In this newsletter:
· Pothole fund boosted by £500M
· Haulier advice site location update
· COVID hits EU travel back to 2010 levels briefly
· COVID testing for drivers and rules for leaving / entering England
· Safety Screens for taxis and PHVs
· Insurance in UK not rising because of the Vnuk decision
· E10 petrol on the way by September
· Assessing fitness to drive
· Heavy goods vehicle levy suspension
· Online only CPCs coming to an end soon
Funding to fix equivalent of 10 million potholes allocated to local authorities
Local authorities get £500 million to fix potholes across England.
Councils across England have today (15 February 2021) been allocated their share of £500 million for highways maintenance, with the funding expected to fix the equivalent of 10 million potholes across the country.
It is the second of 5 equal instalments from the £2.5 billion Potholes Fund, providing £500 million a year between 2020/21 and 2024/25, announced by the Chancellor in the 2020 Budget – and is part of wider funding the DfT provides for road maintenance, totalling over £1.1 billion across England in 2021/22.
With the average pothole costing around £50 to fill in, the funding will ensure that the equivalent of 10 million potholes can be rectified, making thousands of local roads both safer and easier to drive and cycle on.
Haulier advice site locations
Find sites where HGV and coach drivers can get free COVID-19 tests and check their documents to transport goods to the EU. 235,000 tests for drivers completed at these sites.
Baldock Services - 24 hours (COVID-19 testing only)
Beaconsfield - 6am to 9.30pm
Birchanger Green - 24 hours
Burtonwood (Merseyside) - 6am to 9.30pm
Cambridge Services 24 hours - (COVID-19 testing only)
Cannock Roadking - No testing
Carlisle Stobart Truck Stop - 4am to 9.30pm
Charnock Richard Services northbound - No testing
Cherwell Valley - 6am to 9.30pm
Clacket Lane eastbound - 24 hours
Cobham Services - 24 hours
Cullompton - 6am to 9.30pm
Doncaster North - 6am to 9.30pm
Donington Park - 6am to 9.30pm
Ferrybridge Services - 6am to 9.30pm
Fleet southbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Formula Services (Ellesmere Port) - No testing
Hartshead Moor (Huddersfield) - 6am to 9.30pm
Heywood Distribution Truck Stop - 6am to 9.30pm
Holyhead Truck Stop - No testing
Hopwood Park - 4am to 9.30pm
Junction 38 Services - No testing
Leicester Forest East northbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Leicester Forest East southbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Lockerbie Truck Stop - No testing
Markham Moor - No testing
Membury eastbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Orwell Crossing Truck Stop - 4am to 9.30pm
Peterborough - 4am to 9.30pm (Busy)
Pont Abraham - No testing
Reading Eastbound - 24 hours
Rothwell Truck Stop - 6am to 9.30pm (Busy)
Rownhams northbound - 24 hours
Rugby Stobart Truck Stop - 24 hours (Busy)
Sandbach northbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Sandbach southbound - 6am to 9.30pm
South Mimms - 24 hours
Stafford northbound - No testing
Strensham northbound - No testing
Strensham southbound - No testing
Sutton Scotney northbound - No testing
Sutton Scotney southbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Tamworth Services - 6am to 9.30pm
The Stockyard Truckstop Rotherham - 6am to 9.30pm, Monday to Friday (7am to 11am and 4pm to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday)
Thurrock Services - 24 hours (Busy)
Truckhaven (Carnforth) - 6am to 9.30pm
Watford Gap northbound - No testing
Watford Gap southbound - 6am to 9.30pm (Busy)
Wetherby Services - 6am to 9.30pm
Woodall northbound - 6am to 9.30pm
Road goods vehicles travelling to Europe: 2020
Number of trips during pandemic dipped below 2010 levels briefly, down approximately 30% on recent numbers. The number of trips is now returning to normal.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing before you travel to England
£500 fine potentially if drivers don’t get proof of a negative test in the three days before entering England.
More details here:
Drivers may also need a test before leaving the UK – more on getting a free test here
Safety Screens for taxis and PHVs
How drivers, vehicle owners and licensing authorities can use safety screens to protect themselves, their workers and passengers from coronavirus.
Actions that drivers, operators and owners of taxis or private hire vehicles (PHVs) can take to protect against coronavirus.
Insurance in UK not rising because of the Vnuk decision
European insurance to rise based on the Vnuk decision, UK not to follow EU, preventing a £50 hike on every motor insurance premium
More here
E10 petrol on the way by September!
During summer 2021, the standard (or ‘Premium’) petrol grade in the UK will become E10.
E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol, which is added to reduce CO2 emissions and help tackle climate change.
E10 petrol is compatible with almost all (95%) petrol-powered vehicles on the road today, including all cars built since 2011.
Assessing fitness to drive
Any questions about your fitness to drive with various conditions including visual health, renal and respiratory issues, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders or drugs/alcohol, follow this link:
Heavy goods vehicle levy suspension
Collection of the levy will be suspended for a further 12 months from 1 August 2021. HGV Levy rates will also remain frozen in 2021 to 2022.
The levy was introduced in 2014 and re-designed in 2019 to better meet the environmental objective of improving air quality. It was suspended for 12 months from first 1 August 2020 to support the haulage sector as it recovers from COVID-19.
he HGV levy is suspended from 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2022 to support the haulage sector and aid pandemic recovery efforts.
Online only CPCs may soon be ending as lockdown restrictions are lifted
Limited time left for getting your training completed online as CPC instruction goes back to classroom face to face training. So far the indications suggest this will be in April.
Fifth Wheel Training has a full week of online courses if you want to jump in before the end of online CPCs - see fifthwheeltraining.co.uk for more details.