual vehicles that needed to work in harmony – and which did – but we were taking our trailer home.

It almost felt like returning home from hospital with your new-born child. Stupid, really.

Once we were out the other side of Fréjus, we decided to look for somewhere to stop for refreshment. In the end, convenience won over adventurousness and we stopped at a motorway services. Not only did we

fill ourselves, we filled the truck to avoid the need to stop once we reached the UK. We drove through the night and continued swapping shifts until we reached Calais. There is a significant reason why we tend to choose the ferry over the tunnel – for the full English breakfast.

A new chapter The plan was to make the Xpression Events yard before midday, otherwise we would be testing out the new double bunks. Fortunately, the M25 was kind to us and we received a warm welcome from all back at our base. It felt like a new chapter had begun in our logistics operations.

Since picking up the trailer it has been collecting and delivering vehicles throughout the UK for some major events. Someone once said to me: “If you own a vehicle-carrying trailer and you aren’t involved with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, then you shouldn’t own a vehicle-carrying trailer.”

Luckily we were, and the new rig worked non-stop throughout the event.

Other trips have been further afield, including delivering vehicles to Germany, France and Portugal, although as yet we have not been back to Italy. With that in mind, we are already planning another visit to our friends at Bra, in Piedmont. Isn’t speculation a wonderful thing? l

Opposite, top: MAN TGX low-height 460 delivery was slightly delayed thanks to the fitting of lights and light bars Opposite, left: Six cars on the Rolfo trailer is a tight fit Above: Heading home in the new MAN/Rolfo combo, bypassing Turin then to the Alps through the Fréjus Tunnel

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TWO OF A KIND TRUCK RACING

Racing trucks are different beasts to those driven on the roads every day, as well as to other forms of motorsport – but, claim former F1 driver Allan McNish and truck racer Dave Jenkins, the fundamentals are the same

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ack in 1986 a young Allan McNish attended a truck race meeting at Silverstone. He was impressed by the spectacle of the trucks hurtling round the track, although by then he had long been bitten by the motor racing bug.

While Allan’s motor racing career took him all over the world driving in a variety of single-seat series, including a season in Formula 1 for Toyota in 2002 and winning the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours race on three occasions, he had never got to sit in a racing truck. Until now.

Low driving position When he sat in the cockpit of Dave Jenkins’ MAN – in which Dave finished in third place in Division 1 of the British Truck Racing Championship in 2017 – Allan was taken with the low driving position, which helps with the

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centre of gravity. “Although the key to performance in the truck is chassis stiffness,” adds Dave.

While some aspects of the truck, such as the cabin and the axles, have to be similar to roadgoing vehicles, there are plenty of aspects that can be modified. Much in common with other racing cars, a lot of work goes into ensuring the chassis is very stiff.

“If you have a soft chassis in a racing car or racing truck, you can’t feel the suspension changes and can’t load the wheels up properly,” says Dave.

“When you build the trucks it is all about getting the weight down and getting the weight in the right place; that’s why the engine has been moved back [compared to a standard truck].

“We get the best weight split we can get according to the rules, so we have to have a minimum of 3300kg on the front and the rest [about 2000kg] on

the rear, so about a 60-40 weight split.

“We have a minimum ground clearance of 200mm in the regulations, so we are shaving the bottoms off sumps and bellhousing so we can get everything low. The flywheel is the lowest point.”

McNish adds: “It is taking the regulations, looking at them and thinking ‘how can we achieve something we want but keep the [scrutineers] off our backs?’.”

Faster than the next Pushing the rules to the limit is common to all forms of motorsport, as even marginal gains on lap times can be the difference between winning and not. Some other aspects are similar too.

“From my perspective, it [the truck] has four wheels – well, it has a couple more at the back – a steering wheel and

Truck racer Dave Jenkins & F1 driver Allan McNish

Words: Dan Parton / Images: Michael Phillips

MiX and match Allan McNish (above right) and Dave Jenkins (left) were at the MiX Telematics safety day, which was held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, just outside Corby, Northamptonshire.

For more information on MiX Telematics, go to www.mixtelematics.co.uk

pedals. From a driving point of view, fundamentally you have a vehicle that you have to try and get round the circuit quicker than the next guy, so the differences are few,” says Allan.

“It is a bigger vehicle and a different type of race event but ultimately the goal is the same and fundamental points are the same.”

Dave agrees: “You just need to be faster than the next bloke.”

The format of truck races is also different to the multiple-hour endurance events Allan took part in, with five 20-minute or four 30-minute sprint races per weekend meeting.

“This is because the trucks need

constant attention – after every 30 minutes there is an hour’s work to do before you can go and do another 30 minutes of racing,” notes Dave.

“We’d struggle with that at Le Mans,” Allan jokes. “When you went home following Le Mans it wasn’t a party you were having!”

Technical differences Of course, get two racing drivers together and the talk soon turns technical. “The trucks are huge but in terms of the engineering and detail that goes into them they are just like big racing cars,” says Dave.

But there are differences, for

instance in how the wheels are set up.

“The trucks are not allowed to run negative camber with the wheels in the straight-ahead position,” says Dave.

“Any racing car runs negative camber to keep the load off the corners of the tyres but we have to have zero negative camber when the wheels are in the straight-ahead position. To achieve that, we run a lot of caster, which means inclining the kingpins right backwards, so we physically twist the axles. This means that when we turn them there is a huge camber change.”

Of course, it is what happens when the tyres are on the track that is most important. Optimising speed is critical but can all too easily be got wrong.

“If you get in one of these trucks and want to drive it fast, and you tickle the throttle in the middle of the turn, all of a sudden you get this huge release of torque. You get a slide, so then you lift off and lose your boost, then the weight doesn’t know where it’s going and you reapply the throttle – and because you are travelling so fast, you’ve probably travelled 50 metres up the road while you’re having this fight,” says Dave.

More grip, more throttle “But if you go 3-4km/h slower on the apex of the turn and press the throttle once and deliberately, it pulls the weight back so you have more grip. As you have more grip you can give it more throttle; give it more throttle and you can get more boost. If you have more boost you get more weight, more grip, more throttle and so on as you go up the road. But if you get too anxious with it and have the big lairy slide and look like Ari Vatanen, forget it.”

Allan nods knowingly: “There are obvious differences but I don’t think the mentality of the people in the cockpit or in the design departments is any different. They have one common goal – to make it go faster and make it lighter, better and to push the boundaries of it.” ●

If you get in one of these trucks and want to drive it fast, and you tickle the throttle in the middle of the turn, all of a sudden you get this huge release of torque TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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DRIVERS’ LIVES When Gareth Gault was told he couldn’t be a father, it was crushing news – but he didn’t give up on his dream. Now he’s helping other children as well

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orthern Irish truck driver Gareth Gault and his wife Leanne are still thoroughly enjoying being parents two years after the birth of their baby son.

Although there is nothing unusual about that, the journey they took to have their son certainly was.

Gareth heads up a filming company based near Ballymena, Northern Ireland called Grassmen, which specialises in producing DVDs of farm machinery operations, but he also runs his beloved Scania 164.480 – named ‘Eva Rose’ – as part of that business and for haulage work.

