Red faces at AA.
In an out-of-court settlement the AA is to pay the Ordnance Survey £20million for unauthorised copying of OS maps. The OS uses unique stylistic features to identify its mapping - and to track those who make copies. It maintains a small team of copyright experts who keep an eye on maps produced by other publishers - and in the case of the AA they found a variety of maps and atlases based on original OS material.

Centrica, which bought the AA in 1999, has accepted that the AA used OS originals to create its own maps and then used these in its own publications and in those prepared for other publishers. In all, over 300 million copies of over 500 publications were involved. As part of the settlement the AA will now become an OS licensee, allowing it to use OS material in future publications.

Matthew Thompson, Centrica's director of information services, says that the AA had genuinely sought to create its own maps from an independently-derived mapping base. "However, it is clear from our investigations that the AA's processes were not as robust as they should have been," he says - which seems a mastery of understatement from a man who has just lost £20million.

The OS started legal proceedings against the AA in 1996. Now the OS chief executive, Vanessa Lawrence, says: "With this matter now behind us, we're looking forward to working with Centrica in the future."

AA lays down law on charges.
Media criticism of recovery charges appear to have prompted AA Developments Ltd to circulate operators involved in police recovery schemes with "clarification in respect of the legal and contractual position regarding charging mechanisms to be followed". One recovery operator, who does not want to be named, describes it as an attempt to control pricing by AADL, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of British Insurers.

The document criticises the use of administration or processing fees, and of management fees higher than those charged by AADL.

Nervousness about adverse media coverage is shown in the covering letter from AADL which says: "This document provides advice, and your co-operation will greatly assist us in supporting you should you experience difficulties with insurance companies, the general motoring public or members of the media."

An example of recent press reporting concerns a motorist, Vicky Herrington, who called a nearby family-owned garage to recover her accident-damaged Fiesta. When someone from the garage arrived, the police, in Kingston, Surrey, sent them back and waited for a National Rescue agent to do the job. Under the headline "Hit 'n' ruin", the local press reported: "That cosy arrangement cost Vicky a walloping £230, including £36 for parking. And her car's only worth £600!" And in Scotland, a report in the Daily Record last month begins: "Car crash victims are being ripped off by a deal between police and recovery firms." It then details a number of cases where it claims motorists have been over-charged.

AADL's two-page document begins by restating the position on statutory charges, before moving on to additional work. It says:

"If 'truly justifiable' additional work is required at the scene, in order to effect removal, this can be charged for. Charges made for such work must be reasonable and be in accordance with your published scale of charges."

It then goes on to say that "As winching forms a basic function of a recovery vehicle this cannot be classified as a specialist activity and cannot be charged for."

It also warns that management fees may not be added to statutory fees charged on behalf of the police before saying: "It has been noted that some operators have been detailing an 'administration' fee or 'processing' fee on invoices. As with any business activity the costs of administration should be built into the standard labour rate as an overhead. Such items cannot therefore be detailed as a separate item."

It also reminds operators that the clearing of debris associated with accident scenes cannot be charged for, nor can the cost of removing personal belongings from recovered vehicles.

"I think it is fair to say it is seen as another attempt by AADL, ACPO and ABI via the back door to control the pricing structure," says the operator who does not want to be named. "The people involved in police contracts are fully aware of their obligation to act within the statutory fees."

New sliding-axle trailer from Roger Dyson.
Roger Dyson is launching a new range of sliding axle trailers. It has teamed up with Landoll of Marysville, Kansas, the company which invented and patented the concept. Landoll is now manufacturing a European-specification model which Roger Dyson will be selling in the UK.

The first examples have been ordered by Queens Motors in south London and by Cheshire-based Egertons.

The trailers feature Hendrikson axles, a full UK-spec lighting system and one of the first applications of Haldex EBS braking systems.

"Working very closely with European component suppliers allows the trailer to be assembled on the production line at Landoll," says Roger Dyson. "It also gives the operator every confidence that all the serviceable parts are available throughout the UK and Europe from standard outlets."

Examples of the new trailer will be on the Roger Dyson stand at this month's Commercial Vehicle Show.

Dynateck brings world innovations to UK.
A newly launched business formed by Malcolm Lewis and Marie Garrett of Lewis Autos is promising to bring to the UK the best of North America and other overseas recovery equipment.

The new company Dynateck Ltd has been created to take on Lewis Autos' equipment sales operation.

