Maxaret gets a boost
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• "I would beg all fleet operators to sincerely consider if they can justify not fitting the Maxaret to their vehicles, in the interest of the public and of their drivers and vehicles." This was the plea with which the president of the Institute of Automobile Assessors accompanied the presentation to Dunlop's chairman, Sir Reay Geddes, of the IAA's annual award, which this year goes to the Dunlop Company for its Maxaret IIE anti-locking device. The presentation was made at a dinner in London last Friday.
The president, Mr. Anthony Moore, paid tribute to Dunlop's dedication and persistence in pushing ahead with the development of the Maxaret; service in the cause of road safety was not always easy, popular or profitable, he remarked.
It was revealed on Friday that in its Mk. IIE form the Maxaret is now ready to be marketed nationally. Earlier versions were produced for fleet trials some long time ago, and the new model is a considerable improvement.
Using an electronic sensor, the Maxaret is able to relieve brake-line pressure just before the point of wheel locking, and so prevents skidding and, it is claimed, jack-knifing of attics. A new Dunlop film showed an attic being braked on a wet skid-pan at progressively higher speeds, and every time it stopped safely without jack-knifing; the front brakes locked but the driving wheels of the tractive unit continued turning. Stopping distances on slippery roads are also reduced by the Maxaret.
Mr. Moore was strong in his criticism of jack-knifing lorries and said that when he was on the adjudicating panel for the award, he went round the table to check the combined experience of the adjudicators. 'Without exception we all agreed that jack-knifing is in fact the cause of many serious and multiple pile-ups on our roads and is a particular danger on motorways," he asserted.
He hoped insurance companies would be really tough on their clients in future jack-knifing accidents, and insist on them using the new device.
Sir Reay Geddes echoed this theme when he accepted the award, suggesting that, in the not too distant future, insurance premiums might take account of "this significant safety device."