BABY Thought it’d never happen

The young couple, who live near Cullybackey in County Antrim, were overjoyed when son Duncan came into the world on 23 October 2015 in Antrim Area Hospital, weighing in at a healthy 8lb 13oz – but there was a

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Dreams of being a dad

Words & images by Chris McCullough

DUNCAN CAME INTO THE WORLD ON 23 OCTOBER WEIGHING IN AT A HEALTHY

YLOVE

8LB 13OZ

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DRIVERS’ LIVES I really felt like I was a failure, that I wasn’t a real man. I wanted to run away from it all time when they thought that moment would never happen.

Gareth and Leanne were married on 8 August 2006, aged 23 and 24 respectively. Both were career driven, with Gareth working as a salesman and Leanne as a schoolteacher.

Initially, having kids never featured in their plans but after two or three years and being in a better financial position, they thought it was the right time to try for children.

Both thought that Leanne would become pregnant as a matter of due course and that everything was okay.

However, after six months of trying Leanne still was not pregnant. One year passed and still nothing.

It was then Gareth decided they needed help. “We thought Leanne would fall pregnant naturally but after a year of trying we knew something was wrong,” he says.

“Within my health insurance there was a provision for investigations and

that’s what we did. We went private to see what was going on – or what wasn’t.

“Leanne had a blood test and everything was fine with her. However, after taking a sperm sample from me, all was not so fine. I remember sitting in the chair at the end of the table phoning through for my results. I was told I had no sperm in my ejaculate and was diagnosed with nonobstructive azoospermia – or, in other words, testicular failure.”

Crashing down Gareth was always a positive person and was there for everyone in his family should they ever need any help.

He was Leanne’s rock and always strong for her. But when he was told the news that he could never become a father, his world crashed before him.

“I was in the house that day myself and I broke down when the results came in,” says Gareth. “I really felt like I was a failure, that I wasn’t a real

man. I wanted to run away from it all.”

At that time Gareth weighed 30 stone and he felt his obesity could have been affecting his ability to father a child. He bottled all his emotions inside him and refused to talk to people about it. He remained strong on the outside for Leanne but inside the news was beating him up.

“I just got depressed,” he says. “I blamed others for what was going on.

I even went to the NHS for second opinions and they told me that nothing could be done to help me with this condition. It wasn’t that I had a low sperm count, it was that I had no sperm count at all. The doctors in Northern Ireland, although they tried, could not help me. I felt lost.”

Hard times Gareth started to work even more than usual and took to driving the trucks at nights just to “get away from it all”. He found it hard to cope and would go two to three nights a week without sleep out on the trucks.

Christmas 2012 was a hard time for the family but ended up being a

Kids R Us: The road trip to Romania In April 2016, just a few months after Duncan’s birth, Gareth decided he wanted to give something back to society by helping other kids.

He, along with good friend and work colleague Gary Ferguson, loaded up ‘Eva Rose’ and made a 3400-mile journey to Romania to deliver a load of supplies for the Smiles Foundation, a UK-based Christian charity working primarily with children in Romania.

On board the truck were a number of beds that were desperately needed for a new home for children with disabilities in Salonta, in the Bihor region of north-western Romania. The rest of the supplies, including nappies, clothing and other vital aid, was delivered to Smiles Foundation’s Romanian base in Oradea.

But the trip didn’t always go according to plan, as Gareth remembers. “The journey went well through England, France and Belgium but we had a blow-out on the front of the lorry in Germany, which shook us. We had been on the road for two days and I was fast asleep in the lorry as Gary was driving.

“The next thing I heard was a loud bang, and I woke to see Gary struggling to hold onto the truck. He pulled the vehicle over safely, which was a relief because I know other truckers

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have ended up on their side from this type of blow-out.

“The tyre suffered a complete sidewall failure,” adds Gareth, “but luckily we had a spare to keep us going.”

The lads resumed their journey but again found trouble in Hungary, where Gareth had a close encounter with the law.

“It was my fault,” he explains. “I took a wrong turn heading around the Budapest ringroad and an opportunistic member of the local constabulary took offence. The policeman wasn’t cooperative at all and immediately issued a €100 fine, payable on the spot. I tried to bluff him off with a €50 note but he was having none of it.

“After that, the journey ran fairly smoothly, with only a few issues when crossing the border from Hungary into Romania.”

Fortunately for them, the journey home was a lot quieter.

Dreams of being a dad turning point in Gareth and Leanne’s lives. On Christmas Day, Gareth ate his dinner but went to bed for most of the day, ignoring his own family as he felt he could not face them.

But in early 2013 he started to open up about his problem and managed to tell some of his friends who, in the end, were of great support to him.

Turning point Soon after came the moment that was to change the course of the couple’s lives. Even though private and Gareth’s local NHS doctors told him he couldn’t have kids, he was undeterred and wanted to find out for himself why he had this problem and what could be done about it.

“It wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t have kids that was killing me, it was because I had no closure on the subject,” says Gareth. “I wanted to know why this had happened to me even though there is no history in any of our families of azoospermia.

“I happened to be on the internet one night and came across this doctor in the USA talking about the same thing on a TV show. Everything that Dr Paul Turek was saying made sense to me. He had pioneered new research into azoospermia and, according to his website, had a number of successful cases. It didn’t take me long to send him an email simply stating my problem and asking for help.”

Off to San Francisco Dr Turek replied to Gareth’s email and they arranged a meeting at the doctor’s surgery in San Francisco in the summer of 2013. This was great news for Leanne as it brought about a positive change in Gareth. “He was going through a tough time and was shutting everyone out, including me,” she says. “But after speaking to Dr Turek, Gareth finally had his fight back and I had my Gareth back.”

The couple arranged a two-week holiday in the US and spent a day in Dr Turek’s surgery, where he completed tests to try and find sperm. This involved injecting a needle 37 times into Gareth’s testicles and examining the cells under a microscope.

“That hurt,” says Gareth. “We returned home and awaited the

results. It was the longest two weeks I have had to endure.”

When the results were in, Dr Turek called Gareth at 2am, thanks to the time difference. But the news was good – the doctor had found sperm.

He told Gareth: “If we work through this, you will be a father.”

Huge weight lifed A huge weight was lifted off the couple’s shoulders. “He found eight sites that contained sperm on one of my testicles,” says Gareth. “But we knew the journey had only just begun.”

In January 2014, Gareth underwent surgery, again under the hands of Dr Turek, to remove sperm. In the meantime, also in the US, Leanne had commenced her IVF cycle to coincide with Gareth’s operation.

“When Gareth came round from the operation all he could see was the doctor’s thumbs-up telling him it had been a success,” says Leanne.

The procedure went well and the eggs were fertilised by means of a process known as intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection. However, owing to uncontrollable events, the embryo transfer could not be made and the couple missed the cycle.

“We went home happy that the operation on Gareth had been a success but disappointed that we missed the cycle,” says Leanne.

