Firstly, and one thing that appears to be unanimously agreed upon is that additional motorway training for learner/new drivers is a good thing. Under current laws, the first time a new driver will experience the motorway is after they have passed their test – which can cause problems for both the new driver and regular motorway users alike.

You could argue that the law has always been this way and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” – but with UK roads getting ever busier (around 200,000 vehicles recorded per day on the M25 alone), additional learning on motorway driving should prove highly beneficial. (Direct Line also has some further interesting statistics related to this here).

One of the biggest objections to the plans however is that inexperienced learner drivers on busy motorways at peak times could prove a danger, but Mike Penning insists there is no evidence to support this claim. To us the most sensible compromise would be to set restrictions on what times learner drivers can go on the motorway i.e. not during the rush hour period – but the Government has said there are no plans for conditions such as this to exist within the law change.

Looking at discussion on Twitter it seems that the general feeling might be that more training is needed full stop. Such as @thebigman69 who suggested a situation such as Finland’s would be more beneficial – whereby a new driver must pass a test to acquire their permit licence and then complete a further 6 months of driver training by law before they receive their full licence.

The debate on whether the new Government plans is the right type or right amount of training for learner drivers on the motorway will continue for some time. However, it is true to say the new Government plans will give learner drivers the chance to experience motorway driving alongside their tutor or driving instructor, before going it alone once they pass their test. It seems the Government has already decided on the law change and we sincerely hope it increases driver safety for everyone on the roads.

We want to hear your opinion on this subject too. Please post in the comments your thoughts on learner drivers being allowed on the motorway.

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17093564

Supporting charities and good-causes is something we feel very passionate about at Alltruck and through linking our Employee of the Month scheme to charitable donations, we have been able to do this while also recognising the achievements of our staff. You can see the full list of previous winners in the Employee of the Month section of our blog archive.

The Employee of the Month  intiative was initially devised to mark our 21^st year and following it’s success we shall continue the scheme into our 22nd year, with each month’s winner in 2012 receiving £220 to donate to a good cause.

With that in mind, we’re taking this opportunity to look back at some of the donations our winner’s have made in 2011, along with the letters and certificates they have received in response.

Rachel Deacon (February) – Donation made to Beautiful Day Trust

Rachel received the below letter after making her donation to the Beautiful Day Trust

Beautiful Day Trust letter

Ben Fullylove (May) – Donation made to LOROS

Ben won the award for May and received the below certificate following his donation to LOROS.

LOROS certificate

Wayne Nicholson (August) – Donation made to British Red Cross

Wayne split his £210 between Wishes 4 Kids and the British Red Cross following his award, see a letter he received back from the Red Cross below.

British Red Cross letter 

Alex Rees (October) – Donation made to Leicestershire Parents Group of Diabetes UK

Alex received the below thank you letter explaining where his donation would be spent

LPG Diabetes UK letter

Sleaford Workshop Team (Team of the Month October) – Donation made to Wear it Pink

The Sleaford Team made their donation to Wear it Pink to add to the money the wider organisation had raised by “Wearing it Pink”

Wear it Pink certificate

So, to restore some justice to the world, we thought we’d go back through the film archive and create our nominations for the ‘Truck Oscars’ – recognising outstanding achievement by trucks and vehicles in films. The panel have discussed, debated and deliberated and the nominations are in!

Best Picture

Maximum Overdrive – 1986 – Dir. Stephen King

Based on Sephen King’s short story Trucks - Maximum Overdrive is a film about machines coming to life and becoming homicidal (I know, I can’t understand how it didn’t ever get nominated for a real oscar either!). In amongst out of control electric carving knives and bad-mouthed cash machines, the film focusses on a group of people stranded in the Dixie Boy truck stop as a herd of trucks plot their demise. Will the trucks take-over – will the inhabitants of the Dixie Boy find a way to fight back?! They don’t make them like this anymore…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqz2rejJS6M

Duel – 1971 – Dir. Steven Spielberg

A salesman out on the desert highway finds himself relentlessy stalked by a truck for the duration of the film; with suspense, thrills and collisions ensuing. The chilling thing throughout the whole film is that the driver of the truck remains unseen throughout – raising the question for the viewer – who, if anyone, is driving it?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MtAMc4i8OA

Convoy – 1978 – Dir. Sam Peckinpah

An all-time trucker classic inspired by a song of the same name, Convoy follows truck driver ’Rubber Duck’ as he leads a growing fleet of truckers as they attempt to out-run and out-wit crooked cop Sheriff Wallace. A road trip adventure at its finest with plenty of CB Radio banter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5RI30RJIPk&feature=fvst

Smokey and the Bandit – 1977 – dir. Hal Needham

“Bandit” needs to transport 400 cases of Coors beer 1800miles from Texas to Georgia in just 28hours. Cue a rip-roaring game of cat and mouse between Bandit and Sheriff “Smokey Bear”. Trucks and Burt Reynolds have never been so cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH5KNcFRZLQ

