Co-ordinating Local Regulations for the Licensing of Passenger Vehicles.
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
. _
Licensing of Passenger Vehicles.
. _ THOUSANDS of owners of buses and coaches throughout the country are watching with In terest—some even with a certain amount of trepidation—the progress of events in connection with the recent licensing restrictions embodied in the Corporation Bill drawn up by the Stoke-onTrent Watch Committee.
The matter has not yet received the measure of attention that it deserves from the various associations representing bus owners. Very big issues may arise from small beginnings, and where the licensing of passenger vehicles is brought into question, it is essential that any restrictions. should be analysed most carefully. Mufricipal authorities are bodies very closely interconnected. They watch each other's actions most jealously. If one town takes a lead in 'introducing some new clause inits.lieensing regulations, the others often endeavour to go one better. • We do. not mean to imply that the by-laws made are necessarily wrong. Many have been carefully drawn up with a view to ensuring the safely of the public, but not all the licensing authorities enjoy the services of engineers who are qualified to lay down hard-and-fast rules regarding motor traffic, and it is highly dangerous for the futnre of the passenger-carrying trade that Such authorities 'should be given the power to determine the types of vehicle which shall be employed.
Naturally, there are certain cases which must be dealt with on their merits ; for instance, some towns with very narrow and winding streets may be justified in forbidding their use to big buses and coaches; but, in our opinion, it would be vastly preferalle to Teerganize the whole system of licensing, and for the Ministry of Transport to co-ordinate the regulations so that they can be made to apply to the majority of places. V At present the matter is in a . chantic condition. What is permitted in one small town is Often forbidden in another, thus. causing unnecessary hardships to the owners of buses and.coaches.
It is indisputable that many of the passenger vehicles now licensed for public service work are either so old or of such unsuitable designs that they constitute a menace to public' safety, and tend to deter potential passengers from making use of the better facilities afforded by the really sound . fil7 machines; therefore, we cannot altogether disagree with the efforts, of the Stoke-on-Trent Watch Committee to improve the motor, services in use in the county borough. There is no doubt that the committee has gone very fully into the matter, and that, so far as we are able to judge, it has'the interests of the townsfolk at heart. One of the clauses is that no vehicle will be licensed the chassis weight of which is less than 30 cwt. and if it seats less than 18 persons. This, we consider, a somewhat arbitrary decision. There are several . vehicles of British make which are thoroughly reliable and suitable for public service work, and yet have chassis which do not reach the 30-cwt. limit, although it is -.fairly obvious fro ni the other clauses that the intention has been to prohibit the use of certain foreign chassis.
Hardships Inflicted by the Refusal of Bus Licences.
IT IS most regrettable that out of over 200 vehicles already licensed in Stoke-on-Trent some 44 will be affected by the new regulations, as their chassis weight is under that stipulated. This means a very great hardship to many men who have probably invested their all in purchasing a vehicle, possibly by instalments extending over 18 months or more, particularly as the watch committee has issued an ultimatum that in no case will such vehicles have their licences renewed for more than 12 months. We consider that it would have been fairer to'havo extended this period to two years, as this would give the owners a better chance of recouping their expenditure, and so enable them to buy chassis which would meet the requirements. So suddenly were the regulations sprung upon the local Coach Owners' Association that many of the members had already entered into contracts with makers of vehicles for the purchase of new and now unsuitable chassis. If due warning had been given such a situation need never have arisen. The vehicles licensed are being assigned to various routes by the committee, and an example of what appears to be rather sharp practice is -to be noted in the application form for the licence, on which are stated to be the following words :—" I hereby undertake to accept such route or routes as may be assigned to me (whether applied for by me or not) and to run to the time-table agreed upon." If the applicant signs such an undertaking he automatically Waives the right of appeal to the Ministry of Trans. port, and there can be no justification for endeavouring to force him, perhaps unthinkingly, to forego his rights in this manner.
Safety First.
IT IS unfortunate that there has been a considerable increase in the number of traffic accidents which has occurred during the period January to April, 1923, as compared with the figures for the corresponding period last year. The matter has been viewed with much concern by the Commissioner of Police, who recently issued an official warning that, after making due allowance for the increase in the number of vehicles used in the streets, it must be apparent that drivers should have greater regard i for the provisions of the law n respect of dangerous.or negligent driving. The Commissioner has--felt it to be his duty to direct the police to check, by all means in their power, fast and dangerous driving, and it is hoped by him that the warning will be conveyed by employers to, their drivers. We regard the increase to. be ,due 'not so much to any spirit of recklessness on the part of the drivers, as to the chaotic traffic conditions in the Metropolis. Little has yet been done to cope with the large increase in traffic, which now proceeds in a series of spurts between each of the numerous blocks.
