Suspend the Vehicle A Strange Suggestion._
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WEb e c ttlonintoatc inegv e fort hr a tt the uacsht osuunpxi o rng t swuigl gestion made by the chairman of the Ripon Bench to the effect that magistrates should be given power to suspend the licence of the vehicle itself, whether it be a car, a bus or a lorry. Private-car interests can, without a doubt, find just cause for questioning this kind of meddlesome interference with the liberty of the individual, but, so far as the commercialvehicle industry is concerned, the matter must be considered in a broad sense and from the point of view of business economics.
It is a little difficult to visualize the chaotic state of affairs which might conceivably be Inflicted on the road-transport world if such a scheme were put into operation. Goodsdelivery schedules might have to be altered and passenger-vehicle time-tables revised, so that not only would the employer be inconvenienced, but the public, too. would suffer.
Then, again, the mere suspension of a vehicle would not prevent the offending driver from being placed in charge of another vehicle in the same fleet, although, naturally, the owner might not consider this a wise course to adopt. The idea of penalizing the employer by • demanding the withdrawal of a vital unit from his transport service seems to us to be grossly unfair and unjust.
The vast majority of owners of goods and passenger vehicles' endeavours to instil into drivers the need for a strict observance of the law as it relates to road motors, and we feel sure that no concern would give employment to a driver who consistently committed breaches of the regulations. The possible loss of a situation through disregard of the law or through careless driving resulting in damage being caused to the vehicle is likely to be a more potent factor in checking negligent driving than any system of vehicle suspension.