Newsletter

Dear IFRTT forum subscriber I have the pleasure to inform you that Dr John de Pont, who served as the IFRTT Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific Region since 2006 and as Treasurer since 2000, was elected as the new IFRTT President at the Board meeting held on 29 September at the HVTT13 conference in San Luis, Argentina. John obtained his BSc, BE (Hons) and ME degrees from the University of Auckland and a PhD from Cambridge University and has over 37 years of research experience with the last 25 years being in the field of transport. He is currently Director of Engineering Research at TERNZ Ltd in Auckland, New Zealand. I have known John since the 4th International Symposium held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1995, and have no doubt that he will serve the IFRTT as President with commitment, enthusiasm and wisdom. John has attended 12 of the 13 IFRTT heavy... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscribers! Every week my husband and I cross the border between The Netherlands and Germany while we live in the last and work in the first country. Occasionally there is a police check. Although we try to look very criminal, we always may drive on without even stop the car. We are living in Germany for 12 years now and we have seen the number of police checks increasing. Police are looking for human trafficking, illegal workers and international groups of burglars. In April the result of a joint action of the German and Dutch police at night were 86 cars with burglar tools and 48 arrested persons. At the end of May the 28 European member countries voted for a new Parliament of the EU. I asked Anders (just ignored his retirement) to join me to evaluate the significance of the election results for road freight transport.... Read More

Bitrains (B-trains) have been nationally authorized in Argentina!!! I could start this newsletter describing the mosquito invasion we are suffering this warm start to autumn, however I have some fantastic news beats talking about the weather. Last Wednesday April 23rd, our President surprised us all with the announcement that the legislation authorizing bitrains up to 30.25 metres long and 75 tons of total gross weight had been signed. In a moment where many provinces were pressed to enact similar legislation, the fact that now there is a national one they can adhere to is extremely helpful. Flanked by her Transport and Industry ministers, the President invited Vulcano, a local semitrailer manufacturer, as well as the presidents of the paper, cement and metal manufacturers associations, and the president of the Federation of road transport companies. I leave you here with an edited 2 minutes of her speech –with subtitles- President’s Speech... Read More

Greetings from the South, Autumn has arrived here and the days are getting shorter but the weather is still very mild with maximum temperatures in the low to mid 20s. I thought I would keep this newsletter very short and just commend to you a television documentary which showed in Australia in early February.  The link is below. http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/03/3934918.htm The video clip lasts about 45 mins so you will need to set aside some time to watch it through.   Although the context is very much the Australian road transport industry, many of the issues raised are relevant in New Zealand and I am sure the same is true elsewhere as well.  Solving them requires more than just better technology. HVTT13 in San Luis, Argentina is now less than seven months away.  It should be a great conference and I look forward to seeing you there. Regards, John de Pont Vice... Read More

On behalf of the IFRTT Board, I would like to wish you everything of the best for 2014, and trust that you had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas holiday season. In the southern hemisphere, the summer holidays are coming to an end – many businesses open tomorrow, 6 Jan, and most schools in South Africa start during the week of 13 Jan. Today is exactly a month since the passing of what I came to realise was a most remarkable man. From the day after his death until after his funeral on 15 December, there was virtually 24-hour television coverage of the life of Nelson Mandela. During that period, I watched considerably more TV than I normally do. Besides his significant contribution to the peaceful transformation of South African society, as well as a number of other countries, particularly in Africa, I was overwhelmed by the impact he had on... Read More

Dear Reader, In the north of Germany there is an impressive remnant of the Nazi regime, called the Colossus of Prora. It was intended to be a seaside resort for the working class. The building complex has a total length of 4.5km consisting of 5 blocks each with a length of 500m. It has the capacity to accommodate 20.000 people, but was never used as originally intended. In the times of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) the building was used by the military. For the current authorities it is a major challenge to find a purpose for development. The concrete Moloch is too expensive to demolish and too large for an appropriate use. However it can be considered as a monument. Nowadays cultural entrepreneurs and a youth hostel inhabit some parts of the building. Getting back to IFRTT newsletter tradition: I suppose that in the wooded area surrounding the Colossus... Read More

Winter in Pretoria has finally arrived, so we are having to deal with early morning temperatures of around 0°C, but which rise to around 20°C by midday – sympathies accepted.  This more-or-less matches the spring weather I experienced in the UK at the beginning of May. I spent last week in Cape Town, where we had a few days of cold, wet and windy weather, typical of the “Cape of Storms” during winter. In South Africa, the media has been focussing on the serious health condition of Nelson Mandela, who is still receiving medical care in a Pretoria hospital, and most recently, the visit of President Obama (he travels from Pretoria to Cape Town today). Trade facilitation, both in South Africa and on the African continent as a whole, is of the key issues being discussed. Much of the freight to and from countries in southern Africa is transported by... Read More

  Hello from the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, probably better known now thanks to the new Pope Francis. So, what’s going on in the South and Central American region, with regards road heavy vehicles?  I can tell you there is PLENTY and it’s POSITIVE! The region is expected to grow around 4% GDP this year, and the question of how to transport that growth, mostly coming from commodities such as grains and mineral ores is finally starting to be asked. Shortly after HVTT12 in Stockholm last September, Bob Pearson paid a visit to Argentina. Only in October we participated in four events held in different provinces, invited by associations and local governments. For those who are not acquainted with Bob, he is called the “father of B-doubles in Australia” and wrote a book called “B-doubles: the first decade in Australia”. Bob was interviewed by national and local media,... Read More

Greetings from the deep south, It has become mandatory to begin these newsletters with a weather report.  Here we have had one of the driest summers on record.  The whole of the North Island is officially in a state of drought which is causing significant issues for our farmers.  The Minister of Finance has claimed that the cost to the economy could exceed $2b.  However, for the rest of us it feels like it has been a great summer. We have recently had an issue arise here with the stability of trucks carrying high-cube ISO containers loaded to near maximum weights.  As many you may be aware New Zealand has a requirement that large heavy vehicle must achieve a minimum level of rollover stability.  The static rollover threshold (SRT) must exceed 0.35g.  Most of these container trucks have been certified as meeting the rollover stability requirement on the basis that... Read More

Dear IFRTT Forum subscriber One last pinprick of the winter is expected this week. But you can see the birds are getting ready for springtime. In Europe, weights and dimensions of trucks are regulated in the guideline 96/53 although there are attempts in some countries to increase productivity. However in a country such as Germany, this is a sensitive subject. On January 17th, I was invited to attend a presentation of the research program on the Long-truck trial in Germany. At that time 35 of these 25.25m/40T combinations were in operation. The trial started in January 2012 and will end on 31 December 2016. The research program is extensive. Several universities are involved, all with their own research plans. Some transport companies were complaining about the burden of participating in all these studies. Several impacts of the project are being studied in terms of: truck traffic volumes, traffic safety, tunnel... Read More