A Timely Warning to the Minister of Transport and to
Page 57
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
those who are in a Position to Criticize the Proposed Regulations—
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP!
TIT:RING the war, when there was so much uncer tainty as to what was going to happen, some wag remarked that the people of this country were suffering from " rumourtism." If he were allowed to survive and is with us to-day he might well make the same remark with regard to the future of commercial motoring. The air is full of rumours as to the regulations which are to be made by the Minister of Transport for the purpose of filling in the gaps in the Road Traffie . Act. A word here, a question there, a discussion overheard when those "in the know" have met together, statements made to the Press as to the matters considered by the Committee at the Ministry, and, above all, speeches made by the Minister himself, have set on foot a host of rumours, and doubts as to whether all will be well when the regulations which are now in the making come into force. It may not be out of place to submit a few comments and suggestions for the consideration of the Minister and of the representatives of the motoring and other organizations who are assisting him to frame the new regulations.
A Plea for Simplicity.
All regulations should be so worded that they can be understood by anyone of ordinary intelligence, instead of being wrapped up in phraseology which requires the lawyer and the engineer to explain their meaning. Examples of regulations which are almost impossible to understand are to be found in those parts of the 1927 Heavy Motor Car Amendment Order, which deal with overhang and other technical points. But if it be unavoidable that regulations of a constructional nature should be complicated, it is essential that• those which deal with the user of vehicles should be so framed that they can be understood and remembered by evetv driver without the need for reference to the regulations themselves or to complicated tables of weights and measures. Take for example:— Trailer Weights.
Rumour alleges that the laden weight of a trailer drawn by a heavy motorcar must not be greater than the laden weight of the heavy motorcar itself, whilst if the trailer be drawn by a tractor the laden weight of the trailer may be twice that of the tractor. How are such regulations to be carried out unless the drivers be supplied with machines capable of weighing each article which is added to the load? Consider the position of the manufacturer of trailers who advertises his goods. If the rumour be true it will not be safe for him to advertise a trailer as a 2-ton, a 4-ton, or a a-ton trailer, without making his advertisement look• like a legal document with its "provided always," "subject to the provisions of Article X," "except as hereinafter provided," "without prejudice," and other similar qualifications for a lunatic asylum.
Many who read the recent statement of the Minister that all heavy motor vehicles would be required to have pneumatic tyres thought either that he meant rubber tyres, or that he had been incorrectly reported, but apparently he not only said but meant pneumatic tyres. Is the present a suitable time for enforcing so radical a change instead of allowing it to take place gradually
as a result of lower taxation and increased maximum speeds? Is the present a suitable time for increasing the capital expenditure of manufacturers of commerciel motors, which must follow such a regulation?, Has it yet been proved that under all conditions under which heavy motor vehicles are properly used it is practical to equip them with pneumatic tyres? Has the Minister considered the effect on the export trade of an order which will prevent the manufacture of solid-tyred vehicles except for export?
Articulated Six-wheelers.
Except for a few stray references which make the position only more complicated than it would otherwise be, the Road Traffic Act is silent with regard to the position of articulated six-wheelers, and does not even contain a definition of them. How will they be dealt with in the regulations? Will they be treated as they should be—indeed, as they must be—as a special class of vehicle for which suitable regulations are made, or will they be left to fend for themselves among the mass of regulations which apply to motorcars, heavy motorcars and locomotives, leaving manufacturers, users, and their advisers to guess as to which of the regulations apply to them? The articulated -six-wheeler must no longer be treated as a hybrid,
• bat must be given the fullest recognition as a legalized and very useful unit. It is to be hoped that those who are framing the regulations will take the opportunity for inspecting the various types of articulated six-wheeler and for satisfying themselves that they are adequately and properly treated by the regulations.
Enforcing the Regulations.
No law should be made which cannot be enforced, or which' in practice will ,not be enforced. The speed limit for private cars failed because, in practice, it could not be enforced except in occasional cases. It is said that the regulations will require the use in some cases of " unsplinterable " glass. If that should be so, let the Committee consider a few questions. What is " unsplinterabIe " glass? How will a constable test whether a particular windscreen is made of such glass? Will he be allowed to "heave a brick" at it? If the brick be broken Who will pay for it?
Let a word of warning be added for the benefit of the xepr&entatives of the motoring interests. If they be not satisfied that a regulation as worded is a proper and reasonable regulation let them not pass it because they are assured by the Minister that the regulation will be applied or construed "in a reasonable manner." Let them' remember that it will not be the Minister who will .be called upon to apply or to construe the regulations. The former will be done by the police, over whom the Minister does not profess to exercise any jurisdiction, whilst the latter will be done by the courts, which will be guided by the actaal wording of the regulations, and not by what may have been meant or said. The old saying that "what the soldier said is not evidence" is still true, and is equally applicable to what the Minister said. It will not be a question of what he said, but of what he will have signed when he puts the regulations into operation.