Route-charts Tor Motorbuses.
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The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I read with very great interest your Editorial of the loth instant, on "The Real Cause of Noise from London Motorbuses." It appealed to me, as it must have done to every engineer who read it, and who has any knowledge of the manner in which London motorbuses are driven, in that it touched on a point which must have a very great bearing on the question of noise and maintenance. This point is the custom of drivers in makingno allowance whatever in their speed for the condition of the road over which they are travelling. The result of this is, that the shocks and vibrations set up on the vehicle and rnac.hinery cannot but have a very bad effect on both the body and engine work, for it is generally recognised that these shocks and vibrations increase at a proportion rather higher than the square of the speed.
It is not only this damage to the vehicle that one has to look at, but also the inconvenience of the passenger. Only this week, I was travelling on one of the main motorlaus routes, and we ran on to a very bad piece of road ; but this did not worry our driver in the slightest, for he continued at the same speed, much to the discomfort of myself and other passengers, and doubtless to the damage of the car,
As a railway man, the latter part of your article was no less interesting. An ordinary man can hardly conceive that
a driver is put on a fresh road without any really definite instructions, and this seems particularly strange to one ac, custorned to railway Work, On the line there are, of course, numberless signals arranged to control the running of a train, but, before a driver may take a train over any route, it is necessary for him to learn these, and, as it is called, " know the road." It is not only signals that he has to learn to identify, but, in order that he may be able to take his train economically and successfully, he must be acquainted with the varying gradients of the road, the regulations as to speeds on curves, and any notices as to special slackening for such things as repairs to a bridge, etc. Some of these conditions are of a permanent nature, and therefore have to be known and taken cognisance of on all occasions, whilst others, such as the relaying of the rails, are of a temporary nature, and the attention of drivers is called to these
b the issue " weekly notices " as they are called. These notices contain information of everything of a special character, to which the attention of the driver and others concerned should be called, and they are placed in the hands of all the men that they affect.
Now, Sir, it is something of this sort that you have so admirably put forward in your leader, and it must come as a matter of surprise to most folks that something of this kind has not already been done by the motorbus companies in their own interests. The streets of London change from day to day, and it would be an easy matter, as you suggest, to have a chart of the route hung by the side of the driver, and on it might daily be shown where a portion of the street is up, or, where special circumstances required, special speeds, etc. It seems very strange, if the drivers are sent out, as you state, without definite and detailed instruction, that more accidents do not occur, and I think that the motorbus companies owe you their thanks for having called attention to the matter of a simple and effective remedy.—Yours truly, " A RAILWAY ENCHNEER." [It interests u-3 very much to have this letter in support of our suggestion for closer attention to route instructions, especially as it comes from a railway engineer who has some 5,000 men under his direct charge, and who possesses a good knowledge of motor vehicles as well.—En.]