Truck & Driver UK – August 2019

18

UP FRONT

Summer 2019 Truck & Driver

Contact

Ley it on the line

I was very interested to read your

July issue and the articles on the

British truck industry.

While it was a shame Paccar

closed Foden down, it’s possible

to see why a brand cannot

survive in only a couple of

markets when we live in a global

economy. Plus, a lot has to be

said for the success of Daf in the

last decade, so the decision was

proven to be correct.

The Leyland truck plant is

one of the most efficient in

Europe, building fantastic trucks

right here in the UK. I do think,

however, Daf should make

more of this fact and provide

customers of their trucks with

some optional ‘Leyland’ badging,

along the lines of the old ‘Leyland

DAF’ emblems that were

discontinued some years ago.

I was speaking to a driver

recently who thought his truck

was built in Holland. Maybe

to most people that would not

matter, but I cut my teeth in a

Leyland Roadtrain – there’s a

truck you could do a good story

on! Keep up the good work.

W Wilson, Lancashire

A limited run of ‘Leyland Edition’

trucks could be interesting. You

never know, the truck

manufacturers are always

coming up with ways to celebrate

anniversaries and so on – Dougie

More on medicals

I have just read the letter from Ray Geach (July T&D) regarding the

cost of the HGV medical and the subsequent charges entailed.

I have had the standard medical for many years, the one where

you looked at an eye chart, coughed and were spoken to from the

other side of the room for the hearing test. After I suffered a heart

attack and had a triple by-pass back in ’95, the medical became

more stringent. I had to go to hospital to have it done and it involved

the use of a treadmill. I still passed until an ischaemia [inadequate

blood supply to the heart] was discovered and I lost my licence – or,

more to the point, had it taken away.

I had further surgery (stents were inserted)

and asked for my licence to be reinstated. No,

I had to have another medical – and because

my recovery time was one second over the

target, it was not granted. The rub is that

anyone taking their medical on a normal basis

does not have to go through the rigours that I

had to, despite having undergone all the

medical treatment to put things right.

The medicals I had prior to the heart attack

all came up good, despite it being obvious

that I had a heart condition. The medicals

following the treatment showed, again, that I

was okay but, because I now have to go on

the treadmill, which is quite strenuous, it does

not make it a level playing field. Friends who

lead a similar lifestyle to mine do not have to

undergo such a stringent examination as I do,

even though I have had all the corrective

treatment. This is not sour grapes; it has been

a bone of contention for some years now.

J E Slade

Contribution of the month wins a superb 1:76 modern truck

model from Oxford Diecast that retails at around £18.95. See

the full range of models on the website oxforddiecast.co.uk

Transport

photography

I noticed in the July issue you

have a piece coming up on truck

photographers. I’ve been taking

pics for over 30 years, except a

gap for uni, marriage and kids!

I’ve started my own Facebook

page: facebook.com/richellis

My main spot is the New

Hollies truckstop in Cannock,

and I do various shows and

try and get to local companies

if they have interesting trucks

in the yard. Also, I’m happy to

supply you with a

Shunter of the Month!

Rich Ellis

Yes, we are going to

be running a regular

series on truck

photographers,

starting later this

summer once Convoy

in the Park is out the

way – Dougie

Get in touch! Email us at contact@truck

anddriver.co.uk or keep in touch via our

social media channels

LETTER

OF THE

MONTH

Wins an Oxford die-

cast model truck!

SHUTTERSTOCK