UK’s youngest truck driver

Posted on by Anthony Marriage
Katie Gillard, of Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset, is the UK’s youngest truck driver. Aged at just 19 years old, Katie ploughed through her Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) exams in order to join her dad’s haulage firm.


Whilst girls her age might be working on the shop floor, Katie has taken to the motorway, undaunted by the prospect of commanding a 32 tonne lorry.

Katie said, “It’s quite unusual for a woman to drive a truck but the size doesn’t bother me.” She admitted, “The first time I sat behind the wheel was terrifying but I quickly picked it up.”
The HGV exams have recently lowered the age limit from 21 to 18 as of last year, which Katie quickly capitalised on. Passing first time, she plans to complete her first long distance deliveries later this month.
Her dad, Andrew, commented: “I’m so proud. It just seemed natural for her to join the family firm.”
Shiply wishes Katie and her family the best of luck.

Who let the dogs out?

Posted on by Anthony Marriage
Across the pond in America we have a story that is stranger than most. In Massachusetts, policemen rushed to the scene when James. J. Johnson, 50 yrs old, crashed into the side of a house.

In a brazen attempt to cover up his crime, Johnson claimed that dogs had caused the crash. The dogs were supposedly let loose within his truck, causing him to lose control of the wheel. In what we can only imagine was a very short space of time, police officers concluded that there had in fact never been any dogs to begin with. Police then made the fairly straight forward diagnosis that Johnson was intoxicated.


Clearly Mr Johnson could not have thought of a more ironically incriminating t-shirt than one that reads, “I have a drinking problem”!

He was later charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, marked lanes violation, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and destruction of property.

An electric idea

Posted on by Anthony Marriage
Shiply has posted about hybrid vehicles before, but we are happy to introduce the production of an all new 100% electric delivery van. 


Unveiled by Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., the MT-EV walk-in van is the first commercial vehicle in the world to use Tesla Motor’s batteries. This allows the vehicle to also be the first and only fully featured Walk in Van (WIV) chassis in the industry to be completely electrically powered – no supplementary power is needed whatsoever. 


“Built of lightweight, durable composites that are completely recyclable, the interior of the cab features an automotive-style interior intended to maximize driver comfort and productivity.”


As you can tell from the photo, the van was built to be as aerodynamic as possible, allowing it to push the limits of its journey range. 


On a full charge, the battery pack can supply enough juice for a 100-mile journey, making it more ideal for shorter deliveries within urban areas. The van has a gross vehicle weight rating of 6,350 to 8,845 kg, which is more than capable for most heavy deliveries. As demand for the green transport increases, the technology behind it makes new strides and Shiply hopes to see it long continue.

The sound of delivery

Posted on by admin

Ever wondered what a package hears when being delivered? (Thought not!) Anyway, this is your answer.


A student at the Royal College of Art in London put a dictaphone inside a parcel and sent it off to Helsinki to find out “the sound of delivery”, as we call it.


Enjoy and have a great weekend!


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4sC1nqEz_w?fs=1]

Fuel duty increase condemned

Posted on by admin



In today newspapers including the London Evening Standard, Sunday Sun, Mirror and The Independent as well as online news resources like Green Flag – Shiply has made a comment expressing strong opposition against the most recent fuel duty increase this Friday.


With this increase, the average price of unleaded fuel and diesel will be 115.7p and 118.6p respectively.


As the UK economy is still on the way to recovery, small companies in general and small to medium sized haulage companies in particular are struggling with finding extra work and keeping the costs down.


Our Managing Director Robert Matthams shared his thought: “This is a highly-competitive sector to operate in and one which has been particularly hard hit by the recession. Haulage firms were among the first to feel the pinch two years ago and many of them have found it hard to keep their heads above water, even as things have begun to improve.
“Now there’s the 1p per litre duty rise to hit them once again. The rise seems marginal, but that cost has to be met somewhere. It means higher overheads which could force some of the smaller firms – already teetering on the edge – to reduce staff, cut wages or even close down all together.
“In the last 18 months, the price of fuel has risen by almost 30p. So for a large lorry, the price in that period has increased by £300 a tank. That’s a huge additional overhead.”

