The transport bill which brought in plating which meant a lot of lorries with poor braking systems etc were down-rated,which meant less overladen lorries having brake failure.
It has to be Edward Stobart he has made the biggest influence on the industry.
IMO when the old carriers licencing system was replaced by Operators Licencing this had a detrimental effect on the industry as it created a “free for all” the effects of which are still been felt to this day.Plating and testing could still have been brought in to improve vehicle quality but the carrier licence system should have remained.The old system only allowed additional vehicles if there was a clear,and fully customer supported,demand for extra motors on a particular licence,or alternatively,additional licences could be granted to an operator on the surrender of a similar licence by another operator.The money that changed hands was for the “goodwill” of the licence that was being surrendered and not,as is often quoted,for the licence its self.You couldn’t ,in fact, “buy” an “A” or “B” carriers licence.Bewick.
Carlc:
MAT transport were the first ever company to export built up cars. Before that the cars were exported in kits and built up at the destination. They actualy introduced containerisation. The containers were not as we know them now but containers never the less. I bet the dockers hated them!!!
Cliff
I would be interested to know what year MAT were doing built up cars?
Dieseldogsix:
Carlc:
MAT transport were the first ever company to export built up cars. Before that the cars were exported in kits and built up at the destination. They actualy introduced containerisation. The containers were not as we know them now but containers never the less. I bet the dockers hated them!!!
CliffI would be interested to know what year MAT were doing built up cars?
Hi DD6.
Mat were established in 1929 and it was not long after they started that they began containerisation of sorts. The transportation of built up cars began in the early 30s when people like Ford were exporting kit cars to Trafford Park for assembly.
Cliff
Carlc:
Dieseldogsix:
Carlc:
MAT transport were the first ever company to export built up cars. Before that the cars were exported in kits and built up at the destination. They actualy introduced containerisation. The containers were not as we know them now but containers never the less. I bet the dockers hated them!!!
CliffI would be interested to know what year MAT were doing built up cars?
Hi DD6.
Mat were established in 1929 and it was not long after they started that they began containerisation of sorts. The transportation of built up cars began in the early 30s when people like Ford were exporting kit cars to Trafford Park for assembly.
Cliff
Don’t suppose there are any photo’s?
Dieseldogsix:
Carlc:
Dieseldogsix:
Carlc:
MAT transport were the first ever company to export built up cars. Before that the cars were exported in kits and built up at the destination. They actualy introduced containerisation. The containers were not as we know them now but containers never the less. I bet the dockers hated them!!!
CliffI would be interested to know what year MAT were doing built up cars?
Hi DD6.
Mat were established in 1929 and it was not long after they started that they began containerisation of sorts. The transportation of built up cars began in the early 30s when people like Ford were exporting kit cars to Trafford Park for assembly.
CliffDon’t suppose there are any photo’s?
For as long as I can remember I have seen MAT car transporter trains, although this picture was quite recent, taken in 1985.
Some very good and thoughtful answers and it is hard to disagree with any of them. Can I also add the nationalisation of the industry to form BRS and then the de-nationalisation (as it was called then) of BRS into a state-owned giant competing with the private sector. also the widespread introduction of sleeper cabs, the coming of the Motorways, the wholesale closure of thousands miles of railways (already mentioned), and of course the late Lord Stokes as head of British Leyland and all that it came to represent.
Also the Gardner family and the development of the first practical and successful direct injection diesel engine for automotive purposes. The pity was that there development never progressed from their sucess of the 1930s. Had their engines progressed through the decades they would have been a global force such as ■■■■■■■ and Caterpillar.
the mobile phone…sometimes a godsend,sometimes a pain in the a**e but now essential…
remember trying to find a payphone that worked,finding a place to park,making sure you had lots of change and all the relevant scraps of paper with phone numbers scrawled on them,dial the number and get no answer!!
Thanks for all your views and comment’s, Some really interesting stuff coming through.
What about Ro-Ro ferries and TIR Transport enabling Euro Journey’s and beyond.
Q. Who thought up the TIR concept, anyone know ?
Regards
gingerfold:
Also the Gardner family and the development of the first practical and successful direct injection diesel engine for automotive purposes. The pity was that there development never progressed from their sucess of the 1930s. Had their engines progressed through the decades they would have been a global force such as ■■■■■■■ and Caterpillar.
I cannot help but think that the future holds HGVs with electric motors powering each wheel with an efficient diesel engine ticking over powering the generator. There never was or never could be a more fuel efficient engine than the Gardner, and an engine that refuses to overheat. If ever you go to a fair, there they are ticking over like clockwork powering the generators that make the shows work. So who knows in a few short years there designs might be revisited for the road transport industry in the middle part of this century
andyblue:
the mobile phone…sometimes a godsend,sometimes a pain in the a**e but now essential…
remember trying to find a payphone that worked,finding a place to park,making sure you had lots of change and all the relevant scraps of paper with phone numbers scrawled on them,dial the number and get no answer!!
Beats having the bloody mobile thingy though, and that sat-nav-trac system, so the boss knows exactly where you are every minute of the day…sod that…no long tea or dinner breaks…no dodgy nights,…no nipping around home for a fling with the missus, (or her best mate !!! ) not being week-ended in Rome or Paris for a bit of sight-seeing…missing the ferry…jobs hardly worth doing these day…Nope…back to log sheets…no phones, no tracking systems… 
Fergie47:
andyblue:
the mobile phone…sometimes a godsend,sometimes a pain in the a**e but now essential…
remember trying to find a payphone that worked,finding a place to park,making sure you had lots of change and all the relevant scraps of paper with phone numbers scrawled on them,dial the number and get no answer!!Beats having the bloody mobile thingy though, and that sat-nav-trac system, so the boss knows exactly where you are every minute of the day…sod that…no long tea or dinner breaks…no dodgy nights,…no nipping around home for a fling with the missus, (or her best mate !!! ) not being week-ended in Rome or Paris for a bit of sight-seeing…missing the ferry…jobs hardly worth doing these day…Nope…back to log sheets…no phones, no tracking systems…
Without a doubt Fergie & they can shove the new systems where the sun never shines IMO. 
Carl Williams:
gingerfold:
Also the Gardner family and the development of the first practical and successful direct injection diesel engine for automotive purposes. The pity was that there development never progressed from their sucess of the 1930s. Had their engines progressed through the decades they would have been a global force such as ■■■■■■■ and Caterpillar.I cannot help but think that the future holds HGVs with electric motors powering each wheel with an efficient diesel engine ticking over powering the generator. There never was or never could be a more fuel efficient engine than the Gardner, and an engine that refuses to overheat. If ever you go to a fair, there they are ticking over like clockwork powering the generators that make the shows work. So who knows in a few short years there designs might be revisited for the road transport industry in the middle part of this century
How about when transport became logistics, diesel doubled in price at the beginning of the gulf war and accountants advised customers to withhold payment for 90 days ?.JC 55
How about refrigerated trailers.
JFPants:
How about refrigerated trailers.
1974 workshop manual for a petter fridge engine.
eygthene24.com/images/cm_par … er_AB1.pdf
Although they had insulated refrigerated vans on the railways long before this.
Volvo changed Transport, as far as drivers were concerned, when they introduced the Globetrotter cab on the F12 Models circa 1981-2.
Phil
the european union regulations,speccly not aloed work in your own company more that 48 h/week