The Automotive Blog

The Road Haulage Association says in the past few weeks hauliers have had an extra £1,000 a truck slapped on to their annual fuel bill. 

“On 22 April 2009, the Chancellor told us he expected energy prices to come down,” said Kate Gibbs, head of communications for the RHA.  “The opposite happened.”  She says this adds more weight to the RHA’s case to drop the planned two pence a litre duty hike in September.  If it goes ahead, Gibbs says the third rise in nine months will equate to fuel tax rise of 12%. 

The RHA says this will hurt already hard-pressed hauliers.  “The health of the UK road freight industry is key to the recovery of UK plc.  The healthier the industry, the more rapidly the economy will recover.  Surely the Chancellor realises that?”

With fuel prices increasing all the time hauliers should review the aide automotive TP Anti Syph to stop fuel theft.

aide automotive have launched a non-corrodible locking AdBlue caps for commercial vehicles.  The smallest amount of contamination in an AdBlue tank can cost over £2,000 to remedy, plus the AdBlue tank has been mistaken for fuel and attempted theft.  AdBlue is very corrosive and has caused problems with previously available locking caps, but ours are guaranteed to last.

aide automotive’s range of three models fit all major commercial vehicles.  A small cost of £41.50 +VAT now will save operators vast amounts. 

Matthew Burke Sales Director stated “We have seen a steady increase in sales, when operators releaise the exsisting caps and not lockable or get corroded they then look for a better cap.” 

Fleet maintenance is crucial in running a safe, efficient and cost effective transport operation. The penalties for your failure to do so, or your failure to the adherence of your Operator License requirements are severe, and can result in the closure of your business.

Drivers and Operators must have a system in place to be able to report promptly any defects or symptoms of defects that could adversely affect the safe operation of their vehicles.

Safety inspections must include those items covered by the appropriate Department for Transport annual test. They should be pre-planned preferably using a time based programme and must be regularly monitored particularly in the early stages. There must be a system to ensure that unroadworthy vehicles are removed from service. Any remedial work carried out arising from safety inspections must be the subject of a written record.

The above text is extracted from the Transports Friend Website.

aide automotive’s products help operators complete vehicle inspections, BrakeCheck is highly accepted by VOSA for inspection sheet brake testing, other products such as TrailerCheck can test and prep a trailer for inspections or MOT.

Brake Light Check is a low cost easy to install device to check brake lights are operational.

A spate of fuel thefts from cars and lorries has hit North Staffordshire over the past few days.

A quarry in Hurst Road, Biddulph where Two trucks and a Ford Transit van were targeted, Overnight on Saturday between 50 and 60 litres of diesel was stolen from an artic unit parked in Higherland, Newcastle.

The following night the fuel tank of a Fiat Punto in Newcastle had its fuel removed.

Dave Twist, North Staffordshire crime reduction manager, said: “We are warning motorists to be on their guard if they are offered cheap fuel for sale.
“People are obviously buying illegal fuel from the thieves and we are urging anyone offered the fuel to contact us.”
All offences of “bilking” – where offenders drive off from garage forecourts without paying for fuel – and other fuel thefts are investigated.

Mr Twist continued: “We are also concerned that such fuel may damage people’s cars due to the risk of fuel contamination. Fixing such problems could cost thousands.

Fuel theft is not stopping and van and cars users must look to protect fuel, aide automotive offer a couple of products to help protect against fuel theft. Diesel Key protects agaisnt siphoning and mis fuelling from cars and vans, where the Van Syph device stops fuel siphoning from vans.

Matthew Burke stated ” We are selling increasing calls from customers who have been hit by fuel theft, for a little cost of around 40 pounds you can protect your fuel from theives.

aide automotive’s Brake Light Check has featured in the Coach & Bus publication recently.

The BLC is an ideal easy way of checking brake lights are operational, simple to install and cost effective at £34.95 + VAT the BLC is ideal for any vehicle.

Read more by clicking here.

aide automotive have released a web site dedicated to the BrakeCheck decelerometer.
BrakeCheck is ideal for any commercial vehicle operator or repairer to complete the often requested inspection sheet brake test.
BrakeCheck has no connection to the vehicle, simply position the brake tester in the vehicle, arm for test, accelerate to 20KPH and activate a controlled emergency stop. Once the vehicle has come to rest the Peak & Average deceleration is recorded with the extra benefit of a left and right pull measurement. Brake Efficiency is usual word for Peak Deceleration.
VOSA recommend decelerometers for all commercial vehicle inspection sheet brake tests!