As Leanne is a secondary school teacher, she needed to arrange her trips to America to coincide with the school holidays. The couple returned to the US in June 2014 for an embryo

transfer, which this time was a success.

But their joy didn’t last long: the following month Leanne had a miscarriage. “That broke Leanne’s heart,” says Gareth. “We were both totally devastated.

“Again I started to question what I was doing to my family, why these things were happening to us.

“I was then even more determined to lose weight as I was blaming that as well. Again I went private to look at having a gastric band fitted but the guy in charge really angered me, telling me it was my fault and that I would never lose weight.

“I came home,” adds Gareth, “and by good fortune found a personal trainer, George Elliott, who had opened a new gym in Cullybackey.”

Above left: Dr Turek and Gareth, who then weighed 30 stone. Right: Happy family – Gareth with Leanne, Duncan & the Gault cab mutt

Dream come true After another failed embryo transfer in October 2014, the couple didn’t give up and returned again to the US in February 2015. This time the procedure did work: Leanne became pregnant and their dreams of being parents moved up a gear.

“Our dreams finally came true,” says Gareth. “It was a long journey for both of us but it was well worth all the effort and cost.

“With the arrival of Duncan I finally received closure on what was wrong with me. He is now two years old and doing very well indeed.”

Leanne adds: “Duncan really was the best Christmas blessing we could ever have wished for that year. We are both very proud to be parents.” l TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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DRIVER ADVICE

THE ROAD TO

PUBLISHIN 70 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

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Writing a book

Words: Rachel Shepherd / Images: Old Pond/Shutterstock

Ever thought about writing a book on your experiences driving trucks but not known where to start? Specialist publisher Old Pond and four of its authors share the ingredients needed for a good book

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t Old Pond we believe many truck drivers have something to write that could be of interest to other drivers and truck enthusiasts. Drivers meet all sorts of characters and every trip has the potential for something interesting to happen, or go wrong.

If you have a tale to tell about your time on the road in another country, for example, then it could be worth writing it down. Heavy haulage work and entertainment transport are two areas of interest at the moment, so if you’ve been involved in moving wind turbines around or transporting rock/ pop stars, we’d definitely encourage you to consider writing.

Or you might be an expert on a popular haulage company, or very knowledgeable about a particular manufacturer or model? Books on transport companies or vehicle makes and models are often popular.

It could be you just have an idea, or have already written an entire manuscript, or part of one. We suggest you get in touch with a publisher sooner rather than later to find out if your idea has market interest.

Finding a publisher First, choose a company to approach.

Only a few publish books on trucks and trucking, so the choice is limited.

It is also worthwhile talking to some published authors, if you can.

Typically, if a publisher is interested in your idea, they will send you a book proposal form to fill in. The form will ask for a short description of the book, and you are also likely to be asked about your relevant work experience, who you’re aiming the book at and whether you have any good promotional contacts/ideas. Always

give as much detail as you can, because this is a good opportunity to sell your idea to the publisher.

Many publishers will share the completed form with others working in the subject area to get their feedback before deciding whether or not to move ahead and offer an agreement to an author.

Help with tidying up If events proceed and you do come to an agreement with a publisher, they will send you details about manuscript compilation and the processes involved. If you’re struggling with your manuscript, check with your publisher in the first instance. In some cases it might be worth asking a friend for help, or considering hiring someone to assist with tidying up what you have – there are lots of individuals and agencies to choose from.

Most publishers have a manuscript copy-edited and proofread after it is typeset, but it is better if your manuscript is already in reasonable shape when you submit it. If in doubt, check with your publisher.

When the publisher’s editor sees your work, they might give some tips on how to develop or improve the book. These could be suggestions for Old Pond Publishing is a specialist publisher in trucks and trucking, farming, machinery and rural interest. If you’re feeling inspired to write go to www.oldpond.com or contact: nigel.balmforth@5mpublishing.com

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DRIVER ADVICE small changes, for example amending individual words, or something more extensive, such as adding text, swapping two chapters over, or cutting out a whole section.

We realise books are very personal and precious, but the editor will make suggestions for a reason. She/he will be thinking about what will appeal to the widest audience and, like you, will want the book to sell well. If you strongly disagree with any of the recommendations, you can always ask to keep things as they were.

Finally, truck books are a niche market and generally a labour of love, rather than money makers, so your motivation for writing has to be a passion for your subject and a desire to share your story.

Four of Old Pond’s most popular truck book authors share below their experiences of the writing process. l

Paul Rowlands Not All Sunshine & Sand

Ashley Coghill The Long Haul Pioneers

Having had what I considered a reasonably interesting life to date, I decided to write a few tales about my youth and the time before my children were born.

After reading them, my wife was really complimentary and the rest, as they say, is history.

The difficulty for any budding author is the fight to find a receptive publisher.

The major publishing houses are only interested in ‘famous names’, and our early visits to medium- and smaller-sized publishing houses bore no fruit. Then we found Old Pond Publishing, which was more than happy to take on publication of the book.

My top tips: l Veracity: Truth and fact are of ultimate importance. Many drivers have driven the same roads and any attempted bullshit is likely to be soon found out. l Humour: An essential element that will keep the reader going.

They don’t just want lists of borders crossed, roads driven and all the mundane bits and pieces that make up the majority of any road trip. l Short and sweet: The type of reader likely to purchase my book is unlikely to be interested in a tome like War and Peace, so I try to keep my stories reasonably concise and easy flowing.

The mainstay for writing any book is to make a plan, set out the ‘beginning, middle and ending’ and stick to it.

Research can take huge amounts of time, but don’t leave any stones unturned.

The information has to be spot on, so double up with research – in other words, ask two or three people the same questions to ensure it’s all ‘legit’. It is far better to have too much information than not enough.

Words can always be edited down but it’s far more difficult to ‘bulk things up’ if the research isn’t there.

The saying goes that ‘photographs say a thousand words’ so include a good selection of images. Invest in a good-quality scanner and keep a record of each image, a reference number and the name of the original photographer because the publisher will need this info.

It sounds tedious and time-consuming, but in my experience it is well worth the effort. It took me two years to write The Long Haul Pioneers and there was blood, sweat and tears, but I enjoyed every minute of it and the cherry on the cake was to see my hard work finally published.

My top tips: l A passion for the subject. l Patience and understanding. l Oodles of enthusiasm.

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Writing a book

We realise books are very personal and precious, but the editor will make suggestions for a reason. She/ he will be thinking about what will appeal to the widest audience and, like you, will want the book to sell well Mat Ireland You Call, We Haul Carl Jarman Robert Walker (Haulage) Ltd I had already written a few articles that had appeared in Truck & Driver and a three-part article on Robert Walker’s ERF trucks which appeared in REVS magazine and felt I could expand on this, having been involved at Walkers for the past 30 years.

I met the Old Pond commissioning editor at one of the Gaydon shows and put my ideas to her. She read the REVS articles and obviously felt I was able to put pen to paper. I then had to fill in a questionnaire which she passed on to a number of reviewers who liked it, so she sent me a contract and I started to put things together.

