Answers Needed
Page 3
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'VESTERDAY'S announcement (page 5) that there has been no I apparent abatement in black smoke emission is disturbing. It is difficult to imagine how more could be done to " educate " the minority of irresponsible operators who wilfully and continuously offend in this way—for continuous emission is the only real offence. Operators get all the blame, and now they must face continued Ministry spot checks. But should they shoulder all the blame? A B.S.I. committee has been sitting for over a year now to consider a standard for diesel engines. "The Commercial Motor" can reveal (with no pleasure) that such a standard is not likely to be published until 1964: proposals for smoke emission maxima and type-testing methods are, we understand, awaited from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Last year the then-new president of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers, Mr. Roger Gresham Cooke, M.P., called for an official panel to be set up to investigate every aspect of the problem. Has the I.R.T.E. progressed this excellent idea at all?
In April, 1962, Mr. J. T. Turner (as chairman of the now-defunct National Road Transport Federation) said in an article in this journal that he thought standards were needed both for engines and fuel. This particular aspect of the N.R.T.F.'s work is now carried on by committees of the Road Haulage Association and Traders Road Transport Association. What are they doing about it?
Normally, their research is superb; but, the question having been unanswered, are the oil companies satisfied that their fuel specifications are above reproach?
Some answers to these questions are needed.