Newsletters

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.... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... 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... Read More

Greetings from the almost wintery south, The weather here has been extraordinarily mild over autumn (fall for the North Americans).  The daytime highs in May have typically been 21-22 degrees C which is 3-4 degrees above the historical average.  Today is officially the start of winter  and it is noticeably cooler with a high of 13. The planning for HVTT14 is progressing well.  We have received a good number of papers across a wide range of topics and I am expecting a lively and interesting conference.  The conference web-site (www.hvttconference.com ) has recently been updated with details on paper submissions... Read More

Dear All, Christmas is approaching fast. Last Saturday 19th, I and my family went back to Sweden for Christmas and New Year celebrations. It has been a very busy year with some very meaningful achievements. From a road transport efficiency point of view, the most rewarding result of the year is that after years of lobbying work, China in 2016 will launch a revised and modernized standard for masses and dimensions of heavy duty commercial vehicles, the so called GB1589. Such a standard has existed for decades, but it is first now that it is written in a truly meaningful... Read More