I visited the office where we had a chat about the book format and Old Pond’s production team sorted out the rest. A number of proof copies were printed for me to see and we discussed any necessary alterations. After that the book was printed in its final form – all fairly straightforward.

My top tips: ● Write about something interesting to you personally: It might also be of interest to others. ● Have enough raw material: If you only have a dozen photos you can’t make a picture book. For a book that’s mainly text you will need lots of information – history, dates, anecdotes and vehicle information and so on to fill it up. ● Write in a way that you would explain something to somebody so that it comes naturally.

When I wrote my book, to say I was a bit daunted would be an understatement. I was worried about doing the subject justice, so I concentrated on the separate parts one at a time and the story built from there.

I did not contact Old Pond until I was close to completion as I did not want any deadlines to put me under pressure and maybe compromise what I was working on. In hindsight, I don’t think that this would have happened. They were very accommodating.

In the end, the biggest problem I had was the amount of information and photographs I had, and they kept coming. Eventually I had to say that enough was enough otherwise I would still be recording the stories.

It took me four years pretty much from the initial talk to the book being launched, and there were times when I didn’t think it would ever happen, but I persevered and the encouragement of my friends gave me the confidence to make it happen.

My top tips: ● Good photographs: These sell a book. I know a lot of people who will buy a book and not read it but want the photographs to look at. ● Keep your writing entertaining: A good story will keep the reader hooked and wanting to read more. People want to hear about screw-ups. No one is perfect and, more often than not, when something has gone wrong an exciting story is born. There is only so much you can say about tramping up and down the A14 week after week with nothing happening. ● Don’t be put off: Anyone can write a book, you just need the confidence to have a go. Try not to think of writing it as a book as such; think small, concentrate on the separate parts and build it up step by step. Reread it and edit it over and over again – no one gets it exactly right first time!

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DRIVEN

JACK OF ALL TRADES 74 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Unimog U530 & U430

Words: Dan Parton / Images: John Roan

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nimogs have been around for more than 60 years now and have a dedicated following among off-road aficionados – they have a UK fan club, despite traditionally small sales in this country.

However, you can see why Unimogs have garnered fans around the rest of the world. To say that they are versatile beasts is an understatement.

Today, the Unimog range has more than 1000 implements available to add on, and these can be fitted to the front, rear or under either side of the floor between the axles.

A Unimog can consequently be turned into anything from a fire truck with a tank to a snowplough or oil slick remover. It is probably quicker to list the things it can’t do rather than what it can do.

Truck for all seasons Unimogs are at home off-road but are capable on-road as well and, in certain configurations, they can even run on rails. All this means that a Unimog can be used all year round – for instance, spreading grit in winter and cutting hedges in the summer.

Owner of the brand, MercedesBenz, is pitching the Unimog as a vehicle that can take on tractors, JCBs and the like in a range of settings, including construction, farming and forestry. And it certainly can. It is a mid-way point between a tractor and a truck – and this is a strength.

For our test, at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, we tried out two variants, the U430 and larger U530. We tried these as they are the sort of vehicles that operators in forestry and construction sectors might look at, as well as council contractors who undertake operations such as hedge/grass verge cutting.

The Unimog is built on truck principles, and it shows. While the

… and master of? Well, plenty, actually. Trucking’s answer to a Swiss Army Knife, the Unimog, has many fans around the world and, having driven one, it’s easy to see why TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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DRIVEN steering is heavier than you might find in your typical tipper, for instance – and it takes a few turns of the steering wheel to negotiate tight bends – it nevertheless has good overall manoeuvrability, which is needed in the sort of off-road conditions it can expect to face. The U430 has a turning circle of 14.3 metres, while that for the U530 is 15.1m.

Flick of the paddle Unimogs are available with manual or automatic transmissions. The manual ’box is easy to use, requiring merely a flick of the paddle on the steering wheel. The automatic performs just as well – we tried to confuse it on the test track but to no avail.

While the choice of gearbox is down to individual preference – we’re aware that manuals are still popular among those who drive regularly in quarries, forests and so on – the automatic is well worth investigating.

The manufacturer also claims that you can get up to the reasonable figure of 7.4mpg out of the Unimog.

Inside the cab, visibility is excellent, with a panoramic view thanks to its large windscreen and slim A-pillars, as well as large side windows. The high seating position helps visibility too.

It can even tackle up to 1.2m of water as standard. It splashed through the course’s deep pools without a problem

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The configuration of the cockpit is also very much based on a truck and the layout of the dash and instrument cluster is clear and intuitive.

Perhaps most impressive is the twospeed retarder. In extreme off-road conditions it excels. Cresting a hill and facing the sort of descent you’d usually experience on a ride at Alton Towers, just flick the retarder into its highest setting, take your foot off the brake and let it do its stuff.

Even in muddy conditions, the

Unimog descends slowly and you feel in control at all times. Just think how much that will save on brake pad and disc wear over the years too.

High ground clearance It can even tackle up to 1.2m of water as standard. It splashed through the course’s deep pools without a problem – thanks to its high ground clearance – and had more than enough grunt to power up the incline at the end of the pool and back onto the track.

Unimog U530 & U430 to seven occupants, thus you could remove the need to also send out a crew van on a job, again improving efficiency and saving money.

One of the most impressive aspects of Unimog adaptability is its Vario Pilot option, which gives you the capacity to switch from right-hand to left-hand drive in, according to Mercedes-Benz, about 30 seconds.

This is something that’s particularly useful for jobs such as cutting hedges or verges where the driver may prefer to be on the left to get a better view of what they are cutting and where they are going. Of course, this also means that should you ever go to the Continent in a Unimog the problem of sitting to the right behind the wheel when in a left-hand-drive country is eradicated. While Unimogs tend to hold their residual value well anyway, this option will help because it means they can be sold worldwide.

The T&D verdict

On the road, the Unimog has good acceleration and is capable of a (limited) speed of 56mph – which is useful for getting from job to job, given that tractors are restricted to just 25mph. This also means that Unimogs can be driven to jobs further away than could ever be considered in a tractor and there would be no queue of angry road users building up behind you, either.

Another advantage is that the Unimog can be configured to take up

Nothing else on the market matches the Unimog for its sheer versatility: its range of configurations and applications is huge, making it a workhorse that can be used all year round.

The Unimog’s driveability is also a major plus. In its natural off-road habitat its steering is responsive and, when driving over rough terrain, its engine provides more than enough power to cope with the steepest of hills. It is difficult to think of a situation where an agricultural tractor could get that a Unimog couldn’t.

Its suspension is also a boon – traversing rutted or potholed terrain,

There is nothing else on the market to match the Unimog for its sheer versatility: its range of configurations and applications is huge, making it a workhorse that can be used all year round the driver’s bouncing around in the cab is kept to an acceptable level. But, as mentioned, most impressive is the retarder, which gives control to the driver over even the steepest descents and will bring savings to the operator in brake wear.

On the road, it has commendable handling and, while Unimogs aren’t built with this in mind, acceleration is certainly another strength.

