In our opinion Garmin have been left behind in the truck market by Snooper and Tom Tom. Inputting all your truck dimensions on the original Garmin Dezl 560LT sounds easy enough but it was a task the unit didn’t seem to be up to, judging by the amount of returns we received back from customers a few days after purchase.

But now it seems Garmin are trying to rectify their problems by bringing out a 7″ screen version with unlimited mapping and traffic info! Ladies and gentleman the Garmin Dezl 760LMT

We’re not too sure whether to be excited about this yet given the previous issues with Garmin. Will it be a case of same routing, bigger screen or have they revamped the whole system. After watching their YouTube promo video, which you can find below, it does have a couple of nice features on there.

If you own an android mobile phone,you are able to tether the two devices together, enabling you to receive weather and petrol price updates. Gimmicky? maybe. It could be quite a handy tool if it’s something you would seriously use but with bearing in mind that it will only work well wherever you have a good 3G signal and may incur roaming charges abroad.

Whilst on the move, the massive 7″ screen seems to split 60/40, showing half the traditional street level view and half a rolling lane guidance view. If we haven’t explained that too well check the video posted towards the end of the page.

Now then, the real question is how is this going to cope against the king of the 7″ screen, Snooper? They currently have 3 seven inch screens in the range, the S6400, S7000 and the new DB8500. With the latter now flexing DAB radio system, FM transmitter as well as TV in its powerful multimedia arsenal, i personally know which i would go for. Its seems it maybe a straight dog fight between the Snooper S6400 Truckmate and and the Dezl 760 LMT.

The Garmin Dezl 760 LMT is being released sometime in quarter 4 priced under £400. So make sure you keep checking the website for news and updates.

Three truckers take a wrong turnaunton’s Greenway Avenue was brought to a standstill last week when not one, not two but THREE HGV‘s became stuck!

The three truckers had driven up the narrow residential street amid hold-ups caused by work to upgrade water mains. The sharp right hand turn at the end of the road prevented them from turning right at the end of the street. Reverse was not an option either due to parked cars creating a rather tricky situation.

So, the police were called in and they took three hours to help the trucks out of their tight spot and on their way.

Unfortunately the red-faced truckers were not available for comment but a local resident moaned;
“There were signs for traffic, but the lorries and other traffic still came down this way.
“It’s obvious that Greenway Avenue isn’t suitable for larger lorries and heavy traffic.
“It was quite an operation for them to reverse out when the police arrived.”

Since the incident, the water company responsible for the water mains upgrades has put additional signage to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

However, if the lead driver had been using one of our dedicated Truck Sat Nav systems, they would have been alerted to the unsuitability of the road. Truck sat nav takes into account your vehicle dimensions and only sends you down roads suitable for HGVs. Find out more here.

As the Snooper S6400 Truckmate and Ventura are about to arrive with us (any day now!) Us good people at the SNW are starting to learn about a few more features of the S6400. Our latest find is that S6400 will include all of Europe as standard!

The Truckmate range from Snooper has always been produced in two separate versions. After all, not every trucker ventures in to Europe. Snooper seem to moving in the same direction as TomTom & Garmin, choosing to include full European mapping as standard on a lot of their units (obviously excluding some models).

It gets the thumbs up from us. A lot of our trucking customers seem to want to upgrade their mapping from UK and Ireland to full European mapping after a while in any case so this may prove a lot more cost effective for first time buyers!

Follow the release of the Snooper S6400 with us on twitter or Facebook by clicking on the according logos in the top of your screen.

That’s all for now folks!

The Snooper S5000 Truckmate Pro offers truck friendly satellite navigation. In this video, we show you how to enter a postcode for navigation;

Source: www.hgvuk.com
May 22, 2012

The Freight Transport Association has voiced disappointment on behalf of its members at the news of the rise in charges to users of the Dartford River Crossing.

Following the announcement from Under Secretary of State for Transport, Mike Penning, who revealed the increases as part of the ‘plans to tackle congestion and to deliver future improvement at the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing’, the association was quick to back its members in saying that it considers additional costs at the tolls to be unacceptable to the freight industry.