Speed – 1994 – dir. Jan De Bont

A wildcard nomination as it’s not strictly a truck that features, but a bus. But we won’t let this detail stand in the way of a worthy nomination. A bus is armed with a bomb that will detonate if the bus drops below 50mph. A simple premise – an outstanding film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk4A1AY10U0

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Best Performance by a  Truck in an Motion Picture

“The Spooky Truck” – Jeepers Creepers – 2001

Before the evil protagnist is revealed to be a big monster and spoils the whole film, “the spooky truck” puts in a show stealing performance as it pursues a terrified brother and sister innocently making their way home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7uiQdfppCA&feature=related

‘Mutts Cutts’ Van – Dumb and Dumber – 1994

Its a rare treat that a comedy performance receives an oscar nomination, and although not a truck – the ‘Mutts Cutts’ van puts in a majestic showing throughout Dumb and Dumber and would have earnt a nomination for the leg lifting scene at the petrol station alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isbAgdfJkFo

Peterbilt 281 Tanker Truck – Duel  – 1971

The only film in our shortlist to receive two nominations in separate categories. To keep the viewer second-guessing throughout the entire film if the truck has a driver or not takes a special performer – so hats off to the Peterbilt for pulling it off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jx-h45TTko&feature=related

Ensemble cast – Die Hard with a Vengeance - 1995

A silent and sinister performance from all 14 tipper trucks as they make their way out of New York with a deficit busting $180 billion dollars worth of gold. A valiant effort from the tippers as they take the acqueduct rather than the bridge – but ultimately, they are no match for Detective John McClane – but then again, no-one is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e8dzxU926s (clip contains strong language)

Harrington Coach – The Italian Job – 1969

Again, not a  truck – but they’ve taken all the seats out  so it qualifies! The coach that Charlie Croker and his band of merry men use to escape in is reposnsible for one of the most iconic scenes in film history. Flying around sharp mountain bends, the coach clings to the road as the gold and passengers in the back fly from side to side spilling champagne as they go. But then the coach spins out of control and hangs perilously on the edge of the cliff. As the future of the coach, passengers and gold hangs in the balance, Croker utters the immortal words in the film’s closing sequence: ”Hang on a minute lads, I’ve got a great idea”. Cinema gold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XeEGJP-Huk

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Best Performance by an Animated Truck

“Packer”  – Bob the Builder

Inspiring a generation of truckers for the future, Packer is part of the team who can always fix it - “Pack me up and watch me go-go” is Packer’s catchphrase and we’ve got nothing but respect for that kind of can-do attitude!

http://www.bobthebuilder.com/uk/meet_packer.asp

“Mack” – Cars

Mack (a Mack Superliner) is the fallable but ultimately loyal companion of Lighting McQueen and puts in an endearing performance in this Pixar smash hit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozh2KiEF4c

“Butch” – Thomas the Tank Engine

While Thomas and the trains take centre stage and all the plaudits, let’s take this moment to recognise the achievement of Butch – the Sodor Heavy Recovery Unit – and all the great work he does in the backgrond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqniiO0XLQc

“The red car and the blue car” – The Milky Way advert

OK, so they aren’t trucks – they’re not even buses or vans. But the red car and the blue car had a race…and what a race it was!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4drNFXd6dw

Tow Mater – Cars 2

Rewarded for his outstanding work in the first film, by being given centre stage in the sequel, Tow Mater delivers a heartwarming performance that will make you laugh and cry in the under-rated follow-up to Cars 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuYGxka4HEs

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And there we have it – our nominations for the Truck Oscars!

So, what do you think? Have we missed any films? Any you don’t agree with? Any additional categories and nominees you’d suggest?

We want to hear from you! Please post your comments below.

So, we’ll be using our blog to follow Sue’s progress in this role throughout her Olympics adventure; getting behind the scenes information and opinions. In this blog Sue gives us the lowdown on her first day of training to be an Olympics Area Manager, which took place on Friday 19th January…

“Day 1 of training was a full day session held at London City Halls. The day started with a video message from none other than Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, welcoming us to the Olympics process. It was great to hear from Boris and it got everyone energised for the day ahead – hopefully we’ll get to meet him in person further down the line!

At this session, we found out what specific area we would be reponsible for during the Games – and my designated zone is Hyde Park, where I’ll be managing a team of about 20 volunteers. I was delighted to find out I’ll be based here because there is going to be lots going on in Hyde Park during the Games including a large screen and loads of entertainment, so it should be a fantastic atmospshere.

We then began to get into some of the more practical details of what will be required of us as Area Managers over the course of the Games such as managing our teams, co-ordinating with the emergency services and so-on. A lot of what we need to do will be presented to us in a info-pack which we will receive in the next couple of weeks – so I’ll be reading that a fair few times between now and the Olympics!!

