Aiming to address the reasons behind collisions between cyclists and all commercial vehicles, the seminar will also explore some of the technology at your disposal to help lessen the chances of such incidents arising.

With 13% of all collisions concerning cyclists involving some form of commercial vehicle, whether it be a truck, van or coach, it is quite clear that there is work that can be done to reduce this figure. One sixth of all of these crashes see the cyclist involved either killed or seriously injured which will obviously have severe consequences for the family of the cyclist but can also cause significant trauma for the driver of the commercial vehicle.

Figures state that a third of drivers involved in an accident such as this will suffer from psychological effects for up to 12 months after the incident.

The seminar will see talks from the Metropolitan Police and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers who will look in detail at issues such as blind spots and manoeuvres including reversing, as well as solutions such as cameras fitted to the side of the vehicle, the use of additional mirrors and additional training to reduce the risks.

Of the forthcoming seminar, Professional Engagement Manager at organiser Brake, Roslyn Cumming, said: “Addressing the risks associated with vehicle blind spots and manoeuvring vehicles, including reversing, is an essential part of fleet safety policies and procedures. In light of these survey results, it has never been more important for fleets to address the costs of road crashes and build a reputation for road safety. I urge managers of all types of fleets, from cars to commercial vehicles, to attend.”

Road safety is something we at Malcolm Taylor Commercials feel very strongly about, so if you would like to find out a little more about this upcoming event, click here.

You will therefore be pleased to know that this need not be a problem anymore as we can undertake all manner of body alterations and conversions to make sure that the truck you are buying is perfectly tailored to your requirements. From large scale alterations such as the removal of bodies to provide a chassis cab through to a complete re-spray to implement your branding on your new truck, we have it all covered for you.

Additional alteration or conversion tasks we can complete include;

•    Wheelbase shortening or extending to fit an already owned body

•    Repainting small areas

•    Sign writing services including a logo

•    Alteration of body height

•    New curtains fitted

One area of alteration we are particularly adept in is the construction of flatbed and dropside vehicles to suit the scaffolding industry. By clicking the links below, you can see three examples of the level of work we can complete;

•    2007 DAF Trucks LF55.180 with new 22ft Alloy Dropside Body

•    2007 DAF Truck LF55.180 with new 21”/22” Scaffold Body

•    2008 DAF LF45.150 with new 20ft Dropside/Scaffold Spec Body

Each body is completely new so you can be assured you won’t be receiving an old body on your new truck, and that it will be tailored to suit your precise needs. The chassis bearers and decking will all be brand new in addition to new fittings and furniture to ensure your truck functions in the manner you require in addition to representing your brand appropriately due to its high end finish.

If you have therefore seen the used truck that you want however are concerned it doesn’t quite meet your specifications, worry no more as we can redesign it to suit you perfectly. Should you require any further information on this service or any one of the Malcolm Taylor Commercials’ used trucks you see on our website, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Whilst the Chancellor launched his profile on Twitter on the morning of the Budget in a vain attempt to appeal to the younger audience, which may or may not have gone down so well, one announcement that was more widely received on a positive note was the decision to scrap the planned 3p a litre fuel duty set for September this year.

Fuel has been a common theme discussed by us here at Malcolm Taylor Commercials in recent months as it remains to be one of the biggest talking points and concerns within the haulage industry. The scrapping of the planned rise has gone down well in most quarters, with the Road Haulage Association for instance, however still doesn’t take away from the fact the UK motorists pay the highest levels of fuel duty in the whole of Europe.

RHA Chief Executive Geoff Dunning said of the announcement to scrap the fuel duty rise, “We urged a “no increase” announcement and the Chancellor delivered – although we would have liked him to go further by cutting diesel duty. This is another massive achievement for the road haulage industry and the FairFuelUK campaign, which the RHA co-founded three years ago.”

With prices still high and rising on a continual basis, it remains to be seen what impact the fuel duty cut will have on haulage companies however one thing is for sure, it is one less thing for hauliers to worry about in an already nerve-jangling environment.

Whilst the previous update stated that all coaches, buses and lorries driving through the Low Emission Zone would be required to meet a London-wide standard in relation to their emissions of oxides of nitrogen by 2015, this has since been changed and no longer affects operators of coaches and diesel lorries, so no further action needs to be taken.

This phase of improvements to the LEZ will still however impact on buses, with the changes now just relating to TfL-operated buses working within the Low Emission Zone. These changes will still result in 75% of the desired results being achieved at the same time as saving millions of pounds as firms and operators of coaches and lorries no longer need to invest in making the changes to their vehicles in order to meet the revised emission guidelines.

The announcement of these changes is very good news for the haulage industry as, with enough firms struggling to get by at present anyway, the costs associated with making changes to vehicles in order to comply with standards had the potential to force many out of business or lose contracts as they can no longer make the required trips into London.

As always, we at Malcolm Taylor Commercials will attempt to keep you in the loop with any industry related changes or news and of course, should you require a new or used truck for your firm, be sure to make our selection your first choice!

We here at Malcolm Taylor Commercials always aim to provide you with news and updates on what is happening in the industry, so the recent announcement by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Freight Transport Association (FTA) is one we felt we must pass on.

