Aeolus Truck & Driver News

The accelerated maintenance programme to improve critical sections of State Highway 1 (SH1) between Tīrau and Waiouru is now complete.

The SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance programme condensed four seasons of road maintenance into just two, improving some of the most travelled and in-need-of-repair sections of SH1 in Waikato. In total 128 lane kilometres is now rehabilitated or resealed.

“Prior to this project, something of this magnitude has never been attempted on our state highways, especially the block road closures of SH1 that were necessary to deliver intensive road rebuilding in the shortest possible time,” says Transport Minister Chris Bishop.

“The projec...

New 13-litre engines designed for renewable diesel and gas fuel types, including future hydrogen applications, have been announced by Volvo Trucks.

The combustion engine continues to play an important role in Volvo Truck’s driveline strategy and its new engines offer a combination of more power, lower fuel consumption, lower emissions, lower noise and improved drivability.

The latest in-house developed engine platform is Volvo Trucks’ most fuel-efficient engine ever, delivering up to 4% lower fuel consumption versus the engine it is replacing. The new engines will cater for a wide variety of applications and will also meet or exceed the requirements of new legislation such as emi...

It’s not a birthday, but it is a milestone. The May 2026 issue of the New Zealand Truck & Driver sees our odometer tick over to issue number 300.

The inaugural issue was published in March 1999, a time when New Zealand was beginning to recover from the effects of the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.

In 2026 we face another crisis as Middle East conflict spikes fuel costs, with diesel the hardest hit and threatening the strongest inflationary potential.

It’s a very different transport industry in 2026 than it was in 1999 – operating with new technology and under more stringent regulations.

The major topics showcased in our 300th issue confirm that change continues to be...

The activation of average speed safety cameras is gaining pace with three sites in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty set to begin enforcement in coming weeks.

NZTA Waka Kotahi says it expects to activate the new average speed safety cameras on State Highway 2, east of Pōkeno in Waikato, from April 28.

And during May its planned to activate two sets of cameras in the Bay of Plenty: one set on SH5 just south of Rotorua, and one set on SH2 west of Matatā near Whakatāne.

Average speed safety cameras use automated number plate recognition (ANPR) technology and measure how long it takes a vehicle to travel between two fixed camera locations along a road.

When a vehicle passes t...

Scania and Volvo have achieved the top 5-star safety ratings in the latest round of Euro NCAP safety testing released in January.

The L-series Scania featuring a low and forward-mounted cab is typically used for urban refuse collection.

Refuse trucks provide an essential public service, but Euro NCAP says the nature of their role means they present potential hazards to both operators and other road users.

Operating conditions that include frequent stops and starts, passing traffic, and people working near the vehicle pose substantial challenges for vehicle manufacturers in designing and delivering safe vehicles.

These challenges make it even more remarkable that Scani...