"Lewis Autos continues as a 24 hour recovery operation but all the recovery equipment supplies will be now taken care of by Dynateck," says director Malcolm Lewis.

As sole UK concessionaire for Wreckmaster and AW Direct, Dynateck will enable UK operators to obtain many recovery equipment products in the UK for the first time.

"We are dedicated to looking for new innovative products for the UK recovery industry from any part of the world," says Lewis. "These products will complement the well-recognised range of Dynacyclers and Dynariders together with UK firsts, such as the Slippery Jims."

The new products are all designed to make the recovery job safer and more efficient, says Lewis and will soon be available on the new website www.dynateck.co.uk In addition to the website, Dynateck also welcomes callers to its Elstree store. Contact Dynateck on 0208 953 5555 or email sales@dynateck.co.uk

Top tow truck for top coach fleet.
The Kings Ferry is one of the south-east's premiere coach operators and it runs a tow-truck to match its high-profile fleet. Stewart Brown reports.

There's a long tradition of coach operators doing their own recovery work. Once upon a time they'd use an old coach with just the most basic equipment - but not any more, as award-winning Kent coach operator, The Kings Ferry, can demonstrate.

With a fleet of 68 coaches - half of which are used on London commuter runs - The Kings Ferry decided to invest in a new purpose-built recovery vehicle. As befits a company with a first-class reputation in the coach industry, it spared no expense in specifying the recovery truck it wanted.

"For the majority of breakdowns we expect to be able to send out our fully equipped service vans," says Danny Elford, commercial engineering manager at The Kings Ferry, "but there are times when we need to tow a vehicle back to our base or back to a customer's premises."

When that happens the company's 6x2 Scania T144 swings into action. It's a left-hand-drive model, sourced second-hand from Holland. "We felt that left-hand-drive was safer for the driver getting in and out on the hard shoulder, away from the traffic."

The T144 has an air-conditioned sleeper cab, which proved particularly useful on a recent recovery from Montpellier in France. Being of bonneted design, the cab floor is flat and unobstructed. The engine is Scania's 460bhp 14-litre V8. The truck is fitted with GPS by Minorplanet, and this is a spin-off from the system used on the company's coaches, which gives a frequent update of a vehicle's position. Combined with two-way radio and mobile phones, the company can maintain permanent contact with the vehicle all over Europe.

The Scania was originally a 4x2 tractor unit, and the chassis was lengthened and converted to 6x2 by Chassis Developments. The Jerr-Dan body came from the USA and the whole outfit was assembled in this country by Ceejay Systems.

The key feature of the business end is the underlift, which extends to almost 15ft. "We can safely do a front underlift on any coach," Danny claims. The vehicle is also fitted with a winching facility.

Danny has a clear idea of the work the Scania will do. "We'll only work on a vehicle which is standing on all four wheels at or very close to the side of the road. We won't be lifting vehicles out of ditches - that requires really specialised experience."

Having bought the machine, The Kings Ferry called in IVR to provide training for five of its existing maintenance staff who already had recovery experience using the company's previous tow truck.

"Coach recovery is a specialist job," Danny continues, "you need to know how coaches are built." And he cites as an example the risk that if you try to lift an integral coach in the wrong place the windows could pop out.

The Kings Ferry's location in Kent makes it ideally placed for specialist coach recovery jobs in parts of mainland Europe, with the channel ports only 40 minutes away. "We can send the Scania out through the tunnel, but if it's returning with a coach on the back then it has to use a ferry." Forty feet of coach and thirty feet of truck is more than the Eurotunnel service can handle.

By the very nature of its business, The Kings Ferry has plenty of experience of running vehicles in Europe and is organised not just to plan the best route to reach a stricken vehicle but to sort out paperwork and tolls too.

With Alco aluminium wheels, twin air horns and a red livery the Scania is intended to catch people's attention. "Our hope is that when we're recovering a coach people will see the Scania and not notice what's on the back of it."

There is also a belief that it is important to project an image of quality even in situations - a broken-down coach - which any operator would rather avoid. "We didn't want to use a third party and risk having our coaches being recovered by a truck whose appearance would reflect badly on us."

The Kings Ferry has a modern fleet and high maintenance standards - "prevention rather than cure", says Danny. But when a tow-in is needed, The Kings Ferry provides a complete and quality service that few other coach operators can match.