From March 1st, members of the RHA and FTA have access to discounted fuel through the use of a joint fuel card from The Fuelcard Company. Able to be used at offer 1,600 sites across the country, the Fuel Card can see your haulage company make massive saving over the course of the year. All members will receive a weekly fixed price that is based on the fuel market, leading to the potential for massive savings, in excess of £50,000 in some cases, over a yearly period.

Membership to this scheme also gives you access to online fuel management systems that can help you keep a close eye on exactly how much you are spending on fuel and the amount you are using. An app for smartphones also means your drivers can easily locate the closest filling station to them that is part of the scheme in addition for them all to also be downloaded onto a sat-nav.

Free for the first year and then just £6 thereafter, the potential savings you could make on fuel through a Fuel Card are sure to be well worth the small outlay. Hopefully this scheme can act as a bit of a turning point for the haulage industry and begin to slow down the number of firms forced out of business due to the continuing rise in fuel costs.

A study by the AA found that one in three of the people they surveyed would be frightened to buy a vehicle with a 13 plate as they feared problems or even accidents would occur in their new but ‘unlucky’ vehicle. Others were also concerned that they’d have difficulty selling on the vehicle at a later date due to superstitious people avoiding it because of the number 13 on the registration plate.

The concern over the number of new car sales with a 13 plate was epitomised last year when the DVLA considered the option of offering 62 plates to those buying brand new 13 plate cars so they could reap the benefits of a brand new vehicle without being concerned by the possibly ‘unlucky’ number plate. This idea was however dropped and the new number plates were rolled out on March 1st.

Without this option available, the only other thing a new car owner that doesn’t want the 13 registration plate is to invest in a private number plate, yet this is an additional expense on top of the outlay required to invest in the new car.

If you are the superstitious kind, we at Malcolm Taylor Commercials have a number of both new and used vehicles within our collection so should you want to replace your current vehicle but avoid the 13 number plate, browse our website to see what we have for you!

We have spoken previously about the impact that rising fuel prices are having on haulage firms up and down the country, which is possibly why the Road Haulage Association reacted so angrily in opposition to the OFT’s findings.

The Chief Executive of the Road Haulage Association, Geoff Dunning, said in the wake of the announcement by the Office of Fair Trading: “We asked for transparency but all we got was a whitewash. The OFT acknowledges that high pump prices are a result of high crude prices, not competition. So why when the barrel price drops, is that not reflected at the pump?”

The probe was launched by the Office of Fair Trading last year, and with most expecting a full enquiry to be launched after the completion of the initial probe, critics and motorists alike were shocked when the OFT stated that there was ‘very little evidence’ that prices remained high at the pumps even when the cost of crude oil reduced. They expressed that the price rises we see at the pumps were mostly down to the rising cost of crude oil and the tax increases.

This is very disappointing news for the haulage industry as there shows no immediate signs that the price of fuel is going to decrease, therefore putting more and more businesses at risk. The fallout from the OFT’s probe is likely to continue on for some time, so it looks at present as though it will be a waiting game to discover if anything further will be done, and you can be assured that we at Malcolm Taylor Commercials will report on any progress if or when it arrives.

The MD of Iveco’s UK division, Luca Sra stated that the government needed to implement a more ‘common sense’ approach to encouraging haulage companies to replace or ensure their existing vehicles run on lower carbon fuels with reduced emissions, or adhere to the Euro-6 exhaust emissions guidelines.

In order to achieve this, Iveco suggested that considerably more support was required from the government and that incentives, similar to those introduced in other countries, should have been implemented a long time ago which would have led to more eco-friendly vehicles being in operation today.

With the chance of incentives being introduced relatively low, Iveco hope increased support will given for the development of technology that improves the use of natural resources, such as natural gas, as an alternative fuel.

Without this level of support, the introduction of incentives or the development of technology to establish alternative fuels, Iveco strongly feel that there is no real gain or practical benefit for the haulage industry to make the necessary changes and improve the environmental impact from the continued use of traditional fuels.

Now only time will tell as to whether the government and European legislators make the changes and ensure becoming cleaner and more environmentally friendly is a more appealing proposition for businesses.

It has been stated previously that the haulage industry is likely to play a large role in the country’s overall economic recovery, so seeing figures only fall by a relatively small number in relation to the amount of heavy goods vehicles on the road will be pleasing for the government to hear.

The recent freeze in the planned fuel duty rise, which we here at Malcolm Taylor Commercials spoke about previously in our post ‘The Effects of a Fuel Duty Rise in January 2013’ will also help the industry as a whole to move forwards instead of backwards, as the hope is that fewer haulage businesses will be forced out of business due to unmanageable fuel prices.

Some haulage firms are even planning expansion in the coming months and years, with the recent announcement involving Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey’s haulage group being a prime example. The group plan to extend their overseas network from the current three countries they work within up to 14, to create a pan-European operation.

The plan is to have the complete network up and running by 2015, with the company set to have a presence in France and Poland as early as March next year; proving that despite the economy, the haulage industry can still move forward.

Hopefully 2013 will bring about increased optimism for the haulage industry as a whole, and when a survey is completed this time next year, the number of heavy goods vehicles on the roads may have fell even less, or perhaps even increased. Only time will tell.