Alistair Vallance reports from Glasgow's Moat House Hotel, the venue of a memorable morning.

Her Royal Highness visited the breakfast ceremony primarily in her role as patron of Transaid, the road haulage industry charity. However the Princess also met individual category sponsors and Young Engineer of the Year finalists accompanied by their parents, as well as presenting all 12 Scottish Rewards with a sincere and informal chat to each individual winner.

It was indeed a gala royal occasion in the banqueting suite of Glasgow's Moat House Hotel. Apologising for keeping guests from their 'full Scottish breakfast' the Princess Royal did suggest that it was unusual to speak to so many that early in the morning. She also acknowledged the huge financial support for Transaid generated by the annual Rewards presentation event. As patron of Transaid, the Princess explained the historical development of the charity which really began 25 years ago at the time when Save the Children Fund and Live Aid were heavily involved in relief work in the Sudan.

"Sadly we struggled to transport the necessary aid," she revealed. "We knew exactly where it needed to go, but running the trucks was the problem. I mentioned our frustration to the Institute of Transport and they started to think about supporting distribution for aid agencies. Transaid was born and made its first positive mark in Mozambique, a port which was proving to be a huge bottleneck for aid materials. But we cleared it. Transaid now has the support of companies employing over 150,000 staff and we are putting this support to good use. Money and volunteers are helping the South African Ministry of Health which now has 1,500 people in transport management - a far cry from the days when people were put in charge of running a vehicle who didn't own a car and often couldn't even drive. Transaid has changed all that."

Back on home roads, the Princess Royal acknowledged that trucks keep the UK rolling. "Perhaps we don't shout that loud enough," she ventured. "Distribution of goods is essential to the economy, in any country, and we need to have an industry equal to the task. In Scotland, the Transport News Scottish Rewards show that high standards are being maintained. I hope this event reminds people how much road transport impacts on the economy and how innovative Scottish hauliers are consistently getting their goods delivered. Perhaps it is because many companies are ongoing family businesses, with diesel in their blood."

During breakfast the Princess Royal was introduced to the 12 awards category sponsors, leaving TV sports personality Dougie Donnelly to then conduct the annual Transaid raffle with a brand new Fiat Stilo, donated by both Iveco and Fiat, up for grabs. Winner of the Scottish Rewards draw on the day was IRTE Young Engineer of the Year runner-up Neil Wyllie from Crosshouse, Ayrshire, who joined two other heat winners. In the end it was George Noble of Fraikin who struck lucky as his local representative John Cooper pulled out the winning ball. Iveco vice president Franco Fenoglio produced the keys for the prize car and the returning Princess Royal presented them to the winner.

Her Royal Highness then graciously presented the 12 Scottish Rewards to the individual winners in the company of the appropriate category sponsor.

Following the departure of the Princess Royal, to a spontaneous standing ovation, the 600 guests settled down to hear Alex Salmond MP, leader of the Scottish National Party, suggest a fuel tax rebate solution, while making a political offer to the road haulage industry. Explaining that he is an economist by profession, the Banff and Buchan MP lost no time in warming up to his subject - the current rising tax revenue from fuel. "Back in year 2000 fuel prices were lower than now, but a nationwide protest rocked the government. With the economical impact of fuel prices greater now, it is little wonder the government is anxiously looking for possible protest signs on the horizon, particularly with an election in the offering. The nub of the problem is that 77% of the cost of fuel is taxation and this point must be brought home to bear! Chancellor Gordon Brown is helping bring in £10,000 million in oil revenues when only £4 billion was forecast by the Treasury. Not only that, there has been a commensurate £1 billion increase in VAT income."

"So I have an offer for the road transport industry. I will table an amendment to the finance bill forcing the chancellor to explain why increased fuel tax revenue cannot be diluted to essential users such as road haulage," he pledged. "The concept is based on the 1970 Hooker-Wise amendment to the then chancellor Dennis Healey who ignored the need to up-rate benefits with inflation, so the poor got poorer and the rich richer. The ground breaking 1970 amendment turned the spotlight on this issue and generated results. I would ask in my amendment, that VAT be modulated in tandem with increased revenues to benefit the industry. Admittedly, the amendment won't solve anything overnight, but it will force the chancellor to explain why he's not helping road haulage."

On the subject of roads, Alex Salmond urged the Scottish Executive to look at other ways of financing new projects. "We desperately need new roads, but we must drive down the cost of capital. Bond issues for instance, could halve this cost. This was done 100 years ago, when Glasgow, then second city of the empire, pushed forward with bond backed building plans. We can mobilise capital again, perhaps through some form of institution and the road haulage industry, for whom good roads are vital, should demand this machinery be put in place. Road transport is a lifeline service to the nation. It deserves better roads and their completion is a necessity, not a service to the road haulage industry," he insisted.

There is no doubt that the Transport News Scottish Rewards would never have received the status and prestige it enjoys without continuing substantial support from leading truck manufacturer Iveco and this year senior vice president sales and marketing worldwide, Franco Fenoglio, regaled the breakfast audience with a few thoughts from a truck manufacturing perspective.

