Taxi Service in Ernakulam

BETTS BOWER REPORTS TUTT BRYANT INVESTMENT Hunter-based business makes heavy haulage acquisition The Bower's Heavy Haulage fleet. Image: Facebook Betts Bower Haulage Group recently announced the acquisition of Tutt Bryant’s Hunter-based Heavy Lift and Shift division. Betts Bower is a partnership between long-term affiliates Betts Transport and Bower's Heavy Haulage and specialises in general freight and heavy haulage. Heavy Lift and Shift is the cranes, heavy lifting, heavy haulage and specialised transport arm of the Tutt Bryant Group, which also operates equipment sales and general hire. The acquisition involved the equipment located at Muswellbrook. "On the 1 st  October 2018, the third generation of Bower’s Heavy Haulage went to work as usual, but carrying a little extra weight," managing director Daniel Bower says in a statement. "We add to the Hunter Valley heavy haulage history by taking on the Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift and Shift he...

PBS TYRE STANDARDS UP FOR REVIEW   With almost one in five new trucks built in Australia set to be PBS-approved, the Regulator is reviewing the lagging tyre standards Australia's first B-Quad, a unique PBS combination The NHVR has appointed independent road safety expert Dr John de Pont to lead the review of PBS tyre standards and operations. NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says the review will examine the marketplace to identify the best practice approach for the management of tyres within the PBS scheme. "Almost one-in-five new heavy vehicles built in Australia this year will be approved under the PBS scheme," Mr Petroccitto says. "We are committed to a wider review of PBS standards and rules, to ensure PBS remains a world-leading program for innovation and safety design, however a review of tyre standards is a priority. "We will look at the available testing methods utilised by tyre manufacturers and suppliers, considering that these methods can prod...

PINION: THINK BIG ON TRUCKING'S FUTURE The transport ministers of Australia will soon meet to discuss the review of the  Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL); the national law that applies to some of the country. The recent Productivity Commission report,  Shifting the Dial , notes that as a country, Australia’s use of its resources is growing at about half of its historic rate, which is consistent with the inexorable decline in productivity in the transport industry since the early 2000s. This is against a backdrop where the Productivity Commission has continually estimated that only 10-15 per cent of the freight task is contestable between road/rail and the freight task is going to double by 2030. This further highlights that the current legislation is outdated and lacking relevance for the contemporary demands of the economy. A full review of any Act is rare, and this opportunity to review the HVNL must not be missed. It is far too important for the future of the in...

CASCADIA TACKLES TRIPLES Keen to keep the pressure on tests of its new  Cascadia , Freightliner has released this image of a left hand-drive test unit coupled as a fully loaded B-triple at the Australia Automotive Research Centre (AARC) in Anglesea, Victoria. With right-hand drive models due to join the test fleet in the near future, Freightliner insiders say nothing will be left to chance in preparation for the new model’s release early in 2020. Tests are expected to encompass everything from shorthaul suburban delivery work to roadtrains running in remote regions.

PENSKE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN MAN RECALL Certain MAN 6x4 and 8x4 TGS and TGX chassis fitted with a D26 engine and HYD1370 or HY1350 axles are being recalled with noted axle issues. The recall affects more than 1,100 models supplied by from January 1, 2008 to August 2018. The second rear axle prop shaft may fail prematurely on vehicles operating in conditions under high loads, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says. "If the second rear axle prop shaft fails whilst the vehicle is in motion, it may cause property damage or injury to others," the ACCC says. Owners of affected vehicles are being advised to contact their nearest MAN dealer to arrange to have their vehicle's second rear axle prop shaft replaced. The work will be contracted at no charge, regardless of vehicle age or mileage, the ACCC says.

YOUTH TARGETED IN NEW VOLVO SAFETY CAMPAIGN The average age of truck drivers in Australia may be rising but the safety focus is increasingly on youth, with Volvo Trucks Australia’s new effort aimed at improving safety for young people around trucks. The ‘See And Be Seen’ campaign and education program seeks to raise awareness among teenagers and young adults around heavy vehicles on the road and highlight potential dangers. Volvo says two key aspects it aims to emphasise as part of the program are: 90 per cent of all traffic accidents involve human factors, such as lack of attention and misjudgement; and truck drivers have limited visibility close to the cab, and to prevent accidents between heavy vehicles and cyclists, we need to make sure that cyclists see and are seen. Part of the program  includes a 45-minute classroom training session, which covers how and why accidents happen between heavy vehicles and unprotected road users, along with tools to test awareness of...

VOLVO GROUP PROBES EMISSIONS CONTROL COMPONENT Volvo’s global headquarters is investigating issues with an emissions control component on its diesel engines, saying that, against expectations, a part becomes less effective with age. The disclosure follows not long after Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) president Paul Voorheve, fresh to the role after leading the firm’s Australian operation, hailed the importance of all-electric truck demonstrations in California next year, with a view to commercialisation in the region in 2020. Recent scandals involving diesel car engines, known as ‘Dieselgate’, have been credited with advancing the cause of electric vehicle propulsion generally and with lumping carmakers with immense costs in fines and fixes. For Volvo Group, the probe is in its early days and the company indicates preparedness for a significant financial hit, mostly in the northern hemisphere. "The Volvo Group has detected that an emissions control component used...