EASY TALK
FleetWatch has a colourful history of interaction with our readers and advertisers. As part of our on-going attempts to add value to this interaction, we are now open to all communication modes to make it easier for you to communicate with us.
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Thumbs up for truckers |
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As a cyclist who has pedaled South African roads for over 40 years, I have had many hair-raising experiences with motor vehicles, coming close to being killed on a number of occasions. Yet I could probably count on my fingers and toes the number of ugly incidents caused by truckers !
If one takes into consideration the size of a heavy commercial vehicle and the typical width of our normal roads, there is simply no space for a truck to pass a cyclist safely. So one could easily expect that truckers would tend to bully cyclists into leaving the paved road surface and that the number of truck/cyclist accidents would be high. But in my experience this is not so.
In most cases, a trucker gives me at least the minimum sufficient clearance for safety, often scaring oncoming traffic by crossing the centre line marginally. In comparison, car and lcv drivers, as well as those really bad examples, public bus drivers, cause me far more concern.
So, a thumbs up for the truckers of SA, from a cyclist who appreciates their consideration.
Chris Newby-Fraser
Johannesburg
Editor's Comment: What a great accolade for truck drivers who normally only get flak from the public. But just to check it's not only one man who thinks this way, FleetWatch passed the above letter onto another cyclist of note, Des Poulton, for his opinion. Does he agree that truckers are the good guys out there? Here is his reply:
Mutual respect
I
have been on a bike for about thirty years and have watched trucks progress from slow gas guzzlers to aerodynamic fuel efficient speedsters. When in full training, I usually do a minimum or 300km per week. This is usually done from 05h00 onwards so as to avoid the peak hour rush and also so that one can get to work on time.
The general thinking of the professional cyclist is to not be on the road in the afternoon so as to avoid the afternoon pub crawlers who tend to drive under the influence. This is the real danger on the road as they drive far too fast and aggressively and their Dutch courage clouds their judgment and reaction time.
I have personally been a victim of this having ended up on the lap of such a driver who ran me down. He claimed not to have seen me even though my brightly coloured bike and outfit makes me highly visible.
I think cyclists and truckers have something in common in that we are both slow. This has forced us to respect one another and we have therefore developed a courteous attitude towards each other. I have often slip-streamed behind a truck or passed him on a down hill - or him me on an uphill - and when I have turned off, we have waved and greeted each other.
However, the same cannot be said about the motorist who views the cyclist as an obstacle and not a road user. A cyclist is someone who is wasting their time and is thus treated with the same contempt as they do taxis.
So yes, I think truckers are good guys and generally good road users who are more qualified than most to be on the road.
Des Poulton
Johannesburg
Editor's Comment: We urge operators to pass this on to your drivers. It's great for them to know they are appreciated and respected. And to our two letter writers, we thank you for taking the time to praise these guys. I it interesting that while most motorists adopt an arrogant superiority-type attitude towards truck drivers, both cyclists express a fear of motorists with Poulton going so far to state that truck drivers "are more qualified than most to be on the road". Hear Hear!!
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A call to cross-border transporters
As a last ditch attempt, we are contacting
FleetWatch for assistance. We are a cross-border transporter transporting dangerous goods such as explosives, emulsion and explosive accessories through Zimbabwe to Zambia. We, along with most other transporters doing cross-border work, are continually harassed on the Zimbabwean side of the border (Beitbridge and Chirundu) and things seem to be escalating out of control.
We cannot get any assistance from within South Africa, despite having contacted the Crossborder Road Association as well as the Department of Customs and Immigration and lastly, the Ministry of Transport in Cape Town. We seem to have exhausted all avenues here in SA.
As a South African transporter going through Zimbabwe, we are now charged US$186 toll fees to travel on pitiful roads since January 2001; we are charged an "Emission" Tax of R400 per month and now, due to there being no fuel available, we have had to install extra tanks on our vehicles in order to get through Zimbabwe. As if that were not enough extra cost, they are now charging us R1.00 per litre of our own fuel to travel through their country.
