A new satellite navigation unit has been designed specifically for lorries making it possible for trucks to avoid narrow roads, low bridges and unsuitable routes. The new unit, the TomTom GO 7000 truck navigation solution, is available from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and costs £379 plus VAT or the SD car on its own costs £139 plus VAT.

All drivers have to do is enter their vehicle’s weight and dimensions and the unit will then provide information on clearance heights, speed restrictions and other problematic obstacles. Driver’s can also make corrections to their map with a map share function and the sat-nav solution can be adapted to suit a variety of different size vehicles.

Renault Truck Game

If you fancy trying out a free PC Truck Racing Game then visit the Renault Trucks website where a free PC game is available. You can soon find yourself driving a 1,110hp Premium racing truck with 5,100Nm of torque.

The PC game features three levels of difficulty and you can select “pro” mode and remove the ESP, ABS and ASR to go for the manual gearbox.

Truck racing for real is a popular event amongst drivers and hauliers alike and almost 200,000 spectators turned up at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany for a recent European event.

The SMMT has commented on the low van registrations in September with Paul Everitt, chief executive saying,”Business confidence remains fragile in the commercial vehicle sector despite an increase in registrations at the heavy end of the market”.

Mr Everitt went on to say “As anticipated, September registrations were given a temporary boost both by the new “59 plate and the end of Reduced Pollution Certificates for Euro 4 and 5 trucks. This demonstrates the positive effect a small incentive can have on the market but does yet signal an end to the severe impact of the recession”.

There were 34,904 van and truck registrations in September.

New VW Transporter

The CV Operator Show will be held next April, where a wide varietry of solutions to commercial vehicle opearting problems, plus new innovative ideas to increase productivities and efficiencies will be on display.

Michelin tyres

From fleet management systems to tyres, lubes and fuels, specialist refrigerated vehicles and municipal equipment and parts, the show promises to offer something for all commercial vehicle operators looking to keep their loads on the move. The accent of the show will be exclusively on the road transport and logistics business making it a destination for directors,fleet managers and engineers in truck, van and minibus operations.

Visitor registration is free for entry tickets and further details will be available soon. The event will be held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham from the 13th-15th April 2010. 

Full details of the show can be found at www.cvoperatorshow.com

The truck industry is expecting September’s registration figures to be better than previous months. This is the last month when the UK Government’s Reduced Pollution Certificate incentive will be available for Euro 5 trucks.

Robin Dickeson, the manager of commercial vehicle affairs at the SMMT said,” Once Euro 5 becomes mandatory from the 1st October, the PRC incentive for Euro 5 trucks stops, so there is a one off-opportunity to add around £5,000 to the value of a heavy truck over its ten year life”.

Iveco Electric Daily

The prototype is based on a crew cab Daily 55c and is fitted out with three Zebra sodium, nickel and chloride batteries.

These batteries do not produce any emissions, are maintenance free and are also 100% recyclable. The van has a range of 100km (approximately 60mph) and a top speed of 70kmh (approximately 42mph).

The first 10 Electric Dailys manufactured at Foz do Iguacu will be supplied to Itaipu Binacional and its associated companies. Many other companies in Brazil and Argentina have also expressed significant interest. All the current Iveco van range is available off Comparecontracthire.com on van contract hire as are all other van manufacturers.