Pensioner caught transporting carpet with his mobility scooter

Posted on by Anthony Marriage

A pensioner has made the headlines after making full and improper use of his mobility scooter to courier a carpet in Wincanton, Somerset.
 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tECd-zoBuHM?fs=1]

Hurtling along at 8mph, the elderly daredevil threw caution to the wind to move the hefty carpet roll. Despite this the man in question does appear to be wearing a fluorescent jacket – although that doesn’t stop it being any less dangerous!

The man behind the lens of the now infamous video, Gary McKenna, was a passenger in a car behind. Mr McKenna said: “We waited for him to come past, then we thought it would be funny to video it, because it was quite funny and out of the ordinary.”

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police has stated: “Because mobility scooters are not classed as a ‘motor vehicle’, legislation such as the unsafe carriage of goods or driving without reasonable consideration does not apply.”

White van man stuck by mountainside

Posted on by Anthony Marriage

The sat-nav is an invaluable tool to couriers the world over, helping them find the quickest route to their given destinations. But one white van man has made headlines by following its instructions to a fault. Robert Zeigler, the unfortunate courier, became stuck between a rock and hard place when his navigation system told him the shortest route was via a winding and weather beaten footpath through the Swiss Alps.



Taking the directions as gospel, Robert ascended the mountainside before becoming jammed and unable to turn-back. Out of options, Robert then phoned emergency services, who luckily sent a helicopter to airlift his van out of the sticky situation.


Speaking to the Austrian times, he said, “I was lost and I kept hoping that each little turn would get me back to the main road. In the end it told me to turn around but of course I couldn’t by then.” A local fire service spokesman added, “he claims he didn’t see any footpath signs. But you have to take your hat off to him. He must have been a pretty fair driver to get that far up a glorified goat track.”

Pigeon vs broadband

Posted on by Anthony Marriage
If you’re living in rural England, forget broadband because according to a recent experiment, a pigeon is faster! The speed of broadband in rural areas of England was bested by couriers of the feathered variety in a stunt used to illuminate the lack of true broadband in some parts of the country. At a Yorkshire farm, ten carrier pigeons holding USB keys were released to fly to their destination of Skegness – over 120 miles away. At the same time a 300mb file (around half a film) was downloaded at the farm.

Within an hour and a quarter the pigeon post has already arrived whilst the stuttering download was only at 24%. Tref Davies, the stunt’s organiser, co-founder of business ISP Timico and ISPA board member (Internet Service Providers’ Association), said: “This is the UK. It should be well-connected but around a third of homes still can’t get broadband.”
The government has reportedly committed to a minimum speed of 2Mbps to every UK household. Shiply was actually growing fond of the idea of pigeon carriers!

Daily Mirror Discovers the Benefits of Shiply

Posted on by Anthony Marriage
The Daily Mirror knows a bargain one when it sees one! From the worldly minds of “Cash Queens,” Ruki Sayid and Tricia Phillips, comes their latest advice to save you money….Shiply! 
Yes, the Cash Queens have been won over by Shiply and the savings that can be made in comparison to established couriers and delivery companies.
We’ll let the ladies speak for themselves:
“Making a few quid on the side by flogging your unwanted gear online is a smart move, but sky-high delivery costs can turn buyers off.
It’s crucial to find the cheapest route, which can be a bit of a palaver.
The price difference can be hundreds of pounds between delivery firms and defeats the point of a bargain buy. We hit the road to compare prices on 10 typical large items sold on auction websites to save you the bother.”
You can save hundreds of pounds. So check our table below for how to keep costs down and give you the best chance of pulling in the punters and shifting your clobber.”
 

Where is my nearest post box? Free Tool

Posted on by Anthony Marriage


You have the post in your hand but you have no clue where the nearest post box is. Those red pillars can often seem like they’re deliberately hiding from view or placed off the beaten track!

You would think that the first place to find your nearest post box would be the Royal Mail web site. Although through Royal Mail you can find your nearest post office even create your own personalised stamps, Shiply has discovered this simple tool was missing. Come on, this is 2010!

Through the Freedom of Information Act, some clever people* have indexed all the locations of post boxes across the UK. Using this we have built a neat post box finder tool to help you find the closest post boxes to your location – free.

So whether its a letter to your friend, a card to your nan or a small parcel, simply use the post box finder at http://www.shiply.com/postbox-finder.php. If you need to move something big that just won’t fit – use www.shiply.com to get delivery quotes from over 17,500 customer-rated transport companies.


*API data courtesy Matthew Somerville.