Newsletter

Dear IFRTT colleagues, This is my first message to you as the new IFRTT Vice President Australasia & Pacific.  I wish to thank Dr John de Pont for his service in this position and for nominating me as his replacement. As there is never a dull moment in Australian road freight transport, I would like to use this opportunity to inform you all of some recent developments that demonstrate our commitment to continuous improvement of the road transport system. In February 2019 the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will have been in operation for five years.  It was introduced to overcome the cross-border inconsistencies that had been a burden on our industry when heavy vehicles were independently regulated by the six states and two territories.  Nonetheless, with various inconsistencies surviving in the HVNL, and with Western Australia and the Northern Territory yet to sign on as parties to it, you... Read More

Greetings from the wintry south, As I hear and see the news of European and Japanese heat waves and wild fires in North America and Scandinavia, in Auckland it is currently 15° C and cloudy which is reasonably typical for this time of the year. I am looking forward to HVTT15 in just under two months’ time.  The organising committee has put together a great programme. If you haven’t been getting the newsletters, you can get more information on the conference programme from the web-site  www.hvtt15.com .  Early bird registration at a discounted rate is still available until August 15th . In New Zealand the process of developing a performance-based standards (PBS) regime that is specific to the New Zealand road transport environment is progressing.  PBS has been used for informing size and weight regulation and for assessing non-standard vehicles for permits operations since the late 1980s but the performance... Read More

Dear friends of IFRTT, China is at the center of world affairs. Firstly we have the looming trade war between the US and China (and now also Europe) and secondly we have the North Korea issue, where China has been playing an active, but low profile role to stabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula. We all now keep our fingers crossed that the meeting between president Trump and Kim Jung’un will be successful. At the center of the trade war issue is a China that has been dragging its feet in opening up markets and reforming its economy. That together with unbalanced trade and investment flows with US and the EU has created tensions. Add to this a China with a political system that the West does not comprehend and an increasingly militarily assertive China and we have a very pungent cocktail. But, maybe the real core issues are... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber, after rereading April’s newsletter about South Africa, and while I am writing the May one, feels that the volatile aura brought by the 50th anniversary of what was known as “the May 1968 events” has taken over South America too! While I write this newsletter, Brazil is trying to come out from an eight days truckers’ strike against high prices of fuel. The Oil Workers Unions reported that they will join the truckers’ Union strike as an action of solidarity and have called a 72hs strike. The blockade has forced the cancellation of flights at several airports. So, roads blocked, no fuel, therefore no supplies, bringing the country to a halt and causing increases in food prices. The Brazilian president has sent the army into the streets to try to unblock the roads, but the development of the situation is still unknown. Paraguay had its go at... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber I’m a little under the whip from the IFRTT President as this newsletter should have been sent out by end-March.  My apologies Mr President J South Africa has certainly been through some interesting times during the past few months: a new President, high profile court cases, ongoing critical droughts in some parts of the country, severe water shortages in Cape Town, cricket sagas and, most recently, the passing of Winnie Mandela, an ANC stalwart over many decades and ex-wife of the late Nelson Mandela. On the heavy vehicle front, fairly serious protests were experienced for most of Monday morning, 2 April, on the N3 highway at the Mooi River Toll Plaza between Durban and Johannesburg. This is the busiest rural highway in the country (over 10 000 heavy vehicles per day on some sections) and the protest action was conveniently timed to coincide with the end of the... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber The Performance-based standards (PBS) pilot project officially started in South Africa in Nov 2007 with the commissioning of two PBS timber vehicles.  In June this year the number of PBS vehicle kms reached 100 million with 245 PBS vehicles participating in the pilot project.  Most of these vehicles range in overall length from 19 to 30 m with combination masses ranging from 57 to 82 tonnes. There are also a number of 42 m PBS road trains with a combination mass of 185 tonnes operating in remote areas or within mines. Commodities being transported include timber, chrome and platinum ore, coal, fuel, sugar, sugar cane, aluminium ingots, beer, paper reels, containers and passengers (bi-articulated buses). A report on the PBS pilot project to date is currently being compiled to evaluate the benefits and challenges of adopting a PBS approach for heavy vehicle design and operations in South... Read More

Dear subscribers! First: a call for the HVTT15.  Second: the weather bulletin. The HVTT15 (Rotterdam, October 2018) wants to give room for young talent (YOUNG TALENTS SESSIONS) and offers a stage to organizations that want to show something special to the HVTT audience (SIDE EVENTS). These program components are next to the traditional plenary and parallel sessions. Look at the website www.hvttconference.com how to register! In more detail: Are there young researchers in your surroundings who are a promise for the future? Do you think to be one? Just the mix of experience and the fresh look determine the adaptive ability of a knowledge organization like the IFRTT. Therefore, during the 15th edition of the HVTT in Rotterdam, there will be special YOUNG TALENTS SESSIONS in which young researchers and the audience will debate. The three most promising young researchers will be nominated for the YOUNG TALENT AWARD, of which... Read More

More greetings from the wintery south, but from the other side of the world. First of all, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to my question regarding safety statistical reports on High Capacity Vehicles. Your efforts have not been in vain, as I was told they were discussed on top of the table of the transport authorities in Argentina, and may have tipped the scale towards the final implementation. The answers also reconnected me with an engineer from Uruguay working for the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, who came to the HVTT13. This year has seen some of the worst snowstorms in Patagonia in recent history. Flights were cancelled, roads closed for days at short  notice and large towns without electricity. International mountain passes were closed or operated with very high travel restrictions. And all this, in the beginning of the winter holidays! So, although authorities are... Read More

Greetings from the wintery south, I apologise for the long gap between “monthly” newsletters.  I will try to ensure that it does not happen again. The first item for the newsletter is a sombre one.  Those of you who attended HVTT14 in Rotorua last November will remember Martin Hyde who organised the technical tour on the last day of the symposium.  Sadly, Martin died suddenly three weeks ago.  Martin was a vociferous advocate for improving safety in the log transport industry and was actively involved in many of the initiatives undertaken by the industry over the last 20 years.  He will be missed. We are now one month into winter in New Zealand.  In Auckland, the overnight temperatures are regularly getting down to single digits with the daytime highs around 15° C.  Many of the deciduous trees which originate from Northern Europe and North America are now in autumn colours... Read More