All Industry News articles – Page 137
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MT ArticleHGV driver on M4 caught holding mobile phones to both ears
An HGV driver was caught holding two mobile phones – one to each ear – as he drove along the M4 in his 44-tonne vehicle.The incident was one of more than 100 offences Avon and Somerset police spotted last week on motorways and described as “appalling, unacceptable and dangerous”.It was ...
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MT ArticleOnline shoppers create £2.4bn 'lockdown logjam' of unreturned goods
Online shoppers have urged retailers to clarify returns policies and offer longer returns windows after a new survey revealed consumers are sitting on a potential £2.4bn of unreturned goods.The 'lockdown logjam' has been worsened by lockdowns restrictions, the research by locker network InPost found, making returning unwanted items much harder.Over ...
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MT ArticleP&O Ferries offers free food, discounts and upgrades to freight drivers
P&O Ferries has launched a new initiative providing free food, shopping discounts and cabin upgrades to freight drivers.The move is aimed at raising awareness of their contribution to keeping the economy moving.Under its 'Free Food February for Freight Drivers' initiative, those sailing on P&O between Dover and Calais can have ...
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MT ArticleDirect Vision Standard - a good idea at the worst possible time?
Have you met a professional driver who is not concerned about road safety? All of us who have driven a 16.5m or 18.75m long vehicle in city traffic are acutely aware of the additional hazards presented by pedestrians and cyclists around us, particularly in poor visibility. If the Direct Vision ...
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MT ArticleDemand for agency drivers soaring, Aquarius data reveals
Road transport software specialist Aquarius is reporting a marked increase in the number of agency drivers being employed by its UK customers during the pandemic.Demand in November and December 2020 rose by 74% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to data from the company’s ClockWatcher Elite ...
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MT ArticleParcel deliveries could be hit by shortage of 'beige gold', ParcelHero warns
Cardboard packaging has become so scarce it’s now dubbed ‘beige gold’, according to ParcelHero.The home delivery specialist is warning that the shortage, driven by the surge in online shopping during the pandemic, could lead to damaged parcels, increased costs and delays to home deliveries.ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, ...
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MT ArticleBrexit and Covid-19 remain top trading challenges for 2021, new MT research reveals
Brexit complexities and the impact of Covid-19 continue to be the biggest challenges for operators during 2021, according to a brand-new report by MT and sister title Commercial Motor.The 'Hot Topic: Industry Insight 2021' report asks industry readers their thoughts on a range of topics affecting trading conditions, as well ...
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MT ArticleCrimestoppers enlists hauliers in fight against people smuggling
Crimestoppers is appealing to hauliers to help stop people smuggling with the launch of a hard-hitting campaign.The campaign - "Say no to people smuggling" - is calling on HGV drivers to report any suspicious activity they see and follows the recent jailing of seven men for a total of 92 ...
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MT ArticleE-Gistics looks to revolutionise parcel delivery with disruptive “Uber-style” technology
Freight forwarding technology company E-Gistics has landed a government-funded £131,000 cash injection for its new online distribution platform which matches vendors and independent hauliers.E-Gistics’ platform offers smaller hauliers, pallet members and freight forwarders the ability to digitise the pricing and booking of deliveries carried out by combinations of independent firms, ...
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MT ArticleBrexit checks resumed on animal and food products at Larne and Belfast ports
Brexit checks on animal and food products have been resumed at Larne port in Northern Ireland after a police investigation into alleged threats to staff concluded it was safe for them to return to work.The police investigation followed Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s decision last week to remove twelve ...
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MT ArticleGovernment refuses to scrap smart motorways but admits launch was too early
The transport secretary said it was “entirely wrong” that smart motorways were introduced without the right technology to make them safe, but he has ruled out scrapping them.Grant Shapps told MPs reversing the controversial traffic measure would mean acquiring land the equivalent of 700 Wembley stadium-sized football pitches and destroying ...
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MT ArticlePolice acted lawfully in shooting man trying to steal HGV, investigation concludes
The shooting by armed officers of a man attempting to steal an HGV in Wiltshire last year was necessary and proportionate, an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has found.Wiltshire Police were called to the Rivermead industrial estate in Westlea on 16 June 2020 shortly after 5pm ...
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MT ArticleLivestock transfer faces disruption after Portsmouth border plan is scrapped
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has warned imports and exports of live animals will be disrupted after 1 July following news that Portsmouth International Port has scrapped plans to build a live animal border control post (BCP).Owners Portsmouth City Council said the government had provided insufficient funding for the £7m ...
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MT ArticleBrexit checks suspended at Belfast and Larne ports after customs staff threatened
Hauliers are bracing themselves for more delays at Northern Ireland’s ports after Brexit checks on animal and food products were suspended at both Belfast and Larne ports this week following threats to customs staff.Twelve staff have been removed from Larne Port “with immediate effect”, following “an upsurge in sinister and ...
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MT ArticleGovernment’s £20m plan for EV points not enough, think tank warns
Government plans to double the number of electric vehicle charge points to nearly 8,000 this year by offering £20m of funding to local authorities do not go far enough, a leading think tank warned this week.The warning follows government confirmation this week that funding for the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme ...
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MT ArticleBrittany Ferries ups sailings between Ireland and France to help hauliers avoid Brexit red tape
Brittany Ferries is launching three new weekly freight-only sailings between Ireland and France. They will begin this Thursday (4 February) with a sailing between Rosslare and St Malo.The first of two from Cork to Roscoff will begin this Saturday. These are in addition to ones offered by Brittany Ferries out ...
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MT ArticleNew guidance on groupage not enough to stop major delays at NI ports, warns RHA
New guidance aimed at tackling major delays to groupage at Northern Ireland ports has been rushed through without reference to the haulage industry and fails to tackle the issue, the RHA told MP Michael Gove this week.The accusation, made in an open letter from RHA chief executive Richard Burnett, comes ...
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MT ArticleTrade volumes from Britain into ROI plunge 50% in January
Trade volumes into the Republic of Ireland (ROI) from Great Britain fell 50% in January compared to the same month last year, the Irish government revealed this week.The operational update said “some” businesses of all sizes are experiencing “severe difficulty” in adapting to the new Brexit customs controls and suggests ...
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MT ArticleFleet operators show resilience in adjusting to lockdown, new research reveals
Fleet operators have adapted quickly to the demands of Covid-19 lockdowns, new research from telematics specialist Quartix shows.Commercial vehicle tracking data shows a major difference in how operators responded to the first, second and third national coronavirus lockdown periods of 2020, the company reported.While mileage travelled by its UK customers ...
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MT ArticleLogistics UK backs government plan to reduce delays to food freight entering Northern Ireland
Logistics UK said it was “cautiously optimistic” that the government’s solution to checks on food consignments moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will help prevent delays.After lobbying from the logistics sector to ease the administrative burden after Brexit, the government has now proposed a solution on goods using groupage, ...