August 22, 2018

DAF searches for oldest truck in the country

Filed under: Automobiles by Orangemaster @ 1:02 pm

Dutch truck manufacturing company DAF, with headquarters in Eindhoven, is currently searching for the oldest DAF truck in the country that is still on the road.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, the company says it receives photos of proud owners and their trucks all the time, which means finding the oldest one shouldn’t be that difficult. DAF claims that their trucks are known for their fuel efficiency, driver comfort, as well as reliability and durability.

Irishman John Tarrent pictured above shared a photo of his classic DAF 2100 from 1984 in use now for 34 years – look how happy he is. People can send in photos or videos on DAF’s Facebook page until the end of November. The general feeling is that a lot of the ‘oldtimers’ (that’s actually what ‘classic vehicles’ are called in Dutch) will be found outside of the Netherlands.

(Link: ed.nl, Photo of Irishman John Tarrent and his DAF by DAF)

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June 21, 2016

Fire truck again too big for station

Filed under: Automobiles,Weird by Orangemaster @ 12:03 pm

In Flevoland in 2013 a fire brigade bought 14 new trucks, five of which didn’t fit in their fire stations.

It has happened again, this time in Almen, Gelderland, but with a tanker, which is five centimeters too high and one metre too long for the fire station, a 40-year-old station that is due to be either replaced or renovated. It’s odd that fire brigades don’t talk to each other about a problem I am sure has happened before more often than the press has reported.

I guess it’s one way to get a new fire house or renovate the current one. Maybe that’s the idea.

(Link: www.blikopnieuws.nl)

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April 8, 2016

Self-driving trucks in first-ever cross-border convoy

Filed under: Automobiles,Dutch first,Technology by Orangemaster @ 9:18 am

Dutch-truck

A small convoy of six self-driving trucks arrived in the Port of Rotterdam this week after an experiment organisers say will “revolutionise future road transport on Europe’s busy highways”. Some of the trucks in this convoy came from as far as Sweden and Southern Germany, and some of you may have even passed them without knowing it.

This ‘truck platooning’ involves two or three trucks that autonomously drive in a convoy, connected by wireless with the leading truck determining route and speed. It it is said to ensure cleaner and more efficient transport. Dutch Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen also explains that self-driving vehicles contribute to road safety because most accidents are caused by human failure.

The trucks drive at a constant speed, maintain the same distance between them by braking at the same time, while standardisation will allow trucks from different companies to ‘talk to each other’.

The Netherlands currently holds the EU presidency and plans to hold an informal summit in a few weeks to discuss changes to regulations needed to “make self-driving transport a reality.”

(Link: phys.org, Photo of Dutch Daf & Flower Trailer by Lewis William Harris – Transport, some rights reserved)

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January 9, 2013

Fire brigades buy trucks that are too big for stations

Filed under: Automobiles,Weird by Orangemaster @ 10:30 am

The fire brigades of the province of Flevoland have purchased 14 new trucks, five of which do not actually fit in the intended fire stations. The vehicles are just too high, and the decision-makers knew that in advance, but still wanted 14 shiny new trucks so the region would all have the same trucks.

The municipality of Noordoostpolder where the five trucks don’t fit has to modify their fire stations, which will cost hundreds of thousands of euro.

Do the decision-makers have friends in the contracting business for the rebuilding of fire stations? Possibly. Couldn’t they have chosen another type of truck? Possibly. Maybe the fire stations are too old-fashioned anyways so what’s the problem? Possibly. Was money saved by buying 14 trucks at once? Possibly. Was the PR on this decision well-spun in the media? Not really.

(Link: www.omroepflevoland.nl)

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