Reckless trucker kills 11 ELEVENT people died when a reckless truck driver collided head-on with a bakkie on the N11 in Limpopo early on 5 Feb. Witnesses said the driver of an Actros overtook on a barrier line before collided with a Nissan bakkie. The driver of the Nissan bakkie and 1 0 passengers were confirmed dead on the spot. The MEC for Transport and Community Safety in Limpopo, Makoma Makhurupetje warned reckless truckers "their days are numbered" and condemned the practice to overload bakkies. -- DR.
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News to inspire professional drivers of all size vehicles in southern Africa
Foreign driver myth busted FOLLOWING the second wave of trucks burning on the N3 the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union came out in support of the xenophobes who say they are losing jobs to immigrants who work cheap. The transport union said in a statement it "rejects the exploitative practice of hiring drivers from outside South Africa to work for slave wages. The union said it is "gravely worried about the growing tendency" of employers in the road freight sector to hire undocumented foreign nationals in place of skilled South Africans. "Employers do this for the sole purpose of exploiting workers, making them work long hours for very little pay," Satuwu stated, alleging "some of the foreign nationals do not possess the requisite skills; this combined with the long hours behind the wheel leads to a rise in road accidents and fatalities". SATAWU members will protest on 13 Feb with workers from other unions to demonstrate their utter rejection of retrenchments. Ironically, the union's leader, Zenzo Mahlangu was repatria-ted to Zimbabwe after his illegal residency in
Above: Satawu members on the march against foreign drivers, but foreign drivers like Byron (right) say only desperate drivers are willing to accept 'slave wages'.
Photo: File
"foreign drivers" are taking the jobs that belong to "Safricans" by driving 'I don't work cheap' longer hours for less pay. "I Meet Byron, originally from got a call from this guy who Zimbabwe. He spent some needed a driver. of the pittance he earned for He tested me for not even driving sand all day to buy 100 metres, saying 'I see you his wife a small bottle of can drive', and then sent me champagne on Valentine's to get a load of sand some day. His story pulls the rug 270 km away. from the current propaganda "I dropped that sand on site South African drivers after driving all day, and he believe, namely that paid me R300. South Africa came to light in 2017.
"He called again this morning but that money is not enough for the hours and my skills. I'd rather stay home with my love than work for nothing," Byron told The Driver.
Ed's comment: All drivers come from elsewhere. Our fight is for higher wages, not against migrant labour.
February 201 9
Amazon raises driver's pay
WALMART has over 7,000 drivers who on average drive 480 km a day to earn on average $87,500 in their first year of employment. Walmart pays nearly 89 US cents per mile, plus a dollar for reaching the delivery. Working for 89c per mile over 300 miles equals US$267, or R3,683 in South Africa's currency, to deliver containers. Amazon also pay a small pass the gate bonus, just enough to buy a cooldrink in Msanzi. By comparison, container drivers on the N3, South Africa's busiest highway between the port of Durban and the city of Johannesburg get the equivalent of US$0,1 6c, and there is no cooldrink bonus for passing the gate. America fleet operators say they needs at least 50,000 experienced drivers and foreigners from Mexico, Canada and "Safrica" can again apply for temporary work visas. -- DR.
2
affordable bakkies China has a cheap electric bakkie and the UK a tough little truck
TWO workhorses designed to be affordable for emerging markets have caught the fancy of rich buyers. The first is the OX, designed in 2016 for Africa by Durban-raised supercar builder Gordon Murray and funded by Shell and Global Vehicle Trust (GVT). The second is the Pickman, made by China’s ambitious electric car builder, Wang Chao. OX for India When it was announced in 2016, Wheels readers showed a lot of interest in importing the OX to South Africa. Despite the interest (and an invitation from this paper to test the OX in Murray’s home province of KZN) the truck is first heading to India, where Shell and Gordon Murray Design aim to test this rugged transporter in what is arguably the world’s toughest market when it comes to affordability. Challenged by the Global Vehicle Trust (GVT) to design affordable transport for emerging markets, Murray made the OX very tough, but also with parts that can easily be replaced, such as the three windows up front. A central steer also makes it suitable for either right or left hand steer countries, and the 4x2 truck skips over rocks and floats through deep mud that gets bigger trucks
Februay 2019 page 2
LEFT: The all-electric Pickman from China can become is the civilian General Purpose (GP or "Jeep") vehicle of the 1 940s. RIGHT. The OX thinks into a box in novel ways to get a lot of people mobile in poor countries.
stuck, thanks as much to extra wide wheel placing as to Murray’s welldocumented obsession with “adding lightness”. The truck is also designed to be flat-packed and shipped like Ikea furniture in 20-foot containers. Two mechanics can bolt together the OX with limited tools on site within two days. Once assembled, it is shorter than a Hilux, but able to carry a payload of 1 900 kg (approximately twice the capacity of most current bakkies) with a load volume of 9.0 m3. It can also legally seat up to 13 people. “Limited mobility in hard-toreach communities can restrict access to basic services. The OX has the potential to broaden access to transport possibilities and help improve the quality of life in rural communities,” explains the Shell website.
Pickman for USA Kaiyun’s founder Chao told Bloomberg in 2015 his lil’ Pickman bakkie aims to dethrone the mighty Ford F150 as the most sold vehicle in the U.S. This is not going to happen, the Pickman is after all only a halftonner bakkie — including two people up front, with a claimed range of only 121 km from a 7,2 kWh battery pack that drives a 4kW motor. Most side-by-side quads and some golf carts will drive rings around the Pickman, but in the U.S. China sells the electric pony for only $10 000, which in South Africa is less than what a used, 20year-old Nissan 1400 lists for and a lot less than what Yamaha charges for ATVs or Piaggio charges for its three-wheelers. At this price, the Yanks are clamouring for the Pickman, seeing it as a cheap run-
about on campuses, farms and factories. The Pickman has since it started in 2014 by now also proven itself in snow, mud and sand across China, themselves no strangers when it comes to harsh driving conditions. Kaiyun has now also received clearance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Kaiyun is shipping 10 000 units to the U.S. to meet demand in 2019. Kaiyun Motors has also received certification and approval for sales of the Pickman in the European Union. The company will begin with sales of the Pickman in Germany and Italy in February, where it will be priced at €5 000 (about R77 800). The company even has plans for a factory in South America if demand proves to be strong enough.
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Back in "Safrica" The Driver asked if South Africa is on the list of export markets for the Pickman, and the answer is maybe. The problem is volume. South Africa’s total vehicle sales — from bikes to trucks — amount to less than one percent of global sales. It makes much more sense to focus initial export drives to much bigger markets. But as the high prices still asked for old Nissan 1400s prove, there is a demand for cheap workhorses in South Africa. Which then begs the question, when are South Africa''s DIY enthusiasts going to cobble together a tough workhorse that can take on KZN's hills as easily as it does the North West’s sand roads? And the other question -will we Saffers buy it, or will we remain bedazzled by imports? -- Driver Reporter.