More Regulations to Control Noise
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cURTHER regulations to control noise emitted by vehicles were forecast last week in the House of Commons by
Mr. G. R. H. Nuient, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport. They would follow the conclusion of voluntary agreements between the Ministry and manufacturers. The volume of noise would be set at a certain level, with a view to lowering it later.
Mr. Nugent pointed out, however, that the kind of noise was sometimes more significant than its intensity. He agreed that it was not easy to enforce the existing regulations concerning noise, but the problem was slowly being solved. There was already a voluntary agreement covering motorcycles.
Mr. Nugent was replying to a. debate initiated by Mr. John Baldock (Cons., Harborough), who mentioned some kinds of lorry as excessively noisy and demanded far greater vigilance on the part of the police. He thought the present regulations were inadequate, and that the maximum permissible amount of noise to be permitted by each class of vehicle should be laid down in decibels.
Mr. Ronald Russell (Cons., Wembley South) referred particularly to gearbox noise from heavy lorries. The answer to this problem, Mr. Nugent said, was the progressive improvement in mechanical devices. He thought an increasing number of commercial vehicles would have automatic transmission systems.
£2,885 BUS PROFIT TURNS TO A £4,839 LOSS
Busoperation in Londonderry for the year ended last September resulted in a loss of £4,839 to the Ulster Transport Authority, compared with a profit of £2,885 the previous year. After being given these figures last week, Londonderry Finance Committee agreed to support any pruning of services.
Commented ClIr. G. C. Austin: "Any organization which will allow its running costs to rise by £3,800 in a year when its income has fallen by £4,000 is, to say the least, inefficient."
DRIVER SUES FOR £2,000
ALORRY driver is suing British Road Services for £2,000 following an accident at their Arbroath depot in December. 1955. The driver, George Kelman, broke his leg when he fell from a vehicle which he and two -other men were loading with canvas rolls. He claims that his fall was due to the negligence of B.R.S.
The claim is being resisted on the ground that Kelman should have taken reasonable care for his own safety. The action will be heard at Dundee on June 9.
ENGINES FOR FINNS COLLOWING the delivery of over
5,000 engines to the Finnish concern, Leyland Motors, Ltd., are to send 1,000 110-b.h.p. engines at the rate of 20 a week to Oy Suomen Autoteollisuus, A.B., Helsinki, the largest producers of commercial vehicles in that country.