90% of Van Drivers Admit to Mobile Phone Use at the Wheel Volkswagen commercial vehicles recently carried out a study about the use of mobile phones while driving, and an alarming 9 out of 10 van drivers confess that they do use their mobile behind the wheel. This comes less than 12 months after laws surrounding mobile phones and cars were made tougher. Published: 20 February 2023
Fuel Duty Cut Must Be Maintained By Government With the Spring 2023 budget looming, Logistics UK has raised concerns to the government and provided recommendations to ensure fuel duty cuts are maintained. This comes on the back of the publication from the Office of Budgetary Responsibility that was released with the autumn statement. The report on Fiscal Responsibility suggested that there could be a 23% increase in fuel duty in spring 2023. Published: 12 February 2023
Truck Stop Quality Must Improve Immediately, Says Roads Minister In an exclusive interview with roadway magazine, the Roads Minister, Richard Holden MP, has spoken about his disgust at the state of UK truck stops and how drivers are treated at the facilities. It has not been that long since the Department for Transport announced a match funding scheme designed to ensure that operators of truck stops and service stations could quickly remedy the problems seen at facilities by van drivers. The match funding for each operator can be up to £315,000 and is part of a 32.5 million fund that the government has put aside. One of the key hopes is that there will be fast upgrades to shower and toilet facilities as well as other amenities. Published: 10 February 2023
Top 10 Speeding Hotspots Uncovered by Britain's Police Freedom of Information requests have become the new way of finding out pertinent information from police forces about driving habits in the UK. A recent data haul which took into account speeding tickets issued between January 2021 and 2023, has revealed that West Yorkshire is Britain's speeding hotspot. Published: 10 February 2023
August 29 Sees London's Ultra-Low Emission Zone Covering All Boroughs The anticipated expansion of the ULEZ in London has been confirmed as taking place on the 29th of August, 2023. According to the office of the mayor, the expansion should reduce NOx emissions in outer London created by vans and cars by 10%. PM emissions are set to be cut by 16% across the boroughs because of the expansion. Published: 20 January 2023
Catalytic Converter Theft Continues with Vans Targeted as Often as Cars A catalytic converter is a vital part of your exhaust system that helps to ensure your car or van is not producing harmful emissions. The reason they are so popular with thieves is that they contain precious metals. In particular catalytic converters can contain palladium, platinum, and rhodium, and the street value of all of these precious metals has risen dramatically over the last few years. Published: 20 January 2023
1 in 3 Roads Across England Need Repairs Recent data released by the Department of transport shows that nearly 1/3 of all B and C roads located in England are in need of repair and maintenance. The information comes after an analysis by the AA and showcases exactly how poorly some of the roads are being kept. Published: 13 December 2022
Electric Van Usage Criticised - Cited as “Overcharged and Underworked” The usage of electric vans has been something of a controversial topic in many industries for a whole, but recent data from Michelin Connected Fleet suggests that the vehicles, while present and used in fleets, aren’t receiving the proper support and care necessary for success. Published: 13 December 2022
Production anniversary in Düsseldorf: 5,000,000 vans with the three-pointed star The Mercedes-Benz plant in Düsseldorf celebrated its 60th anniversary in April this year, and with that the next milestone on 5th October: the production of the 5 millionth van. As a van plant of the first hour, the 'Bremer' and the 'Düsseldorfer' rolled off the production line here as early as 1965. The 5 millionth van is an eSprinter, which has been produced in Düsseldorf since the end of 2019. Published: 14 November 2022