For those working in forestry, quarrying, council contracting and other areas where a tractor or JCB might be considered, the Unimog certainly presents another option – especially as it drives and handles like a truck, which tractors don’t. They are even fun to drive, not something often said about vehicles such as this.

Mercedes marketing Mercedes-Benz is looking to give a greater push to the Unimog brand in the UK and, on this evidence, there should be no shortage of operators wanting them or of drivers wanting to get behind the wheel of one. l

Mercedes Unimog has innumerable applications and is almost as capable on road – where it can hit 56mph – as it is off. Suspension and retarder are particularly good

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TRUCK CLASSICS

PEAK

Although Czech concern Tatra, named after the famous mountain range, has a long but chequered history, it was a pioneer in the automotive business and today remains a significant producer of specialised trucks

T

Below: Rare 1928 photo showing an early truck designed to the Tatra Concept with a tubular frame and semi-axles attached to either side of the tube Below right: Tatra’s first truck (1898), the Nesseldorfer, came with two twinpot Benz engines

atra’s origins can be traced back to 1850 when Ignác Šustala founded a company to produce horse-drawn wagons and carriages at Nesseldorf, then part of Austria-Hungary. By 1890 the successful business had diversified into railway coaches and been renamed the Nesseldorf Wagon Factory. The first car was produced in 1897, the first truck – a 12hp model with a 2-tonne payload – appearing the following year.

With the collapse of the AustroHungarian Empire and the founding of Czechoslovakia after the First World War, Nesseldorf was renamed Koprivnice and the wagon factory assumed the name Tatra after the famous mountain range.

In 1923, the Tatra Concept was

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born when designer Hans Ledwinka unveiled a revolutionary vehicle based on a tubular spine rather than a conventional chassis, with swinging semi-axles and an air-cooled engine.

This concept, initially used for cars, was also adopted for truck designs and is still a principle of Tatra vehicles.

Nazi war production At this time, Tatra’s manufacturing programme included luxury cars, buses and aeroplanes but this was radically amended in 1939 when the Nazis annexed Czechoslovakia and turned the factory over to war production. From 1942, as well as engines and German-designed vehicles, Tatra produced its own heavy lorry for war service – the 111.

Powered by a 14.8-litre air-cooled

V12 diesel rated at 210hp, the 111 outlived the Third Reich and went on to play an important role in the rebuilding of Eastern Europe as a heavy construction truck, albeit downrated to 180hp in an effort to improve reliability. So successful was the 111 that it remained in production until 1962, by which time a remarkable 33,700 had been built.

Under state control Tatra produced the 128 normal-control and the 805 forward-control 4x4 models, with the latter being taken in large numbers by the Czechoslovakian army from the middle of the 1950s.

In 1957 the 141 model appeared. It was a development of the 111 but featuring a larger crew cab and a shorter wheelbase and designed as a heavy haulage tractor for which 100

Czech truck manufacturer Tatra

Words & images by Richard Stanier

PRACTICE

Normal-control models returned to production in 1997 with the introduction of the Jamal range

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TRUCK CLASSICS

Above: Tatra’s 141 model was a V12powered heavy hauler that entered production in 1957 Below right: A 1967 view of 138 models being assembled in the Tatra factory

tonnes could be accommodated on a drawbar trailer.

Tatra’s fortunes as a truck manufacturer underwent a distinct improvement with the introduction of the 138 model in 1959. A normalcontrol truck of modern appearance, the 138 was available as a 4x4 or 6x6 rigid truck or tractor powered by an air-cooled 11.7-litre V8 diesel.

Classic chassis Developing 180hp, the 138 retained the classic Tatra tubular chassis frame and swinging half-axles, which gave it particularly good off-road ability and an appeal to heavy duty tipper operators, enhanced by the claim that the tipper body was under less stress than on a conventional chassis.

The Czech state automotive agency, Motokov, also achieved export success

Tatra’s fortunes as a truck manufacturer underwent a distinct improvement with the introduction of the 138 model in 1959 80 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

with the 138, examples being sold in France and the Netherlands in addition to the Eastern Bloc. By the time production was phased out in favour of the 148 in 1972, more than 48,000 examples had been built.

A 6x6 heavy duty forward-control model, the 813, was launched in 1967 and this went on to supersede the 141 in the role of a heavy haulage tractor, where it was unusual in having a Chinese six configuration. Also built as a 4x4 tractor unit and an 8x8 truck, the 813 was powered by a 17.6-litre, 250hp, air-cooled V12.

Power was transmitted through a five-speed synchromesh gearbox

accompanied by an auxiliary gearbox, giving a total of 20 forward speeds.

In 1969 the 148 appeared as a successor to the 138. This was another bonneted model but with a revised grille arrangement, a new 12.67-litre V8 engine capable of 212hp and a five-speed plus auxiliary gearbox giving 10 forward speeds.

Export success The 148 continued where the 138 left off and achieved considerable success at home and in export markets, although the Detroit Diesel 6V-71N engine was offered instead of Tatra’s own motor in the Dutch market. More

Czech truck manufacturer Tatra than 113,000 148s were built during its 13-year lifespan.

Tatra’s position as the leading provider of quality heavy-duty trucks in the Eastern Bloc was assured when the Soviet-run Council for Mutual Economic Assistance directed that Tatra should specialise in such vehicles from 1971, although a new model would not be introduced for more than a decade.

A variety of vees When a new model did arrive in the shape of the 815 in 1982, the range had 36 variants on a modular design platform featuring the familiar tubular chassis, with a new forward-control cab and vee engine. The engine was available as a V8 (231hp), a V10 (283hp) or a V12 (320hp), and the cab was offered with either a set-back front axle for road haulage or a setforward front axle for tipping operations, with a low-mounted cab available for crane carriers.

The 815 was initially offered only as a three- or four-axle vehicle and it replaced the 813 and 148 models, ending Tatra’s previous practice of overlapping model lines.

The 1980s also saw a development in Germany where the Semex company, which had imported Tatra chassis since 1971, produced a Deutzpowered 6x6 dump truck based on a Tatra chassis and axles but using a British-made Motor Panels cab.

In common with other Eastern Bloc truck makers, the collapse of the Communist economy in 1990 had a grave effect on Tatra and by 1992 sales had fallen from 15,000 to 6000 trucks a year. Talks with Volvo about an arrangement came to nothing and Tatra redoubled its efforts in export and military markets to survive.

Short-lived move Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993, Tatra’s former Slovakian operation produced some 6x6 trucks under the TatraSipox name using the Tatra frame but with cheaper engines and cabs from either Liaz or Kamaz. They proved unsuccessful and short-lived.

The Terrno1 range of trucks was

introduced in 1997, this essentially being a facelifted and improved version of the 815 but with all the new models having set-back front axles. A normal-control version with an aerodynamic sloping bonnet, the Jamal (Tatra 163), launched that year.

In 2003 Tatra passed into the ownership of the American Terex Corporation for three years, during which time a US associate company, ATC, was established to sell Cummins-powered Tatra trucks to the Israeli military. A further transatlantic collaboration resulted in the ATX range of 6x6 and 8x8 military trucks, which were built by Navistar using its engines in Tatra chassis following an agreement in 2009.