Richard Dixon of VOSA – Statement On Inspection Brake Testing

If an operator conducts a decelerometer test on the vehicle during inspections then as a Vehicle Examiner I would be quite happy that an efficiency check of some kind had been conducted.

Gloucestershire Council released a statement on their website highlighting Safe Driving while at work.

There is a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to ensure as far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work. Employers and employees also have a duty to ensure that others are not put at risk by work related driving activities.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations 1999 also apply and require that risk assessment are undertaken for activities with significant risks, and that effective management controls are put in place and implemented.

When considering driving safety there are also a number of road traffic laws to take into account, including the Road Traffic Act.

This document details how managers should manage occupational driving and details staff (driver) responsibilities. It explains the processes to be followed in evaluating the risks associated with driving at work and the control measures that need to be in place to mitigate those risks, which include driver familiarisation and training, driver documentation checking etc.

X-Driven is an ideal tool to prove who is a Safe Driver, simply sitting on your dashboard or attaching to your windscreen the X-Driven is powered by the cigarette lighter or can be fully wired into the vehicle cab. The X-Driven will record and store data for any sudden ‘shock’ movements such as harsh braking, vehicle impacts or excessive acceleration. The X-Driven can also be dismounted and carried to record damage at the rear of the vehicle or general accident information such as loading or delivering damage.

aide automotive ltd promote safe driving through all its own fleet and UK companies.

Reports are increasing of thefts of fuel from vehicles across the UK. Recently the RAC have reported a major increase in fuel theft from cars and light commercial vans.

“There has been a 500% increase in call-outs to fuel thefts from cars throughout Greater London, and nearly every other region of England has seen a rise of more than 50% since January”, the RAC said.

aide automotive ltd has been involved with the fuel theft problem for many years, Matthew Burke founder of aide automotive ltd states ” back in 2001 a coach operator advised me that fuel was stolen weekly. Not having any product to offer the customer I looked at what I could invent to counteract this theft. After discussions with a local engineer, we came up with an anti siphoning device to suit buses. We then found that this fuel theft problem was a common occurrence and hauliers were also finding fuel theft was affecting their business.  Since then aide automotive ltd have introduced a variety of anti siphon devices for trucks, buses, coaches, vans and now cars!

With many commercial anti syphon devices sold in the UK, aide automotive ltd have also seen a requirement for anti siphon devices for cars and vans. With this we are proud to announce a new device for diesel cars and vans. Our latest device will help prevent fuel theft from a diesel car or van and also stop the major problem of misfuelling.

Mis fuelling is reported to take place once every 3 and a half minutes, and with the high cost and inconvenience of a diesel engine being filled with petrol, this device will cut out expensive repair costs and vehicle downtime.

Car fuel theft will increase as long as fuel prices increase, so for a small investment of around £50 reduces, loss and downtime inconvenience.  Protecting a car’s or van’s fuel is a wise move.

aide automotive are pleased to offer a special purchase price for our excellent brake tester BrakeCheck.

Sales of BrakeCheck have grown since 2002 to a massive 8000 plus testers sold, making BrakeCheck the number ONE decelerometer in the UK.

With many bus & coach companies from small to national operators purchasing BrakeCheck to complete an inspection sheet brake test, aide automotive are pleased to offer a special deal for a BrakeCheck when purchased with a printer.

So for June 09 only you can buy a BrakeCheck for just £274.00 (list price (£349.00) when purchased in conjuction with a printer at a list price of £145.00.

To take up on this great offer phone 0115 8456471 and quote promotional code 6BC09.

All prices exclude carriage & VAT.

aide automotive have introduced a new website for the Diesel Key mis fuelling device.

Mis fuelling or using the wrong fuel has become more popular over the last fews years and is easily done. The nozzle of a petrol pump is smaller than a Diesel nozzle, and therefore fits into the fuel tank without resistance. All you need is for something to catch your attention and you have an expensive repair bill on your hands (and sometimes an insurance claim!)

Diesel Key is the only device to help stop car fuel theft, this device will stop siphoning from a diesel car.

Visit aide automotives main site and the mis fuelling site by clicking on the highlited names.