The new HGV & commercial driver’s jobsite from AdvantageHGV now has over 4,000 live HGV jobs online.

Sourced from haulage operators, agencies, small businesses and government departments - the jobs board at www.advantagehgv.co.uk/hgv_jobs.php  now contains more direct HGV employment opportunities than any other website.

The simple, easy to use interface has proved a hit with HGV drivers. Simply select your licence and than chose where you want to work - it’s as easy as that. AdvantageHGV director Gary Benardout said:

‘Advantage’s new HGV jobs board has taken our HGV Training offering to another level. We now train and find our drivers jobs when they’ve got their licence - this is a first for the industry. And best of all - it’s free! Free for drivers to search for jobs, free for employers to advertise their jobs and free to receive updates on jobs in your area, as and when they occur’.

Keep checking for more from the AdvantageHGV website - as developments in the pipeline include: An HGV video guide to training; full 100 question theory test modules; jobs ‘wanted’ section and much, much more.

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Volvo have launched the new FE series truck - which runs on a combination of diesel and electric power, a first for the HGV world.

Volvo has begun field trials of a new parallel hybrid truck. The Swedish manufacturer appears to have made a major leap in battery technology and plans volume production of this dual-fuel chassis in around two years’ time. The culmination of 20 years of research and development, the 26-tonne FE-series rigid is fitted with diesel and electric power sources and carries a waste-collection body. Volvo claims this development to be an “environmental and carbon-neutral transport”, which aside from emissions reduction, also cuts noise pollution. Intended primarily for urban collection and distribution duties, the FE hybrid also has the potential to run on biofuel.

The truck scores over previous prototypes in eliminating the payload penalty incurred by onboard batteries by using a lighter, lithium-ion type. The driveline comprises a 320hp, Euro 5 diesel engine, automated clutch, I-Shift gearshift, integrated starter alternator motor (I-SAM), energy converter, lithium-ion batteries and a powertrain management unit (PMU). Volvo says this technology is more reliable than natural gas/diesel dual-fuel vehicles and cites potential fuel savings of 15% to 20% for distribution work and 15% to 30% for refuse collection. Electric power is used for starting the vehicle, accelerating to 20km/h, start/stop work, short periods of idling and loading. During electrical operation, the diesel unit stops completely.

Electric power has extremely good torque characteristics, enabling a smaller and lighter diesel engine than customary at this GVW to be specified. Diesel propulsion better suits higher speeds - for example, main road running. All refuse bodies have too many moving parts to be very light, but the Norba ‘plug-in’ system’s 1.2-tonne weight combined with an unladen body weight of five tonnes permits a respectable 11.5-tonne payload on a 26-tonne GVW hybrid vehicle. The system is designed for stand-alone operation and operated by an electric engine powered by batteries charged from cheap off-peak power supplies. Norba - part of the Oshkosh group - claims the stand-alone system gives zero CO2 emissions and a 20% fuel saving when used with a conventional chassis, and potentially more with a parallel hybrid. The operation is also very quiet, ideal for residential areas.

Renova, a large Swedish recycling and waste collection company owned by 11 municipalities, operates Volvo’s field trial truck. Because refuse trucks are stationary 60% to 70% of the time, parallel hybrid technology is ideal, as bins can be hoisted and rubbish compacted using just electric power. Renova charges the body batteries with ‘green’ electricity, and says dual diesel/electric operation reduces overall emissions by up to 30%. “Hybrid technology will play a major role in the future as the climate and fuel dependency come into ever-sharper focus,” says Mats Franzen, engine manager at Volvo Truck. “No matter which fuels dominate in the future, their supply will be limited… In long-haul operations, the percentage (fuel) reduction will not be as great, but the total fuel saving will be considerable.”

A representative of Coca-Cola UK’s transport operation was at the recent hybrid launch in Gothenburg. Darren O’Donnell, logistics asset manager, says: “At Coca-Cola Enterprises, corporate responsibility and sustainability is a key priority. In the US, we are already on track to have the largest hybrid truck fleet with 120 hybrid vehicles operational by the end of the year. We remain interested in new opportunities in this field across our business.” Volvo reckons it is “too early to say” on pricing.

