Newsletters

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

Dear IFRTT Forum subscriber A very successful HVTT12 conference in Stockholm has come and gone, and preparations for HVTT13 in October 2014 in San Luis, Argentina, are well underway.  As you have already been informed, the HVTT12 papers are available on the IFRTT website, www.road-transport-technology.org. In my first IFRTT newsletter in July 2010, I gave an account of the excessive delay our family experienced at the Botswana border post during a road trip to Namibia. In particular, I mentioned the negative impact such delays experienced by heavy vehicles have on regional road transport efficiency.  Since then, there has been some... Read More

Greetings from the South, Daylight saving finished here last weekend which is a clear message that summer has finished.  The way the weather has been this year many locals are wondering whether summer ever started.  The temperatures are still quite mild – low 20s (that’s Celsius for the North American) but it hasn’t been consistently settled or sunny all summer – just like the world economy. A major event that we have had here recently is that on March 25th at 5am the give way rules changed.  Interestingly for us older people they have changed back to being substantially the... Read More