Page 17 - issue-102

News
Picture courtesy of of the Port of of Felixstowe
Hauliers fear wasted time at borders after Brexit deal
Truck firms are worried that now the UK has officially left the the EU there
will be increased waiting times at borders and more wasted time spent in in in admin in in in preparation
to to cross borders according to to a a study by the Haulage Exchange The company asked employees from 32 UK-based haulage firms for their insights on how Brexit has affected them and will affect affect their business in in the the future When asked whether Brexit had so far had a a a a positive or negative impact on them 94% said negative Three-quarters (75%) of UK haulage companies stated that increased waiting time at at the the border would impact their business the most two-thirds (66%) said increased time spent in in in admin in in in preparation
to cross the border and half (50%) of companies said they would be impacted by higher tariffs imposed on goods the most Sam Wilkinson chief revenue officer at the Transport Exchange Group said: “With the Brexit transition period over our focus is to ensure users of our market-leading Freight Exchange platforms Courier Exchange and Haulage Exchange can continue to to carry goods to to and from the EU without disruption “According to our survey delays at ports and paperwork are front
of mind for carriers “To ensure they can be prepared
and avoid delays we are working with industry experts to provide educational content that will be signposted directly from within our platform ”
The survey also revealed that hauliers are facing varying impacts due to the Brexit transition with 15% saying they have seen an an increase in in demand and employment opportunities have also been created with 9% increasing taking on more staff However 21% said they had lost business due to the impact of Brexit and 15% said they were having to make some people redundant ■
MAN
BEEFS UP PRESCENCE IN CENTRAL ENGLAND
MAN
Truck & Bus UK has acquired five dealerships in central England as part of its purchase of the HRVS Group The sites are at Ripley Stoke-on-Trent Sheffield Scunthorpe and Sleaford alongside a a workshop in Burton upon Trent Thomas Hemmerich CEO of MAN
Truck & Bus UK said: “The acquisition will strengthen our wholly-owned branch network which following the HRVS purchase now numbers 24 vehicle service and sales locations “We’re very excited to be adding these five new locations to our branch network We’re also pleased to be welcoming new and highly- experienced colleagues to the MAN
family This acquisition is of major importance to our business as it both strengthens our network footprint and further ensures our presence in several key strategic locations ”
Multi-site MAN
dealer HRVS Group through its five dealership locations – covering Yorkshire Derbyshire Staffordshire and Lincolnshire – has supported MAN
customers with vehicle sales and service for more than 17 years Before becoming a a MAN
franchised agent the company supported longstanding ERF customers Thomas added: “We’re keen to to integrate HRVS into the MAN
Truck & Bus UK team as as soon as as possible starting with the the transfer of the the HRVS HRVS employees HRVS HRVS will continue to operate as usual for now The only difference is is that the business is is now owned by MAN
Truck & Bus UK ”
■
Cameras catch 10 000 tailgaters in two weeks
New cameras aimed at at catching drivers tailgating have identified some 10 000 vehicles committing the the offence in the the first two weeks
of trials Tailgating driving too closely
to to another vehicle is a a a factor in around one in eight casualties
on England’s motorways and and major A roads Highways England and police have joined forces to tackle the offence with motorists
caught tailgating to be sent letters advising them they were too close to to another vehicle and highlighting the dangers of not leaving safe braking distances Highways England’s head of road safety Jeremy Philips said: “These new cameras have sadly highlighted just how many people are driving too close on our roads “We understand that most tailgating is unintentional by drivers who are are simply unaware they are dangerously invading someone else’s space But not leaving enough space between you and the vehicle in front
can be very frightening and intimidating – it could also prove fatal ”
More than 130 people killed
or seriously injured in in in incidents involving people driving too close in 2018 ■
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