Newsletters

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

The regulations for the use of B-doubles in Argentina have finally been officially published!   Hi everybody, I am still jumping up and down of joy –which given the allegedly spring temperatures we are experiencing in Buenos Aires, is not a bad idea. This past Thursday, October 8th, we woke up to the big news. Two regulations, (918/2015 and 2/2015), will regulate the use of bi-trains nationally, their active and passive safety technical features, and their circulation on national roads. I can assure you it was a surprise, since it has been 18 months after the presidential decree (April 2014)... Read More

Greetings IFRTT members, This month’s newsletter comes to you from the deep south.  We are now in the middle of our winter and this year in Auckland it has been unusually cold over the last month or so.  Night-time temperatures have dropped to the low single digits (centigrade) and daytime temperatures have been around 12 degrees.  North American and European members can stop laughing now.  For us this feels cold. The dates for HVTT14 have now been set.  The conference will be held in Rotorua from Tuesday November 15th – Friday November 18th, 2016.  There was some discussion at HVTT13... Read More

Dear all, It is my great pleasure to write this, the first IFRTT Newsletter from Asia. The timing could not be better. I am right now in Sweden for meetings, but just the other day I received a phone message from Mr Feng Feng of ACEA China (The European Automotive Manufacturers’ Association) that the provincial government of Heilongjiang has just approved a pilot project to test long vehicle combinations in that province. In ACEA China we have for many years been working very hard together with the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) to get acceptance for longer, safer and more... Read More

Dear IFRTT subscribers! A Dutch author marked the start of spring by the day that women go out on the street wearing skirts. In Holland we start taking off our clothes as soon as temperatures pass 15 degrees Celsius. Warm days are scarce. He called it ‘rokjesdag’: (short) skirt day. Unfortunately we had a relatively cold month of May with an average temperature of 12 degrees Celsius. From skirts to the European Platooning Truck Challenge is just a small step. Autonomous driving is hot at the moment. Several European countries did already Field Operational Tests on public roads in real-time... Read More

Dear IFRTT Forum subscriber As I’ve been thinking about heavy vehicle road transport issues in South Africa and the African continent that are worth mentioning in this newsletter, all seem to pale in significance compared with current and recent global events, such as the catastrophic earthquake in Nepal, and violent conflicts in the Middle East, Nigeria and elsewhere, and, closer to home, the recent Xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of people caught up in these and other similar situations. On 31 October 2014, regulations were promulgated in South Africa (Govt. Gazette... Read More