Today – Monday 18 August 2008 – sees the introduction of tough new prison sentences to crack down on careless UK motorists who continue to flout laws aimed at eliminating the avoidable use of mobile phones and satellite navigation whilst driving.

Manufacturers of satellite navigation systems are being asked to give more help to truck drivers because so many LGVs are becoming stuck after being sent down unsuitable roads.

Sat-nav tackles congested HGV 'rat runs' Digital road routing information from the Ordnance Survey (OS) is being used by sat-nav mapping company Tele Atlas on its map database to help prevent lorries getting stuck down small roads and villages.

Nine out of 10 motorists face higher road tax under changes announced in this week's Budget, it has been claimed.

The TaxPayers' Alliance calculated that 88% of vehicles would be hit with higher duty, while only 9% would leave their owners better off.

‘The following statement is released on 10th December 2007 at 10:15Hrs

Transaction2007 have decided to release the date and time of protest action earlier than scheduled. This is to enable the motorist and public to better prepare themselves for the coming action.

A lorry driver who was led off course by his sat nav got his HGV so tightly wedged in a narrow country lane he had to spend three nights sleeping in his cab before being rescued.

Junk-food bellies, greasy T-shirts and a hairy armful of tattoos probably sum up most people’s image of a typical lorry driver. Trucking is the last bastion of machismo. Only about 1% of truckers are women, a smaller proportion than among airline pilots and firefighters.

The trucking industry is short of drivers and has turned to women to fill the gap. So how does it feel to take on macho man at his own game, asks Jane Mulkerrins

“Being a truck driver is something I’ve always wanted to do, I just never got the opportunity,” says Linda Jackson, one of 15 women that trained as large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers in 2005 as part of a Scottish pilot project.