"As a company, indeed as an industry, we believe in recognising, honouring and supporting the best. It goes to the very heart of what we do, and it is an inspiration for all of us to be in the company of so many 'winners'", he said. "Winning means leading change, being proactive rather than reactive, and that's probably more true of the road transport industry than almost any other. Commercial vehicles have never played a more important and higher profile role in society than they do today. So much is demanded and expected of them. Not only must they be available to deliver the goods, wherever, whenever and however they are required, they must also play a responsible role in looking after and caring for the world in which we live. We, like all our fellow manufacturers here today, must meet, match and surpass those expectations. Our industry invests in research, development and innovation, in initiatives that push the boundaries further and in doing so, we lead change by driving progress. At Iveco, transport safety, environmental care and productivity on the road are the values guiding everything we do. They are the benchmark by which we measure our contribution to customers and society as a whole. Iveco is a global company offering a full range of vehicles and engines to the most diverse set of customers in more than 100 countries across the world from distribution, passenger transport, fire fighting or construction," revealed Iveco's senior vice president.

"In all countries and at all times, safety heads our list of priorities. Here are some of the safety initiatives, both active and passive, that we in common with all our colleagues throughout the industry, are progressing. With Delphi Corporation and others, we are looking at monitoring driver awareness. Allied to this, there's Lane Change Prevention; an initiative which detects when a truck is about to change lane without the driver first using the indicators. It could be because he's been distracted or is getting tired - so it sounds an alarm and pushes the steering wheel back slightly, warning the driver. Like the rest of the industry, we are looking at pre-crash systems too. This maintains a pre-set safety distance between the vehicle and the one in front, and reacts when a collision becomes possible. And we're looking at the hazards of night and bad weather driving. Night driving is on the increase, after all, you don't get time off in this industry!

And there's more. We're looking at a project to give drivers eyes in the back of their truck - quite literally, by combining TV cameras and radar to detect any obstacles behind the vehicle. We're developing and already offering on our Daily and Stralis product ranges, ESP or stability control, a system to maintain lateral stability when the road surface is poor or the vehicle unstable. But safety systems are only part of the story, because we and all our colleagues throughout the commercial vehicle industry are also working on issues that concern environmental care; developing new fuels, reducing harmful emissions, widening the use of recyclable materials and anticipating, complying with and leading the response to legislation. Already, 20 of today's trucks produce no more tailpipe emissions than one truck of 20 years ago. That's some achievement and within two years, emissions will be a fifth of what they are today because Euro 4 and 5 standards will reduce nitrous oxides by 73%, and particulate emissions by 80%. Also, Iveco aims to minimise total vehicle ownership costs and maximise utilisation, ultimately to reduce costs for the consumer. Our industry IS investing heavily for the future. That is why all of us at Scottish Rewards are winners." enthused Franco Fenoglio.

Before the traditional speech by Transport News editor Alistair Vallance to wind up the morning's proceedings, this year's rewards ceremony incorporated a unique version of a lucky draw courtesy of Alliance & Leicester Commercial Vehicle Finance who provided 10 Christmas hampers each worth £100 for every guest at one lucky table. A&L head of commercial vehicle finance, Willie Paterson, extracted the winning ball labelled '33' and hoots of delight were heard from the table hosted by Glespin based Ramage Distribution. Alistair Vallance then offered a few thoughts on a memorable rewards occasion and drove down memory lane to the first such event in 1994.

"It's been quite a morning, with the presence of The Princess Royal adding considerably to the occasion," he suggested. "I was particularly interested to hear from The Princess Royal how the road transport infrastructure in Africa was being helped tangibly as well as monetarily through our donations. I must say, being a road haulage operator in Malawi or anywhere sub-Sahara, which is all Transaid territory, must be a darned sight easier than being an O-Licence holder in Scotland. Imagine, happily running around on budget price trucks with old Euro 1 and 2 engines, with no traffic congestion, but admittedly not the best road surfaces. Road haulage there will be the undisputed transport system of the future, with no meaningful, local rail freight network for the African 'greens' to get excited about.'

Just think: No working time directive on the horizon, no highly taxed fuel costs, no lorry road user charging. Is it because we live such a sophisticated life that we incur all these politically motivated encumbrances? Or is it because the UK road haulage industry is seen as a soft touch, that we get taxed to the hilt?

It really has been a wonderful start to the second decade of Transport News Scottish Rewards ceremonies, which began here in this very room, ten years ago when our little, 260 strong gathering was linked to the then annual IRTE Show next door in the SECC. On that first occasion, the awards were handed over by a young, but up and coming, Formula One racing driver by the name of David Coulthard. Back to 2004, I would like to thank TN deputy editor Tommy Robertson for all his help in the organising of Scottish Rewards. He and his panel of judges have spent inordinate amounts of time searching out category winners and gathering information on them and of course I would very much like to thank the judges too. This year we had loads of readers votes and company presentations for the judges to work with and I hope that Transport News readers will all be thinking ahead, of suitable nominations for next year's Scottish Rewards breakfast which will again be held in November, although how we are going to top this morning's fabulous Royal event has me worrying already." he revealed.

Guests were then invited to visit the exhibition laid on by our category sponsors in the hotel foyer and on the forecourt of the Moat House.

Transaid