INTRODUCTION In early February 2011, a truck conveying a 14-foot container fell and killed a man at the junction of the New Garage bus stop along Ikorodu Road in Lagos. On the 21st of November 2012, no fewer than three persons were crushed to death when a 40-feet containerized vehicle fell on a Mazda car along Badagry-Seme Expressway. On the […]
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Based on a rough estimate, Nigeria has over 5 million large trucks on the road. It’s no wonder then that we often find ourselves frustrated, stuck behind a tractor-trailer that is blocking our vision or waiting for a semi-truck to make a tight turn. The fact is, nearly 2,000 people were killed in large truck crashes last year and tens of […]
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CARS BESIDE TRUCKS Never, and I mean never, drive beside an eighteen wheeler for long periods of time. It is extremely dangerous. First off the wind turbulence is bad and absolutely can push you off the road or pull you into the truck if you are not watching! Also, if one of those tires does blow it can rip your […]
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OTHER FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT ACCURACY OF WEIGHBRIDGE A credible weight system is essential for any industry using the measurement of weight as a benchmark for sale of a product. Understanding the factors affecting the accuracy of weighbridge systems is therefore considered vital if measurement errors are to be minimized. Whether weight, or volume calculated from a weight measure, is […]
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PROLOGUE: REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE ASSOCIATED WITH WEIGHING SYSTEMS Recently, a concrete making firm decided to overhaul the personnel manning its weighbridge system which had been installed for the purpose of receiving cement delivery, a critical raw material in its production process. The cement delivery to the firm usually comes in 30ton (approximate) bulk cement tankers. The findings they made in the […]
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Today, the White House Website released a Factsheet titled ‘Opportunity For All: Improving the Fuel Efficiency of American Trucks’ outlining President Obama’s plan to improve the fuel efficiency of American trucks through a number of deliberate action steps targeted at bolstering energy security, cutting carbon pollution and spurring manufacturing innovation. Details emanating from the factsheet indicated that Federal standards for […]
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FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN SELECTING THE RIGHT TYRE All tyres must be identical in size for the tyres to properly manage the weight of the trailer. The combined capacity of the tyres must equal or exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of the axle. The combined capacity of all of the tyres should exceed the loaded trailer weight by 20 […]
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11R22.5G……..11R24.5…….12.00R20….385/65R22.5..?? How often do you receive tyre requisitions stating the aforementioned metrics? Has the specification letterings ever appeared to you like some ‘secret technical code’? Vehicle tyres are much more complex now than in years past. In response to the widely diverse requirements of vehicles today, tyres need to conform to certain specifications. These specifications include size, load and speed, […]
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HOW TO OBTAIN BACKLOADS Within the context of Nigeria, several yet untapped opportunities abound for any company interested in finding backloads for empty or partially laden return journeys. Operators can maximise the utilisation of returning vehicles by developing or becoming part of a business partnership that shares knowledge of load and vehicle locations, thus enabling them to be matched. General […]
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REASONS FOR BACKLOADING The unethical drivers’ practices facilitated by the empty or partially loaded space on vehicles as earlier enumerated is one clear reason why haulers should formally embrace backloading. The question is why would you create opportunity for leakages or breaches that can be commercial harnessed for the overall financial benefit of your organisation? Or simply put, why leave […]
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INTRODUCTION A haulage practitioner narrated his ordeal: A truck in his fleet had been dispatched for a delivery of 30ton cargo in Uyo in Akwa-Ibom State three (3) days earlier. That sunny afternoon, while going through the exception report from the Tracking Department, he discovered that the referenced truck had disappeared from the tracker the night before. Other reports confirmed […]
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Retiring young has always been my ambition too. Although some of us are well past what you may call young now…lol! If you nurse that ambition and you are still within age, we can tell you for free that it is quite achievable. Read the following article by Brenton Hayden (Courtesy of Yahoo! Finance) and be inspired! I don’t know […]
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