Military contracts have formed an important part of Tatra’s production in this century and in 2002 the company took over a contract from the failed Czech manufacturer, Ross, to supply the Czech army with a medium duty 6x6 truck. These vehicles feature a conventional laddertype frame and Renault Kerax cabs and are now incorporated into the civilian truck range as the T 810.

The Tatra 815 range appeared in 1982 as part of a modularconstruction programme. The example pictured here was still hard at work in Russia in 2011

For on-road and long-distance operation, the 815 had a distinctive set-back front axle

Emissions standards Although the introduction of European engine emissions standards led to Tatra offering a wide range of engines from other manufacturers alongside its own designs, the company has managed to maintain accreditation to Euro 5 standard with its own air-cooled vee engines. These, from 2010, have been offered in the facelifted Terrno1 range.

Following a period of ownership under a consortium, during which time Daf acquired a 19% shareholding, Tatra returned to Czech hands in 2013 and now offers the Phoenix range of trucks using Daf CF cabs and engines.

Aimed at the heavy construction, off-road, agricultural and forestry markets, and including a 10x10 60-tonne mining tipper, the Phoenix range is produced alongside the Terrno1 and T 810 civilian models and the Force and Tactic military range to give Tatra a comprehensive offering that, in 2016, achieved sales of 1326 trucks. l

The arrangement with Daf has given Tatra a new lease of life.

This Phoenix 8x8 tipper was seen in Norway in 2015

The Terrno1 is available for arduous operation in markets where the Euro 5 emissions standard, or lower, applies

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GLOBAL TRUCKING

GROWING

PAINS

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South Africa

Words & images by Richard Kienberger

Nelson Mandela’s conciliatory post-apartheid legacy is the ideal of the rainbow nation, yet racial divisions – reflected within the road transport industry – continue to hold back the development of the Republic of South Africa

S

outh Africa remains a land of extremes, a full 23 years after the ending of apartheid and, for its majority black citizens, the kindling of hope for a better future. Only at the ballot box are all people equal, whether black, white or coloured, the latter still the usual classification there for the offspring of a mixed marriage.

The chasm between black and white is clearly visible not only in education or an individual’s economic situation, but also, among other factors, in the different expectations people have and in the divorce and crime rates, the distribution of wealth or the likelihood of being infected with HIV.

‘Economic justice’ Nelson Mandela’s prime motive of reconciliation is, for his own populist reasons, being abandoned by Jacob Zuma. The republic’s president announced last spring that he wants to expropriate the land of white farmers without compensation – a move ‘for economic justice’ that was made in neighbouring Zimbabwe a while ago and which led to murders, violence and nothing more than speeding up

Below, far l to r: Tawanda and Wilbert, whose International looks ready for the scrapyard; Johan drives a 110-tonne CAT dumper; Charles and Alfred (also below) say their trucks are well maintained and that they drive 6am to 6pm only

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GLOBAL TRUCKING

By providing good conditions and decent trucks such as this Mercedes Actros, Manline can choose drivers (below) from a huge pool of applicants

the nation’s descent into chaos.

The disparity in South Africa is, of course, also mirrored in its transport industry. One can find enterprises that are managed highly professionally and work with modern, well-maintained equipment, some of them easily able to compete in modern European markets. At the other end of the spectrum are entrepreneurs using trucks that should be driven to the scrapyard, many of these businesses exploiting their staff without mercy.

There are black and white managers in transport or logistics companies but white drivers, especially in long-haul,

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are as scarce as rain in the Kalahari Desert, a fair number of black drivers having migrated from Zimbabwe.

The headquarters of Manline, a division of logistics firm Barloworld, an importer of Caterpillar-machinery, is located in an office park in Hilton, close to Pietermaritzburg.

Doubled its fleet Said by Manline management to be, currently, the transport group with the most dynamic growth in South Africa, it has doubled its fleet within just a few years. Manline was originally an MAN dealership, thus the German truck marque makes up most of the fleet, the remainder being Mercedes Actros models and Volvos.

Manline certainly appears to have grasped the concept that any transport organisation or sophisticated logistics firm has no value if its staff – and especially the drivers – fail to meet the high requirements of clients and are not suitably qualified and motivated.

Training, detailed further education programmes, the chance to drive in other subsidiaries of the company, programmes for the reintegration of jobless drivers, social benefits and an above-average basic salary combined

with considerable incentives make Manline a much sought after employer that is able to choose its staff from a huge pool of applicants.

First though, aspiring Manline drivers have to manage an exercise that sounds simple for experienced truckers: they have to reverse a standard interlink rig.

A surprising number fail because they have never learned how to do it, according to one Manline manager who says: “We believe that 43% of truck drivers are on the roads without a proper driving licence.”

At Manline, caring for drivers also includes the Academy – an in-house training centre that will soon be offering its services to other companies – a recruitment programme for female drivers with the intention of raising their share of the driving pool from 5% to 25%, and a health facility permanently manned by a nurse and which supplies staff and their families with HIV medicine.

The company’s latest project is – wait for it, UK drivers – dormitories where drivers can rest when they return from time off at home.

James McKenzie, manager human resources, explains the thinking

South Africa

The big bang theory: BME

behind this. “Many of them live far away,” he says. “When they come back on duty, they’ve often been on the road for hours in taxis or minibuses. For sure they are not relaxed and alert, so we ask them to sleep for a couple of hours before we send them out again.”

A world away The experiences of black drivers Tawanda and Wilbert is a world away from that of Manline employees.

The pair work for a small South African firm and have parked their trucks in Botswana, close to Serule weighbridge where all passing heavy trucks are checked. When I tell them I come from Germany, Wilbert rolls up his shirt and unveils a swastika.

“I was young, maybe seven years old, and had no idea about what’s going on in the world or about history.

I thought Hitler was a good man and scratched it on my arm. It was some 10 years later when I got to know that all of this was big bullshit,” says Wilbert, rolling down his shirt to hide his youthful folly.

Their trucks – old International tractors with narrow, filthy cabs – look ready for the scrapyard. One has a

BME, a subsidiary of conglomerate Omnia, has business interests in chemicals, agrochemicals and mining, and works as a body builder and service provider with its own truck fleet.

This is mostly due to the very special loads that BME trucks haul – blasting agents for South Africa’s many mines.

“A correct description of our vehicles would be to classify them as hazardous goods transporters for chemicals,” says Albie Visser, general manager, bulk operations.

The bodies manufactured by BME for use on trucks or smaller vehicles and as stationary storage tanks are complex. Several non-explosive chemicals are stored in different chambers. To turn the chemicals into explosives they are mixed within the many tubes and fittings of a BME body, then pressed into bore holes. The mixture then needs about 30 minutes of ‘maturing time’ before it can be used to blow anything.

“Handling explosives is a very special business, administered by books full of regulations.

Mining companies tend to avoid handling these things, which is why we have to deal with it,” says Visser. Clients inform BME when, where and how much explosive they need and the rest is done by the service company, which has used Ivecos for more than 25 years.