What, if anything, are the Zimbabwean transporters paying here in South Africa to transport goods through South Africa? We South Africans are being penalized at every turn while the Zimbabweans get away with paying virtually nothing and our Government/Ministry of Transport is doing nothing!
Are there any other transporters out there in the same situation? Are there any other transporters constantly being harassed and penalized? Are there any other transporters out there who are now sick and tired of this abuse and the fact that our South African Government departments and various associations will do nothing to assist us?
If you are one of these transporters, can we not get together to do something? If you are one of these transporters and are willing to do something, please could you forward us your details so that we can collect them and forward them to our Ministry of Transport and voice our dissatisfaction at the way we are being abused.
Please voice your concern. We cannot do anything alone. We need to join together so that the Authorities out there will at least take some notice. Without transport/transporters, our economy will come to a standstill. We need to get our Government to at least acknowledge what is going on and try do something about it.
To the powers that be at FleetWatch, we would appreciate it if your magazine - as the "voice" of the transporters - could put out the word that we would like all transporters to let us have their support so that we can try get together to do something about this situation.
G. Giannoccaro
Owner/Director
G&H Transport & Repairs cc
Editor's Comment: You are not the only one to have a gripe about this. In fact, many regard the situation of unequitable fees to be totally unfair and irritating. We are therefore publishing your letter as is and urge any transporters who feel the same to contact the writer of the above. FleetWatch would also like to hear from other cross-border operators on this subject. Write to us and we will air your views. For those who want to contact Mr Giannoccaro directly, his details are as follows:
G&H Transport & Repairs cc
P.O. Box 1362
Kempton Park 1610
Tel: (011) 393-6580/1
Fax: (011) 393-6553
E-mail: ghtrpt@icon.co.za
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Plea for assistance from the SAPS
It is well known that certain South African Police Service units have closed down during this year and that members have been transferred to other departments in the South African Police Service.
We are also aware that FleetWatch is involved in the transport business and that most trucking companies were always assisted by the Truck Hijacking Unit in Isando. However, this unit has also been closed down and we are one of the few units still remaining open.
We would like to inform you that our unit is involved in the investigation of container related crimes and we have always assisted the Truck Hijacking Unit in their investigations. We also shared information in order to investigate these crimes properly. It is also well known that organised syndicate groups target transport companies and it is important to share information in order to investigate these crimes properly.
Should anyone discover certain patterns occurring in crime tendencies or relating to missing or
recovered cargo - or have information in regard to these crimes - we would like you to contact us
immediately to assist you in these matters. Our contact telephone numbers are:
If there are enquiries in this regard, please phone any of these officers for assistance.
Captain G.J Coetzee
F/Unit Commander
Transit Theft Investigations Unit
Johannesburg
Kaserne
Editor's Comment: Many thanks for opening up some line of communication between the truckers and the SAPS. This is a lot more than SAPS head-office has done. FleetWatch has tried, on numerous occasions, to get comment and/or some form of explanation from the police regarding the closure of the former Truck Hijacking Unit - with no success. We were told that Commissioner Eloff in Pretoria was the person to speak to but despite phoning and leaving messages on a number of occasions, we have still not been contacted.
We know that the Truck Hijacking Unit has been closed. What we don't know is why it was closed or what is replacing it. What are truckers supposed to do in the event of a hijack? Who are they supposed to contact? We have heard that some members of the former unit have been incorporated into the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit. Does this mean this unit is now responsible for the investigation of truck hijackings? If so, will they operate on a national basis?
We would appreciate it if someone from SAPS head-office will contact FleetWatch so that we can let the truckers know what on earth is going on. The silence is deafening - and totally unacceptable for despite the moratorium on the release of crime statistics, we know that truck hijacking is still rampant out there.
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