bird's eye view by the hawk Commercial Motor takes road
Page 28
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
haulage very seriously. However, once a week our, quirky correspondent, the ti,iwk, steps off his perch to take a humorous look at the industry to keep us all sane. If you have any off-beat yarns that illustrate the stranger, or sillier, side of the business, he'd like to hear from you. As a softhearted old bird, he's also happy to publicise charitable works— and is always interested in events for the vintage vehicles he drove as a fledgling. Drop the Hawk a line at Commercial Motor, Bird's Eye View. Rm H203, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, or fax him on 0181 652 8969.
Clearing the air
hat can all those vdu des gathered by the Peace Pagoda in London's Battersea Park have in common? No they're not all Buddhists. The answer is clean fuel. Last month the Energy Saving Trust organised this event, bringing together more than 50 clean fuel vehicles which included family cars, waste disposal trucks, vans, articulated lorries, buses, police cars and ambulances.
It was timed to coincide with the preview day of the London Motor Show. Dr Eoin Lees, the chief executive of the trust spoke about the problems of traffic pollution and global warming emissions facing the UK. He urged "The vital elements are in place to
411? make way for a pollution
purge of UK traffic: the technology is there; the need is there; the incentive is there; the Powershift programme is there; and today, as you can see, the vehicles are already here."
Minister of Transport Gavin Strang was also present and he announced that, through the Powershift funding Parmership initiative, the contract for 10 natural gas and two liquid petroleum gas ERF artics had been secured on behalf of Safeway.
The beginnings of a bright, clean future, for road transport in the UK? Fingers crossed.