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Road Tech's Managing Director Derek Beevor, is now a regular contributor to Truck Magazine.
Called 'Byte Back', Derek's monthly column expresses his personal, sometimes controversial, view on issues that affect the Haulage Industry.
To view any of Derek's articles in full, use the links below.
05/01/2004
Lorry Road User Charge: a debacle in the making
Following numerous requests after a series of talks that he gave between August and December last year, Road Tech's Managing Director Derek Beevor has written a paper on the Lorry Road User Charge. Due to be introduced in the United Kingdom during 2006 the charge has, according to Derek, all the hallmarks of a debacle in the making thanks to its complexity and the technology that will be employed to implement it. Please Note that this paper has not appeared in Truck's Byte Back column. .... find out more
15/09/2003
The cost of data
Onboard computers are now becoming very popular, especially with hauliers' customers who want the detailed information and instant updates that these devices can send back to base .... find out more
04/08/2003
German Toll Collect
On the 31st of Aug the German government introduced the motorway toll for goods vehicles over 12 tons. This is just a revenue collection scheme. Last year 1.4 million HGVs over 12 tons paid € 425 million through the Euro Vignette system, this year the new toll of € 0.15 per kilometer will raise the money collected to € 3,500 million. .... find out more
31/07/2003
Where have all the hauliers gone?
For two years now I have been part of a government funded research project called ITeLs which stands for Integrating Transport and e-Commerce in Logistics Supply Chains. A grand name but all it really means is working smarter and increasing transport efficiency. The project is being run by the universities of Cardiff, Leeds and Ulster along with industry representatives such as Tesco and Princes Soft Drinks .... find out more
16/06/2003
Byte Back down under
This month's Byte Back comes to you from Australia where there are lots of things crawling around that could bite me back. This is the land of the giants; huge spiders deadly snakes and the biggest barbecue prawns you have ever seen. Then there are the trucks, now they are big, after 20 years in the UK transport industry I found myself staring at trucks and meekly asking for a go in one .... find out more
30/04/2003
See what you can do... O2
Mobile computing is getting a lot of press lately. The idea is that your drivers will have a small handheld computer instead of a mobile phone. The handheld computer will be able to be used as a normal mobile phone for voice calls but will also be able to connect with your office computer system so that drivers' jobs sheets and PODs can be sent straight to the driver .... find out more
30/04/2003
Partnership (pärtnr-shp) .n - Our Way or The Highway.
I've got a copy of a letter that has been sent by Kemira Growhow, the giant fertiliser and feed company, to all of its UK hauliers. The letter informs the hauliers that the company will be reducing the rates it pays to hauliers by 5% from the first of May.... find out more
17/03/2003
London Congestion Charging
On the first day of the London congestion charging scheme, 20% of those motorists who paid the £5 charge paid over the Internet. A further 10% paid via SMS message... find out more
14/01/2003
Telematics. The big question is: cost of communication?
There is a great deal of confusion in the market regarding on board computers and especially their communications systems so let's try and explain some basics... find out more
14/01/2003
Computer Network's, Are you being given a choice?
Buying a networked computer system nowadays has become simpler in one respect but much harder in another. There are of course two major components that make up your computer system... find out more
21/11/2002
Oh you are from the UK, then that will be double the price please
How much does Microsoft's Office XP professional cost? Well strangely enough it all depends on where you live... find out more
21/11/2002
Factory Gate pricing
The new trend for the transport industry is Factory Gate Pricing. This is a huge change for the transport operators, not so much in the way they work but in who they work for... find out more
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