“Especially in West Africa, Iveco and Scania have the best service network,” says BME.

Thorough screening Applicants are screened thoroughly before being allowed to pilot a BME truck, including their professional experience and criminal record. BME has established an in-house system for driver training that has the approval of South Africa’s Mine Qualifications Authority.

These specialist drivers are also expected to monitor the complex equipment and earn more than drivers working in a ‘normal’ transport company. “The vehicle bodies of our competitors may have a more aesthetic look,” says Albie Visser, “but it was a deliberate decision to build our bodies as they are. We strongly believe that leaving all the tubes and fittings visible helps in the instant detection of failures or possible leaks.”

BME usually runs its Ivecos for eight years before selling them on, despite them collecting few kilometres on the tachograph. In this business, the ground covered is not decisive, it is the working hours that count. Within eight years these trucks can clock up an average of 12,000 hours.

worn clutch and, because the hose between main and spare tank is broken, Wilbert has to suck diesel from one tank into a bucket to refill the other tank.

Short on spares They have also removed wheels from some of the twin tyres when running out of spares; only one is left for the 700km drive back home.

Clearly their boss tries to save money wherever he can. While the three of us chat at around noon, he calls them on their mobile phone and urges his men to carry on,

Aspiring Manline drivers have to... reverse with a standard interlink rig. A surprising number fail because they have never learned how to do it TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

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GLOBAL TRUCKING

The big bang theory: BME

South Africa’s plummeting fortunes

There was a time when South Africa’s economy outstripped the rest of Africa combined. That has now changed, with populous Nigeria taking top spot as southern Africa stumbles from being an oasis of stability into being its next crisis region.

Although it recovered slightly in 2016, in 2015 the Rand was one of the global currencies that suffered the heaviest loss of value. It has now tumbled into another troublesome phase owing to the country’s political crisis.

Additionally, economic indicators such as inflation or unemployment rates, combined with the governing African National Congress’s (ANC) lack of eagerness to start necessary reforms, give no reason for the country to have a positive outlook.

Even many black South Africans admit that the ANC, the political party of Nelson Mandela himself, hasn’t managed the country properly in recent years. Few management jobs are filled with the most qualified applicant, the colour of their skin and loyalty towards the ANC being the more decisive factors.

Old ANC fighters are adored as icons but their age precludes them from having much influence on current ANC policy, while South Africa continues to suffer from endemic crime. Skipping a red traffic light, especially at night, isn’t followed by fines because stopping can sometimes prove fatal.

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although it would be wise to drive only at night, when temperatures drop and the wear on the tyres is less.

On the road for eight weeks The pair have been on the road for almost eight weeks, coping with the veteran trucks, lousy tyres and corrupt police officers, all for what drivers at a decent company would earn in two

weeks. Tawanda and Wilbert picked up a load of precious manganese in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the destination being some 5000km south in the Johannesburg area.

All Tawanda and Wilbert can afford is a modest meal. A cheap way to add some protein to their daily diet is to buy the huge caterpillars on offer in markets for a few South African Rand

South Africa

A Manline manager reckons 43% of drivers on South Africa’s roads do not hold a proper driving licence

Below, Tawanda and Wilbert reveal the other side of S African trucking.

From left, cheap caterpillars are a daily diet; Wilbert sucks diesel and his ‘innocent’ swastika; Running out of spare tyres

(1 Rand is the equivalent of about 6p). They are happy with my donation of two bottles of mineral water.

No hope, no future “We are from Zimbabwe. Our South African boss knows very well that there are no jobs, no hope, no future, and he mercilessly exploits our hardships,” they say. “But what can we

do? We have no other chance to earn some money to support our families.”

Later, another truck owner confirms that transporting manganese is actually a well-paid job: “The boss of these two drivers is making a mint with it,” he says.

Incidentally, the man who employs Tawanda and Wilbert has the same skin colour as his two drivers. l

We are from Zimbabwe.

Our South African boss knows very well that there are no jobs, no hope, no future, and he mercilessly exploits our hardships

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1 Road intersection once seen on TV? (10) 8 Renault van, one on a film set (5) 9 Engine needs annual test, getting nothing right (5) 10 Pleasant not starting with driving hazard (3) 11 Distance at Ascot, the result of uncut hair? (7) 12 Runners allowed in new heats (8) 14 Part of target, the Nile diverts to town near Peebles (12) 21 Old Leyland trucks seen by astronomers (6) 22 Sly to shed tears round back of ship (6) 23 Cable insulator as an aid to hearing (7) 25 Widower to have debts hidden (3) 27 Landau travelling to Angola’s capital (6) 28 Wife, not long now, about to faint (5) 30 Mitsubishi truck (see photo) (4) 32 Lead a more regular life in North Yorkshire and Northern Ireland? (6,4) 34 Renault truck bonus (7) 38 Famous journalist wasn’t involved? (5) 39 Put a track round Czech truck (5) 40 Cornish town has statues removed? Fifty-fifty (2,7) 42 Citroën van requiring a team? (5) 43 Carrying of goods from Stanton Airport (14)

88 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK & DRIVER

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You could win £25 (in the form of a high street voucher, exchangeable anywhere). Send the completed crossword, with your name, address and email address (if you have one) to: CROSSWORD February, T&D, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB. The closing date is 7 February. Note: The judge’s decision is final; no correspondence will be entered into.

ACROSS

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DOWN

2 South Yorkshire town to harm her, perhaps (9) 3 Stick with workforce (5) 4 Made a comment that boy was in plant (8) 5 Co-star crashed Merc truck (6) 6 Could be a strong and stale beefy dish (10) 7 Wayward car’s slicing open pedestrians’ facility (7,8) 13 Praise old unfinished road charge (5) 15 Don’t begin to depend on English city (3) 16 Truck space for the French newly-wed (7) 17 Environmental metal put inside (4) 18 Hesitate in time to indulge (6) 19 Country ain’t turned on (6) 20 Get raw bird cooked at M5 services! (10) 24 Order fellow to get fruit (7) 26 Allow payment, it leases housing (7) 29 Nottinghamshire town to do the trick with bribe (7) 31 Old country is present country with no parking! (6) 33 Girl with lovely diamond casing (5) 35 Contents of scan sent to French city (4) 36 Still receiving one Skoda model (4) 37 Diagram of tailless aircraft (4) 41 Firestone filler! (3)

Answers ACROSS:

December 2017 solution

Giant Crossword

COMPULSORY BREAK

1. Galashiels 8. Horse 9. Gaped 10. Par 11. Ossicle 12. Ilkeston 14. Diecast model 21. Gasket 22. Midlum 23. Appleby 25. AEC 27. Sketch 28. Pause 30. Sofa 32. Powerliner 34. Strator 38. Edify 39. Extra 40. Chieveley 42. Agony 43. Fringe benefits Answers DOWN:

2. Air brakes 3. Atego 4. High spot 5. Espace 6. Sedgefield 7. Chipping Campden 13. Sheds 15. Cam 16. Swansea 17. Maps 18. Daewoo 19. Layman 20. Winchester 24. Devizes 26. Cowling 29. Article 31. Louvre 33. Rayon 35. Dawn 36. Aldi 37. Eyes 41. Ire Dec winner: D Higginson, Grange-over-Sands

Providing your email address will indicate your consent to receive information on publications, events and services by email from Road Transport Media Ltd and carefully chosen third parties, unless you object to receive such messages by ticking the boxes below.

