Newsletters

Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere, Weather Report It is traditional in these newsletters to give a local weather report.  In New Zealand we have just moved into spring.  Daylight saving came into effect here last weekend.  The winter has been very mild here but in the last two weeks we have had a couple of storms.  These have been just a few days of rain and high winds but one of them has had a significant impact on our transport infrastructure.  Auckland, where I live, is New Zealand’s largest city and lies on an isthmus.  At the narrowest points, the... Read More

The impact of COVID 19 on road transportation in South America Hello to all, I write to you while working from home in Buenos Aires, a city about to enter its 100th day of quarantine. Weather-wise, we are supposed to be almost in winter, but I am still in a T-shirt. In my previous newsletter, I explained that many countries in the region underwent elections at the last quarter of 2019, then changed president between December and January. But January and February are summer holidays so mid-March was the time to start business. We were all getting ready when… the... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum Subscribers, Postponement of HVTT16 In case you missed the announcement in a previous email, the HVTT16 Symposium that was planned to be held in Qingdao, China in October 2020 has been postponed. A new date will be determined and it is planned that this will be announced by the organisers on 15 July. Effect of panic-buying on the Australian supply chain The Australian road freight industry and regulating bodies have risen to the challenge of COVID-19. The industry has been a star performer amid the unprecedented panic-buying that cleared supermarket shelves to an extent many of us... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum Subscribers, I hope this newsletter finds all of you and your families in good shape in these unusual times. Life here in Europe has changed significantly for most of us because of Covid pandemic. Schools and universities are mostly closed and education is being practiced as e-learning. People are encouraged to limit social contact and, if the profession allows, to work from home. To a certain extent it is rather pleasant as one has more time to spend with the family, though combining normal work duties with role of home teacher, especially for small children, requires some... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber It seems that every time I start to write an IFRTT newsletter there is an international crisis reaching the daily headlines. Currently the Coronavirus is of great concern – besides the rapidly increasing number of daily fatalities & infections and the impact on the economies of several countries, China in particular, there is the uncertainty of when (surely not “and if”) the virus will be brought under control. The devastating fires in Australia are also tragic from a number of perspectives. The weather in South Africa seems to be reasonably well-behaved at present; dam levels across the... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscriber, As another calendar year draws to a close, it is my pleasure to share a few truck-related notes that have recently crossed my desk. In this issue of the newsletter, you’ll find information about ongoing work to quantify truck loads on infrastructure and the challenge of accommodating trucks in urban areas. Truck loads on infrastructure For those of you planning to attend the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Washington DC next month, consider attending Workshop 1086: Employing Weigh-in-Motion Data to Design, Rate, Manage, and Preserve Our Nation’s Bridge Structures. This workshop brings together... Read More

Dear friends of the IFRTT, We are now less than one year away from the HVTT16 in Qingdao. I am painfully aware that too little information has been communicated so far, but there is hope! Now the promotion film has been updated and uploaded to Youtube: https://youtu.be/3r4kH1pBvEU Have a look at it!! You will see a very dynamic country with regards to road transport and logistics. The promotion film may look like exaggerated advertising, but I can testify that it well reflects the reality in China. Please visit YouTube and share the video with your respective friend groups and please... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscribers, This newsletter is about a stormy autumn, but also contains information on the submission of papers for the HVTT16, 12-15 October 2020 in Qingdao, China (see below). John de Pont (HVTT16 Scientific chair) will inform you about the paper submission process. In the November Newsletter Mats Harborn (IFRTT Vice President Asia) will give more news on the HVTT16 in China. But first: a stormy autumn. Despite the fall in nitrogen emissions, about three-quarters of the Dutch nature reserve still receives too much nitrogen than is permitted under European legislation. This makes biodiversity poor. The highest general administrative... Read More

Step-by-step Hi everybody, Spring has arrived in Buenos Aires, and I love it! Lots of news to share with you in these past months in around South America. A mixed bag, as usual, but never a dull moment around here. Especially that most countries are undergoing presidential elections, some are doing financially better than others… it is not for the faint hearted. Starting from Argentina, the bitrain or B-double went from the bad hag that was too big/too dangerous to “best thing that could ever happen in road transportation”. From newspapers to tweets, authorities and associations were praising the higher... Read More

Dear IFRTT colleagues, I have two matters on which to report this month. Update on Australia’s Heavy Vehicle National Law Review I introduced the Heavy Vehicle National Law Review to the Forum in the November newsletter. The part of the review most interesting to me is easy access to suitable routes. This is because the ease with which road access is determined for restricted access vehicles will strongly influence the growth of the Performance Based Standards (PBS) fleet and, hence, the productivity and safety of road freight transport. The National Transport Commission (NTC) held an industry consultation workshop on Friday... Read More

Dear IFRTT Subscribers, As the new Vice-President Europe, please allow me to briefly introduce myself: I am a Senior Researcher in the Automotive Research Group at HAN University of Applied Sciences in Arnhem, the Netherlands. In the past 10 years, I have worked on numerous research projects on both national and international levels, in the fields of vehicle dynamics and control, related mainly to Heavy Goods Vehicles and driver support. In this issue of the newsletter you will find information about the evolving implementation of European Modular System (EMS) vehicles in Europe. High Capacity Vehicles in the form of EMS... Read More

Dear friends of the IFRTT As most of you are aware of by now the next HVTT16 will be held in China, organized by the Road Institute of Highways (RIOH), a policy institute under the Ministry of Transports (MOT). This event will be very meaningful as the impact of road transport on society is probably larger in China than anywhere else in the world (with the possible exception of India). If this symposium can contribute to China taking further steps in introducing efficient road transport solutions it will have global impact. The IFRTT President Loes Aarts and IFRTT Board Member... Read More