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British Airways (BA) has invested £40m in new vehicles for Heathrow’s Terminal 5 (T5), the majority of which will go into service today (27 March) for the first time. Steve Cobbold, head of engineering at VT Airside Solutions, the company responsible for specifying, managing and maintaining BA’s 4,000-strong Heathrow fleet, explains that when the airport opens for business, each stand will have approximately £1m-worth of vehicles on it. And for this to happen, he, and a team of 80 people, will have to move 650 pieces of equipment the night before. “It’s going to be a long night,” he says.

But Cobbold is looking forward to the switch, after all, he’s been preparing for it for several years. VT’s workshop is up and running and the new vehicles are in place. In total, there will be 1,500 vehicles (including trailers) in operation at T5. VT will manage and maintain them for the duration of their working lives, which in the case of most vehicles will be 10 years, on environmental grounds. “But there are exceptions,” says Cobbold, who explains that airport operator BAA permits some specialist kit (vehicles with bodies that are worth at least 50% of the total cost of the vehicle) to be run for 15 years. And if they comply with specific emissions requirements, their lifespan can be extended to 20 years.

But these rules only apply to trucks that stay airside. Heathrow’s perimeter roads are within London’s Low Emission Zone at the request of BAA. “This has been a real problem for older specialist kit, some of which might only cross the perimeter road,” says Cobbold. Although the fleet covers very low mileage and never exceeds 30mph, the hours of operation are long and the working environment hostile. Vehicles compete for limited space under aeroplanes, with obvious results. Last year BA put three Piaggio pickups into operation on a Monday morning, and all were damaged by the Thursday. “It’s almost a case of survival of the fittest out there,” says Cobbold.

18-tonne rigids:

VT has opted for 15 Mercedes-Benz Axors, equipped with two-pedal Allison transmissions. Cobbold explains that taking away the clutch is an important safety measure, as it gives the driver one less thing to think about. He adds: “You need to be extremely precise when edging up to aeroplanes. The Allison transmission is perfect for this environment.”

Baggage Tractors:

T5’s steep gradients - found on its numerous underground roads - were problematic when it came to specifying baggage tugs. Cobbold explains that not only were the old electric tugs incapable of making the gradients, but it was the same story with new vehicles. VT asked interested parties to develop a T5-specific vehicle, and the winning manufacturer was Linde, with this Basingstoke-built electric tug. It has a 43-mile range, a 17mph top speed, a six-hour recharge and costs £33,000. BA has bought 160 of them.

Breakdown Truck:

This £160,000 Daf CF 460 with Dyson Pioneer bodywork, has the capability of towing vehicles weighing up to 60 tonnes, and will be used to move everything from coaches to elevator loaders. Its low height makes it ideal for manoeuvring through T5’s various tunnels.

Elevator Loaders:

Of the £40m BA has spent on new vehicles, a sizeable chunk (£5m) has gone on 49 new FMC Elevator Loaders. These vehicles are not built for speed, and take a long time to travel to the workshop. For this reason, VT intends to carry out most servicing and repairs airside. Cobbold explains that VT had to prove to BA that measures are in place to prevent fluids or tools being left on the runway.

Terminal Tractors:

Eighty-five of these Terberg tractors are about to go into operation at T5. They were chosen for their ability to ascend and descend the steep gradients while pulling a pair of 9-tonne cargo dollies. The tractors are equipped with towbars, and the fifth-wheels have been replaced with 4.5 tonnes of ballast for improved traction.

Aeroplane starter:

Could this be the world’s most expensive Mercedes-Benz Sprinter? It cost £148,000 and is one of eight going into service at T5. Of course the costly bit is the turbine on the back, which is used to start-up aeroplanes.

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Continental is the latest manufacturer to introduce a sat-nav system that guides trucks away from low bridges, narrow roads and weight restrictions. The VDO Dayton Truck SatNav also tells drivers about truckstops, restaurants catering for commercial vehicles and petrol stations with high-pressure pumps.