I do not want to receive information by email on products and services from: ❏ Road Transport Media

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Puzzle pages

Win cash prizes with T&D

Where’s This?

Can you identify the town in which you’ll find this church with a rather crooked spire (right)? Send your answer (on a postcard or the back of an envelope) to: Where’s This? February, T&D, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB. The deadline is 7 February.

Don’t forget to put your name and address on your entry plus, if you have one, an email address.

The bridge depicted in the Where’s This? competition for December T&D is the Iron Bridge, the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron and which was closed to vehicular traffic in 1934. It was opened in 1781 – and it was the bridge that gave its name to its Shropshire location, the village of Ironbridge in the Ironbridge Gorge, now a Unesco World Heritage Site. First entry out of the hat with the correct answer is from Andy Webb of Salisbury.

WIN

J A R W A B I L L I H T O L O A R D R O U F L U F Y R E W N R L L R N T E B L W K I K O C R B R E O O E E A I F H S R A Y E W O A F T L L H N T R R S

WIN A TRUCK!

This month’s Word Search winner will receive one of these 1:50-scale limited-edition models courtesy of model vehicle specialist Search Impex: a Volvo FH16 750 Globetrotter XL 6x2 with three-axle curtain trailer in Volvo Trucks UK’s iconic Ailsa Edition livery.

Barrhead, Scotland-based Ailsa Trucks was responsible for the official introduction of the radical Volvo F86 to the UK and, to celebrate 50 years of Volvo in the UK, the Ailsa Edition Volvo bears a specially designed 50th anniversary Ailsa Edition logo and is strictly limited to a production run of just 50 trucks.

With a choice of gold on black or black on gold livery, this special edition – with an option of FH 4x2 or 6x2 units – is already keenly sought after by many an operator. You may already have been lucky enough to have seen one in the metal because the Ailsa Edition Volvo took pride of place on the Volvo stand at many events on the truck show circuit last year.

Models cost £141 each (including UK delivery & VAT). For details of availability of this and other models, visit www.search-impex.co.uk or call on 01332 873555.

To win this one, cut out (or photocopy) the completed Word Search and coupon (don’t forget your name & address) and send it to: Word Search February, T&D, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB. Deadline is 7 February.

Congratulations to Trevor Rack of Cleethorpes, who wins the J G McWilliam Scania 143 4x2 tractor unit and three-axle curtain trailer model as seen in December T&D’s Word Search competition.

S N A O Y K L L T R P G I A T L T L B R S E U E S E E H J E E L L K E R O K F K A T T A R K E S N S S S A C L S C E B M S Y D U B A C K W O R T H P Y

Word Search

D O N R U B N O T A E S B Y D

All the words below are place names off the A19. See if you can find the words hidden in the large grid above.

ASKERN BACKWORTH BARLBY BENTLEY BILLINGHAM CASTLETOWN DONCASTER FULFORD JARRO

Name

Postcode

LEAKE PETERLEE SEATON BURN SELBY SKELTON SOUTHFIELD THIRSK WALLSEND YORK

W L L A N E R F Y L F M V N E

December solution

Shutterstock

£25

E E H Y W E L S P O U N Y G G L L A N O T W O R C O R E A D S L L M N C F O H T U S G Y I H I L I K R O W S B S I W E R P V E W V S E A S E R L Y L B O R S Y S N L W R B L O W R R O O E D L L E C R A L A H A U L M R O O R K U M R H S H H O I A C W H T R O N G D I R B T H K Y S E S S O R C R U O F S

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TRUCK & DRIVER FEBRUARY 2018

89

COMPULSORY BREAK

Question Time

Exercise the brain cells and secure some cash in our monthly general knowledge quiz. The first correct Question Time solution out of the editor’s hat wins £25, in the form of a high street voucher, exchangeable anywhere. Just fill in your answers on the form below and return it to us before 7 February 2018.

WIN

£25

l The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

1. Who took over as West Ham FC manager in November?

2. Which crab lives in a whelk or winkle shell?

3. What name was given to the first antibiotic?

4. Who played Indiana Jones?

5. In which country do Tata trucks originate?

6. Which James Bond film shared its name with Ian Fleming’s Jamaican home?

7. Mont Blanc stands in France as well as which other country?

8. Which country’s postage stamps bear the word ‘Hellas’?

9. Vehicles with the international registration ‘SF’ come from where?

10. What is a morello?

11. What colour are fully ripened olives?

12. Aspartame is an alternative to what when added to food or drink?

13. What is lowered by a Beta Blocker?

14. In which country do Tatra trucks originate?

15. What type of food is gravadlax?

16. Aardvark means ‘earth pig’ in which African language?

17. What colour are Rupert Bear’s trousers?

18. What type of food is a macadamia?

19. What is the name of the small bone located at the base of your spine?

20. Tinnitus affects which of the senses?

21. In which country do Terberg trucks originate?

22. Which English city holds an annual Goose Fair?

23. Which English city has a famous Royal Crescent?

24. Which castle is at the west end of the Royal Mile?

25. Where is Temple Meads railway station?

NOTE If you don’t wish to be contacted by Road Transport Media or by third parties, do NOT add your email address to this competition or to those on pages 88-89 and page 91.

December 2017 answers 1. Cassini 2. iPhone X 3. Livorno 4. Burma 5. Moeen Ali 6. Running a tractor unit without a trailer 7. Fit note 8. Crystal Palace 9. Chris Froome 10. Serena Williams 11. Everton 12. Jim Moir 13. Jerry Lewis 14. Leyland 15. Nigella Lawson 16. British Film Institute 17. Atlantic 18. Philip Hammond 19. USA 20. Macron 21. Sharon 22. The Royal Shakespeare Company 23. Hillary Clinton 24. Broadway 25. Nissan l £25 winner: John Woodman of Chatham, Kent

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Send your answers to: Question Time Feb, Truck & Driver, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB. Closing date: 7 February

Name

Address Postcode

90 FEBRUARY 2018 TRUCK& DRIVER

Email

Puzzle pages

Win cash prizes with T&D

£25

and email address if you have one – to: Code Breaker February, Truck & Driver, Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB, by 7 February 2018. The first correct answer out of the editor’s hat will win £25, in the form of a high street voucher, exchangeable anywhere. l December 2017 T&D’s Code Breaker: Weybridge.

Winner: John Wiles of Coventry

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Code Breaker

Each number in the large grid below represents a different letter of the alphabet. Use the small grid to keep a record of the decoded letters. Four letters are already in, as a start. When you’ve completed the puzzle, rearrange the letters in the coloured squares to spell the name of the location suggested by the picture below. Send the place’s name on a postcard, along with your name and address –

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