• B18 .
Spoiling the Charm of the Countryside.
THE BRITISH are rapidly becoming a nation on wheels, and the number of people using our national highroads, both for private and commercial purposes, may now be counted in millions. This is quite as it should be, and for a relatively small sum the weary worker in the larger towns and cities may enjoy wonderful vistas of the countryside from the conch or bus. Unfortunately, the fact that so many people pass every, spot op our main roads has induced those interested in publicity in the form of hoardings to erect these all over the country, and particularly along those roads which are most frequented. If the advertisements thus displayed were neat and not blatantly conspicuous it would not be so much a matter for remonstrance, but often they are so large and displayed in such glaring and incongruous colours that they form the most striking feature in the landscape, and one of which tho dweller in towns sees quite enough in his native haunts, without having it thrust upon him at a time when he wishes to enjoy only the beauties of nature. The growth of advertising of this kind has been extremely -rapid, and many roads are already badly disfigured. If it continues at the same rate, we shall see advertisements and no country. Malty otherwise beautiful entrances to villages have become eyesores through the unrestricted erection of hoardings and similar devices advertising petrol, tyres, garages, etc. In this connection the Lancashire. County Council has recently made an appeal to garage proprietors to do all they can towards an abatement of the nuisance. The council has a bylaw, by which the erection of hoardings is regulated, but does not wish to resort to prosecutions except as a final and decisive argument. It must not be thought that garage proprietors are by any means the chief culprits: the vendors of patent medicines, and all kinds of other goods, add their quota—and a very large one at that.
The Value of Interchanging the Experiences of Users.
IT HAS always been the practice of The Commercial Motor to publish detailed descriptions of the fleets of vehicles employed on various kinds of haulage work, and, where possible, to include practical figures as to the cost of running and maintenance, daily mileage, etc. There can, be little doubt that information of this kind is of great value' to these engaged in haulage work, and all credit is due to those who are sufficiently broad-minded to give full particulars of their experiences for publication. Whilst we usually find that firms are quite willing to provide us with _information on which to base a descriptive article, it occasionally happens that particulars are withheld on the ground that the publication of any details of their methods would make it harder for the firm concerned to meet the #dmittedly keen competition which exists at the present time. Superficially this may appear to be a sound view, but, looking at the subject more broad-mindedly, we think it will be admitted that nothing but good can accrue to any industry by a free interchange of ideas. This can only be effected through the medium of technical institutions and the semi-technical Press. The idea that every firm should work secretly and in dread of discovery by its neighbours has been tried and found wanting in the engineering world. We now see research work carried on by institutions to which a whole industry subscribes, and experiments carried out in the technical departments of • the larger firms are given commendable publicity. One hopes that a similar beneficial state of affairs will obtain in the haulage industry. If an example be wanted, we cannot do better than quote the paper given by Mr. Gosselin before the I.A.E. last session, in which a complete description of the „practice of Messrs. Viney and Co., Ltd., was given. The publicity afforded by the publication of this paper on the Press, and the comments and criticisms thereon which were given by members of the LA.E., surely outweighed any loss which Messrs. Viney may have sustained through making their Methods generally known.
Infringing the LicensIng Laws.
IN SPITE of the fact that the present system of licensing motor vehicles has been in operation for over two years, a certain amount of confusion still exists regarding the taxation of different types of vehicle, and the way in which a vehicle usually employed in work falling into one category may be rendered liable for the payment of duty in another. . In a recent case the owner of a, taxicab was summoned for using his vehicle, which was licensed as a hackney carriage, for the carrying of trade, goods. The evidence showed that the Passenger was seated beside the driver, and in the body of the vehicle were two large iron pipes, which took up the whole of the seating capacity and weighed half a ton. Thus for the time being the cab was Performing the work of a goods vehicie,..and instead of its normal tax of as a hackney carriage seating not more than six persons, it at-once entered the category of a goods vehicle of a laden weight exceeding one ton but not exceeding two tons and liable to an. annual licence fee of .k21.. It is obvious that the driver of the hackney carriage did not realize that he was infringing the law, and in this case wa.s discharged an payment of costs, but other users of hackney and other vehieles may not be so fortunate in the future. It should not be forgotten, however, that a hackney carriage may be used as a vehicle for the carrying of goods if its licence fee is .greater than that which it would have to pay if it were purely a goods vehicle, and providing that its use in such a, capacity is not restricted by local regulations. In respect of. no vehicle-is it. necessary to pay two licence fees. It may be taken as a safe rule that if it be used for two purposes it must pay the higher duty, which will then cover the work for which the dower fee .would, otherwise, be payable.