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February 2012
4 Comment
Passing the MOT test.
It is not hard to imagine that on the day last October when Justine Greening started her new job as secretary of state for transport, long-standing government plans for tinkering with the MOT test scheme for cars and light commercial vehicles were nowhere near the top of the new-boss’s priority list hastily prepared by Department for Transport civil servants.
When the new transport secretary did finally get around to considering the proposed relaxation in MOT test frequency, it would scarcely have been surprising if she had simply rubber-stamped her predecessor’s recommendations without a second thought. That in fact she did nothing of the kind is much to her credit.
Commercial Vehicle Engineer has been calling on the government for the best part of a year to ditch plans to relax MOT test frequency. So it would be churlish of us now to be nit-picking about Justine Green’s statement to the House of Commons this month. We unequivocally welcome the fact that she has, as she puts it, “listened closely to the very many views put forward” and based her decision on the available evidence, including ours.
5 News
MOT U-turn hailed as “sensible decision”.
6 News
Upbeat mood music in annual results.
8 News
Don’t overcomplicate apprenticeships, say small businesses. Ground-breaking recognition for tipper operator professionalism.
9 News
A good kick-start for electric vans? Hidden costs in Euro-5 van operations.
10 News
Eaton’s European engineering expansion centres on Prague. Trailer Innovation Awards are back with a bang.
11 Your recall check
What is the full story behind the latest vehicle safety recall bulletin from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency? Are any of your vehicles affected? Why are spare wheels falling off Citröen Relay and Peugeot Boxer vans? What is the problem with Panhard rods on MAN Euroliner coach suspensions? What’s the excitement about valve cotters on Renault Clio engines? Questions, questions. Turn to page 11 for the answers.
16 This time it’s structural
There’s much more than meets the eye to the latest annual UK truck registration statistics published by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. They have an intriguing tale to tell about operational and engineering trends.
Tim Blakemore investigates.
22 Driver behaviour and fuel saving: a potent mix
The managing director of MiX Telematics UK tells Tim Blakemore about how his business has been refocused and why there is still plenty of room for independents in a fast-growing sector of the market.
25 Freight transport reality checks for Eurocrats
Last year’s European Commission white paper on road transport has serious implications for all truck operators in Europe. Tyre-maker Goodyear Dunlop has conducted some impressively thorough research into the subject and backed this up last month with a high-power Brussels symposium seeking to get at the real nitty-gritty of the matter.
Tim Blakemore was there.
28 People and jobs
Including fresh faces at the top of Iveco and Scania marketing in the UK; the SMMT’s new commercial vehicle group elects a chairman; Euroway hires a strategic business development manager; and Daf Trucks boss Harrie Schippers becomes chairman of ACEA’s commercial vehicle board.
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