Time to Defend Ourselves!
Page 72
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REGARDING the smear campaign against road transport which is being conducted by many prominent people, and the threat of excessive cut-rate competition from the railways, I recently contacted the public relations head office of the Road Haulage Association. I was informed that there is little support for retaliation and that many operators are reluctant to put stickers on their vehicles.
The railways' cut-rate effort does not worry me unduly so long as the railways are going to be made to pay their own way and are not subsidized on their cut rates by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The smear campaign, however, can be serious if it is allowed to get out of hand. All road transport operators owe it to themselves to do something about it.
The idea I have in mind is that the associations connected with road transport should have stickers printed—preferably in red luminous ink, say 7 ft. 6 in. long and 4 ft. wide: these should be stuck on the back rails or bearers of lorry bodies. I have submitted various striking slogans for such use and could think of many more if figures of tax paid on road vzhicle fuel were given ti) me together with the amount of excise duty (previously road fund licence)—and also the proportion of commercial vehicles on the roads as compared with the number of private cars.
It is up to all of us, both collectively and individually to take definite steps to defend ourselves by, first, supporting the "sticker campaign" by offering to purchase these from the R.H.A., by letter to the Association—and if need be by direct donation to a fighting fund. I am prepared to make a start by sending a donation of LIO if this is required.
Ask for sticker labels and when you get them make sure that you use them. Do not delay; the sooner we strike back the better—the threat is greater than many may realize.
I am prepared to accept any offers at my private address and these will be forwarded to my area office in bulk. My private address is " The Haven ", 11 Airedale Road, Airedale, Castleford, Yorks. Dean Bros., F. N. DEAN. Transport Contractors, Castleford, Yorks.
Metric Markings on Instrument Panels .
THOROUGHLY enjoyed Norman H. Tilsley'sfirst-hand I account of an Atkinson tanker trip to Germany and back (The Commercial Mwor, January 4). It seems unfortunate, however, that this article should imply that no British lorry manufacturer fits instrument gauges with metric markings.
In fact, all Atkinson vehicles are now provided with dualmarked instrument panels as standard, and switches are identified by this company's own design of easily recognizable symbols as well as by English wording.
Atkinson Vehicles Ltd., ANDREW SEACOMBE, Preston, Lancs. Public Relations Consultant.