MAN has bought the Bristol dealership SA Trucks in a multi-million-pound transaction, and will run the operation as part of its southern division. The business will continue to trade as SA Trucks Limited, with all 128 staff staying with the business. SA was run by Henry and Lynne Dilloway for 30 years, before they sold to MAN.

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The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is to work with elements of the brewing industry to develop ways of cutting the costs and environmental impact of its specialist transport systems. A particular aim is to explore the opportunities offered by technology transfer, as this generally means that ideas can be put to work quickly, with a minimum of expensive and often theoretical research.

Already one of the most promising lines of enquiry lies in the transfer of technology and established practice from other parts of the beverage industry. “Specifically, we’re looking at the possibility of freeze drying beer, said Robin Dickeson, manager commercial vehicle affairs for the SMMT.

“There seem to be some real opportunities here; beer is around 99.5% water, so if we could freeze dry it, deliver powder by road and the water through the normal water mains, we’d have a winner.”

Freeze drying has successfully delivered excellent coffee for millions of people over nearly half a century. The group believes that small vans could easily deliver the freeze dried equivalent to truck loads of draught beer. This would save huge amounts of increasingly expensive diesel and even more CO2   “Every litre of diesel burnt means over two and a half times its weight in CO2, so the environmental gains of using the existing water transport system, the mains, are very attractive.”

If the tests are successful following their start next year, Dickeson expects the group to turn its attention to other consumer products with a very high water content.   “Wine is a clear candidate too, as one might save the weight of glass bottles as well as the weight of that 99% water content.”

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A safety device that detects and alerts drivers of fatigue is in the final stages of development. The system, which has been developed by Volvo Trucks, monitors the way in which the driver operates the vehicle, emitting an audible warning if it detects a particular pattern of movement changes.

So far the tHGV maker has only conducted trials on its Gothenburg test track, but this is about to change now that permission has been granted by the Swedish government to take the research to the open road. Lars-Göran Löwenadler, safety director at Volvo Trucks, says:

“The system has reached a stage where all that remains to be done is a final check. The point is to provide a warning at the right moment, but not unnecessarily. In order for the tests to be as credible and as realistic as possible, we would like to drive on actual roads as there are simply no test tracks that are adequate enough.”

But there are plenty of restrictions: the sleep-deprived driver will be behind the wheel of a dual-controlled truck, and the second driver will be poised to take over the driving the HGV will only be permitted to drive on selected dual carriageways, and will be equipped with rotating warning lamps and followed by a car that will alert other motorists that the test is taking place. Driver fatigue is shown to be responsible for more than 20% of traffic accidents.

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If you’ve ever had to overtake a large lorry on a very wet road you’ll know how badly visibility can be affected by spray. According to recent research by the Transport Research Laboratory, a new product developed by British company Spraydown can improve the situation by 43%.

The Spraydown system relies on vane design technology more familiar in the use of turbines in aircraft engines and power generators, though in this case the vanes are fixed rather than spinning. Their effect is to capture the spray as it’s created, and then channel it so that it leaves the lorry only slightly above the surface of the road.

This is good news for car drivers, and pretty useful for transport companies too. The redirection of the spray - and particularly the road dirt that it carries - means that signwriting on the side of the lorry stays visible for longer. And because the system redirects airflow in an efficient manner even when there’s no spray, it seems likely that fuel bills will be cut by over 2%.

Spraydown has already been tested by major fleet operators across the UK, and it will make its first formal appearance at the Commercial Vehicle Show, which is being held on April 15-17 at the NEC near Birmingham. It will then be sold nationwide through Sheffield-based Universal Components.

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A windscreen-mounted digital camera with the potential to slash operators’ insurance premiums by preventing fraudulent claims against them, has been launched by Vision-Techniques. The X-Driven, which is plugged into a HGV’s cigarette lighter, records a view of the road ahead and instantly downloads the footage onto its integral SD memory card.

It remains in the memory for between eight and 33 hours (depending on the recording quality setting chosen) before being overridden. The £250 device has G-shock sensors, which detect any sudden or sharp movements - such as heavy braking, swerving or a collision. Such manoeuvres automatically trigger the ’save’ function, which permanently stores the footage from 30 seconds prior to, and 30 seconds following the event.

