Newsletter

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

Dear subscribers! For weeks already rain- and snowfall are below normal winter conditions. In the river Rhine the water dropped to extreme low levels. Because vessels can’t be fully loaded, all vessels that are able to sail are into service. The prognosis is that with climate change low water will occur more often. For a country like The Netherlands, where approximately 30% of the freight cargo is carried by inland waterways, this is a serious issue to look at. We have a lot of experience with defending our country against flooding. Now we have to work also on solutions to overcome low water. There are new developments to announce on High Capacity Vehicles in Europe. On their own territory EU Member States are allowed to deviate from the EU guideline for maximum weights and dimensions. From the 1st of January 2017, Germany decided to allow extra-long vehicle combinations (Lang-Lkw) on... Read More

Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere, With the excitement of HVTT14 in November I overlooked the fact that it was my turn to write the monthly newsletter is November.  I apologise for the oversight.  To those of you who attended HVTT14 in Rotorua, I would like to offer my thanks for your contribution towards making it a very successful symposium.  We had 146 delegates and more than 50 papers.  All of the feedback that I have received has been very positive.  To those of you who weren’t able to attend I offer you my sympathy and to notify you that HVTT15 will be in Rotterdam in September 2018.  It is never too early to start planning. It is traditional to start these newsletters with a weather report of the author’s local region.  This is not very exciting.  Although we are now one month into summer, the weather is still very “spring” like... Read More

At last, after an unusually warm first two weeks of September, the cool autumn morning breeze has arrived to Beijing. Day temperatures are comfortable, but at night the mercury drops enough to enable a good night’s sleep without the disturbing noise from air conditioners. We are still a few months away from the freezing dry cold winter of Beijing. From now until then end of November the cold dry air from Siberia will be arm wrestling with the warm humid air from the south. Siberia always wins, but the South is in for a good fight. On the political arena we see the same arm wrestling between the enlightened reformers in Beijing and the vested interests around the country as well as resistance to change from further down in the administrative circles in Beijing. When international media reports on contradictory policies or measures coming out of Beijing they are often... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber I’m sure that the highlight in terms of heavy vehicles in South Africa during July was the two “Smart Truck” courses that were held in Pretoria and Cape Town earlier in the month. Les Bruzsa, Chief Engineer at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) in Australia, and one of the PBS doyens in that country (and an IFRTT Board Member), was invited as a keynote speaker at the annual Southern Africa Transport Conference in Pretoria that was held from 4 – 7 July (www.satc.org.za). Initially it was decided to hold a half-day PBS seminar while he was in South Africa to facilitate the sharing of Les’ extensive knowledge and practical experience of PBS in Australia with a range of stakeholders in South Africa. After some interaction with Les, the proposed seminar was expanded to a 2-day PBS course with inputs from Les as well as local experts... Read More