At last week’s IRTE conference, the two main themes were safety and regulatory compliance. However, that didn’t stop Senior Traffic Commissioner Beverly Bell from encouraging representatives of the transport industry to help build something the entire UK can be proud of. Bell said the industry has a long way to go in this regard.

Over the years, the Department for Transport (DfT) has allocated hundreds of millions of pounds to encourage the manufacture and sale of ultra-low emission passenger vehicles in the UK. Most recently, the department allocated some £500 million for both vehicles and infrastructure improvement until 2020. However, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) believes more needs to […]

Whether a driver receives his HGV training in Somerset or London, one of the things he is taught is to always pay attention to others on the road – especially cyclists. Now officials in London want to make sure drivers are paying attention to their safety training. To that end, they have instituted a number […]

A new road tax on HGV drivers is one step closer to becoming a reality thanks to the granting of an operational contract. Northgate Public Services won the contract to implement the system and collect the tax from foreign drivers who operate in the UK. The new tax is seen by many as a great […]

Late last week, police in Kent were called to investigate a suspicious HGV operating on Loose Road in Maidstone. When they arrived during the early afternoon hours, they were somewhat surprised at what they found. Upon opening the lorry’s trailer, they found eight men and women who are believed to be foreign nationals seeking asylum.

A West Midlands business owner has been severely punished by the Traffic Commissioner after a thorough investigation revealed what the commissioner called ‘wholesale incompetence’. The business owner, James Walker, can no longer use HGVs in conjunction with his skip hire business.

Volkswagen, the iconic German carmaker known for decades for innovative design, is now working on new technology aimed at making driving safer. The new technology uses a variety of software and equipment resources to keep track of surroundings as a car travels down the road.

One would expect HGV drivers who invest a lot of time in training would observe safety regulations at all costs. Apparently, that’s not the case, at least according to Volvo. The Swedish car and truck manufacturer claims only about half of Europe’s HGV drivers use their safety belts as the law requires.

Along the A9 in Scotland, between Dunblane and Inverness, car drivers have a higher risk of deadly accidents than almost anywhere else in the UK. A combination of the road’s construction and the high amount of traffic it receives makes the 138-mile stretch of road a death trap.

In a strange announcement that seems to have riled up many a driver in Guernsey, the UK government has let it be known that they may soon stop recognising HGV licenses issued in the bailiwick if improvements are not made to Guernsey’s only HGV testing site.