This allows you to see both the build-up and the aftermath, both of which could be invaluable in the case of an insurance claim. Similarly, the driver can manually save footage if he chooses.

X-Driven has a GPS facility, and interfaces with either Google Maps or Google Earth. This allows the viewer to see the vehicle’s speed and location at the time of the incident. Vision-Techniques sales manager Andy Kendal says the device is already attracting a great deal of attention. Both Tarmac and Greggs are about to commence trials, and one police force is using it in its driver training vehicles.

“There’s no reason why it couldn’t be used to train HGV drivers either,” he says. But according to Kendal, one of the main benefits to fitting X-Driven is to improve your chances of winning insurance claims, and preventing fraudulent claims against you. He gives the all-too familiar example of an HGV that hits the rear of a car. “Although there is clearly only one person in the car, five people claim whiplash injuries,” he says. “Now you’ve got the physical evidence.”

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BAD weather spelt disaster for a foreign lorry driver whose 40-tonne vehicle became stuck in a country lane.

The giant Transmec Group lorry became wedged in a field off Symonds Lane, Yalding, after its Hungarian driver was forced to try to turn round to avoid a fallen tree.

It is understood the driver’s satellite navigation system told him that the tiny one-track road would be the quickest way to get to his destination - even though the lorry was as wide as the lane.

Cllr Geraldine Brown, chairman of Yalding Parish Council, said: “We’ve been moaning about sat nav for a long time and with good reason. Anyone can see that lane is not suitable for a 40ft articulated lorry to go down.

“He turned into Symonds Lane as directed by his sat nav and realised that it was too narrow.

“He then saw an open farm gate and reversed in, trying to turn round, but, in the dark, he completely embedded the lorry in the ground and then couldn’t move it again.”

The driver, who seemed unsure of his destination, eventually raised the alarm at dusk on Monday and police and highways officers attended.

He and his lorry had to stay put all night and the HGV only managed to get out on Tuesday morning when the fallen tree was moved and a recovery vehicle dragged the lorry out of the mud.

Cllr Brown added: “He was a nice guy and spoke English, but he did say that if there had been signs pointing him in the correct direction he would not have followed his TomTom.”

The situation is a vindication for Yalding villagers, who have been complaining about huge articulated vehicles using village roads for more than 10 years.

They want to see a ban on all lorries over 17 tonnes in Lees Road and the village’s main town bridge - preventing drivers from rat-running to industrial estates in Maidstone and Marden.

The issue of foreign drivers using inappropriate satellite navigation systems has also been raised during the campaign.

A Kent Highway Services spokesman said: “We are taking up the issue of satellite navigation with the manufacturers in to get them to introduce systems that direct lorries away from villages and country lanes.

THE Freight Transport Association is offering to carry out an independent survey on HGVs in Yalding.

Spokesman Geoff Dossetter said the problem is that Yalding sits on the most available route between Tonbridge and Marden and, as a result, suffers “unwelcome” HGV traffic.

“I believe that it is not clear as to which of the vehicles in Yalding are there because they have local business and thus no choice, as opposed to those which are using the route as the quickest from where they have been to where they are going,” he said.

“In order to investigate this further, we are offering to conduct a survey to ascertain the facts - how many vehicles, where they are going, where they have been, what they are carrying, is any other route viable, and any other relevant information.”

An FTA spokeswoman was filmed yesterday in Yalding for Sunday’s BBC TV South East’s The Politics Show which will discuss use of sat nav equipment by lorries.

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Richmond upon Thames Council is set to become the first local authority in the country to run its entire fleet on recycled cooking oil. Previously the council had decided not to go down this route as recycled bio-diesel was deemed too expensive. It had expressed its concerns to the Chancellor, but says its pleas for a reduction in the duty for the fuel had fallen on deaf ears.

However, recent increases in oil prices have given recycled bio-fuel a competitive edge and made it an economically viable proposition. The council plans to run its 200-strong mixed van and truck fleet on the fuel by the summer, but says it has no plans to discuss the matter with vehicle manufacturers.

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