The first rise in costs to be implemented will be in October 2012 when the toll charge for a heavy goods vehicle will jump to £5.00 per crossing, a significant increase from the present £3.70, with the second hike planned for 2014, resulting in a cost of £6.00 each way.

Operators who use the popular ‘Dart-Tag’ will not escape the price jump either, seeing that cost rising from £3.20 to £4.33 come October this year.

Malcolm Bingham, FTA Head of Road Network Management Policy said: “We are disappointed, as we feel that the government has not taken any notice of us at all. We had asked them to peg the Dart-Tag fee.

“Any toll increase is damaging to our members, but we welcome the process of bringing in free flow tolling.”

In response to the Department for Transport consultation on the proposals to revise the road user charging regime, FTA had voiced its concern at the planned rises, pointing out that ‘the Dartford crossing is an essential piece of infrastructure, vital to the effectiveness of the logistics industry for whom no efficient alternative route exists. Current levels of congestion – which we believe to a large extent result from the existing charging systems – impose significant costs on the industry and lead to increased emissions.’

FTA members have expressed deep concerns regarding the proposed increase in the charges for good vehicles. Quite predictably the new charges will increase costs for those that use the crossing by an appreciable amount and the current alternative crossing options available to fleet operators are expensive both in time and mileage.

In its consultation response, FTA added: ‘Goods vehicles do not have the flexibility that many motorists have to alter journey times and/or routes and more often than not freight journeys cannot be made in another way.’

FTA members maintain that the charging plazas themselves cause the majority of the congestion at the crossing. According to FTA figures, at present it already costs an estimated £1 per minute per hgv to queue and pay at the Dartford tolls.

It had been hoped that plans to introduce a ‘free flowing system’ would be introduced as opposed to toll increases, and these were welcomed by the association. The technological system (similar to some already being used across Europe and within the UK), was seen as the appropriate way forward to reduce a good deal of administration cost for industry in dealing with tolls, charges and queues at the crossing.

Source: thisiskent.com
Date:     Tuesday May 15th 2012

A NEWLY qualified lorry driver has proven that the haulage business is not just a man’s game after passing her HGV test first time at just 22. Lou Bowden from Ramsgate wowed family and friends after breezing through the exam after just five hours of tuition.

She says her choice of profession is partly inspired by her boyfriend Anthony Elson who made headlines last year after he aced the same exam at just 18.

She said: “I am feeling well pleased with myself. Learning to drive a lorry wasn’t bad as I thought it would be, you just have to be more careful. I found I got used to it quickly.”

The test, which Lou had to go to Essex for, had come in two parts, a “class two” test for rigid vehicles following by an advanced “class one” test for articulated lorries.

Lou said: “I put a bit of pressure on myself to pass first time. During the first test I was nervous but went it came to round to the second part it was worse – I was even more nervous”

Instructor John Dawson from Flair Training in Braintree, said: “It is a unique achievement. The test is in two parts and we do have quite a few women taking the first part, mostly so they can drive a horse box.

“Very few, if any, go on to do their class one.

“Lou was so exceptional in her class two test that it only took a couple of day to prepare her for her class one.”

Lou was working in sales for an energy company when she was made redundant last year.

She said: “Anthony gave me the idea to go for the test and I thought, ‘if he can do it so can I’. I only really decided to do it before Christmas.

“Some people might think I am crazy for doing it but most people I know are proper chuffed for me and think it is really good.

My dad loves the idea and mum still can’t believe I am allowed to drive something so big.”

Crediting Anthony for helping her pass first time, she said: “I am not sure if I would have done so well if it wasn’t him teaching me about lorry driving and helping me prepare for the test. He has been very, very supportive.”

John said: “She is easily the best class one pass we have had so far this year among men and women. As a driver she will be a major asset for any company that hires her. If I could, I would take her on myself, but you have to be driving for three years before you teach.”

Lou is now aiming get her first job which could see her driving lorry not just in the UK but on the continent.

She said: “I can’t wait to get started.”

Sat Nav Warehouse Comment: Great news there. Lou may benefit from what a lot of new HGV drivers are buying now to aid them in their new job and that’s a Lorry Sat Nav such as the Snooper Truckmate or TomTom Pro range of GPS systems.