The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has just launched the 48th edition of their Yearbook of Road Tranport Law 2010. If you are a commercial fleet operator and run HGVs or other commercial vehicles and vans, then this book should keep you fully informed on all aspects of road transport legislation, health and safety and duty of care.

The 2010 yearbox has been written by a team of FTA experts and includes details of the new fixed penalty system introduced in May 2009 and used by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and the police in roadside enforcement. The 2010 Yeabook costs £37.00 for FTA members or £79 for non-members with discounts for multiple copies. The FTA also publishes Van Drivers’ Handbook and the Dangerous Goods Drivers’ Handbook.

Visit www.shop.fta.co.uk to order.

Mobile repair

Total Accident Management, the repair and claims management company, has partnered up with Bevan’s Group to provide its HGV and commercial van customers a new mobile repair service.

Bevan is providing 15 mobile engineers across the UK, to enable the majority of HGV repairs to be underaken without having to visit a bodyshop. Replacement of body panels to the truck cab, hydraulics, tail-lifts and roller or shutter doors can be repaired on site by the team of Bevan highly skilled engineers. 

David Hughes, Operations director of Total Accident Management said,”This approach is already proving very popular with HGV customers as it has cut down on rental and repair costs.The quality of Bevan’s work is excellent. Only 49% of our HGVs now visit a bodyshop for more serious repairs”.

TyreSafe, the non-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of defective and worn tyres, has launched a new truck specific section to its website. MoT failures for HGV’s was recorded at 36.5 per cent in 2007/8, as reported by VOSA, with failure due to defective tyres being the second most common defect.

The new web pages are located at www.tyresafe.org and includes guidance and advice on the importance of tyre pressure, tread depth, wheel alignment, regrooving and tyre disposal, together with details of the common causes of tyre damage and wear. A free truck safety handout can also be downloaded off the site with top tips for correct tyre truck maintenance.

Since the Health and Safety Offences Act came into force in January 2009, UK courts how have much greater authority to prosecute businesses for committing offences such as fitting illegal tyres and the maximum penalty is a £20,000 fine. Drivers are also under pressure from VOSA, to ensure they are driving with legal tyres, with drivers risking roadside fines of up to £200 per offence.

Tyre safety is an important factor for any company running a fleet of vehicles, whether you run cars, vans, buses, trucks or other HGV’s.