A big part of our role will be motivating and leading the team of volunteers we will be managing, so a large portion of the day focussed on that. We were lucky enough to hear from Paralympic Gold Medallist Tim Prendergast -  who gave us a really motivational talk on the importnace of perserverance and not giving up under adversity. Building on this, we ended the day by taking part in a number of group activities where we shared ideas on how we could best motivate and get the most from our teams in a number of challenging and unusal scenarios.

Overall the day was fantastic and has made me even more excited than I already was for my role at the Olympics – roll on July!!”

Sue’s next training session is in March – so check back to the blog then to hear more about her Olympic journey. And of course we’ll be following Sue’s progress throughout the summer once the Games begin.

The training session was held by NRFC Community Manager Steve Smith, along with two Nottingham players Rhys Crane and Jonny Baird. Steve, Rhys and Jonny held a 1.5 hour session, which featured a number of drills and exercises to put the Barbarians through their paces with a focus on technique and mastering the basics.

There were tired, but smiling faces after the 90 minute session as the Sherwood Barbarians came to the end of a challenging but memorable morning. Throughout the morning, the Sherwood Barbarians coaches also took the opportunity to share tips with Steve Smith and his team, to take back into their future training sessions.

The day didn’t end there and following the training session, the Barbarians made there way over to Meadow Lane – the home of Nottingham Rugby – where they had something to eat and got the chance to hear from and ask questions of some more of the Nottingham Rugby first team.

A big part of our decision to sponsor both Nottingham Rugby and the Sherwood Barbarians U17s is because we are passionate about getting involved with our local communities, so it is great to know that our sponsorship of both clubs could help make the day happen. Sherwood Barbarians’ Manager Ian Moore summed up the day by saying “All the lads thoroughly enjoyed it – it was an excellent day”.

We have written with pride about the success of our people on this blog in the past; with articles including Brendan winning Apprentice of the Year, Sue’s appointment as an Olympics Ambassador, as well as our Annual Staff Presentation Evening and Employee of the Month scheme.

So, we are delighted that Alltruck has featured as the subject of an Investors in People Case Study and you can read the case study in full here.

Donation made to: Heart Link

Congratulations goes to Chris Stevens who is our final Employee of the Month for 2011, winning the award for December.

It was tough to choose a winner in December with many examples throughout the company of employees going the extra mile to support both customers and colleagues. Chris was one such example and was awarded Employee of the Month as a result of his commitment and dedication across all the Alltruck depots, supporting both colleagues and customers when they needed it most. Well done Chris, who has fully demonstrated what the Alltruck values are all about.

As winner of Employee of the Month, Chris receives £210 to donate to a good cause of his choice and Chris has made his donation to Heart Link, a Leicester-based charity raising money to support children affected by congenital heart disorders.

Steve joined Alltruck in January 2009 and has been a central figure in Alltruck achieving record levels of sales, turnover and profit during that time.

Steve’s position will officially take effect from March 1^st 2012 and we all wish him the best of success in his new role.

As an Area Manager Sue will be responsible for managing a team of volunteers and will form a central part of the behind-the-scenes operation which will help make the Olympics a global success. Sue will receive several days training for her role in the new year followed by a 3 week period on-site in London during the Games.

We’ll be following Sue’s progress throughout her Olympics journey and getting her behind the scenes insight and  thoughts on what it’s like to be at the heart of the action. Make sure you keep checking the blog throughout the course of next year and the Olympic Games as Sue keeps us updated on her experience!

1. Ensure screenwash fluid is present and topped up as this contains an additive to prevent water freezing, this is especially important with the salt and grit that the roads throw up during the winter months.
2. As the temperature starts to regularly drop below zero, you should ensure antifreeze is kept at the correct level.
3. Check the battery terminals are secure and clean as this will help to prevent residue build up which can affect the battery voltage. This is important because the winter months are more demanding on a vehicle’s battery with more power required to start a vehicle in cold weather as well as more additional electronics being used (heaters etc).
4. Ensure the air system – primarily the air tank – is drained regularly to remove condensation from the air system. This can help to prevent freezing and the resulting complications this can cause in the air system.
5. It is important that the vehicle windscreens are free of cracks. Cold outside temperatures combined with heating from within the cab can cause cracks to worsen to the point where they can become potentially unsafe.
6. Ensure an even load spread across the vehicle. This is important at all times of year and can help to avoid skids and slides on the winter roads.
7. Drivers should think about any ‘emergency kit’ they can keep in the cab in preparation for any stoppages or long delays in the winter weather. For example sleeping equipment, winter clothing, food and water.
8. Drivers should include checking the night heater is working properly as part of their daily checks before starting a journey.
9. Check tyres for correct tyre pressures and tread depths. Again, this is an important consideration throughout the year and can help to prevent slips and slides on the winter roads.
10. Ensure your vehicles are working their best with regular service inspections, which are available at our workshop depots throughout the East Midlands. What’s more, we are now offering a FREE winter check at our Leicester , Nottingham and Sleaford depots (available as part of a paid service inspection) when you subscribe to our newsletter.

Please post in the comments if you have any other suggestions or tips to get vehicles and drivers ready for winter, it would be great to hear from you…