Safety Features Must be Considered in Designing Vehicles.
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TT is of the utmost importance for the future successful operation of all classes of commercial vehicle that the safety aspect should receive first consideration, and in this matter there should be still closer co-operation between the designer of the chassis and him' who is responsible for the body.
In this issue we publish the last of the letters received in our competition concerning the safety of passenger vehicles together with a critical review of the whole of the entries received, but we do-not intend to let 'the matter rest at that. We have other contributions in hand in which valuable suggestions are made, and we will welcome further suggestions from any quarter—from the man who designs the 'vehicle to the 'one who washes it.
We are sure that amongst the Many thousands of our readers, practically all of whom are actively engaged in the manufacture or use of commercial-motor vehicles, there must still be many who have valuable ideas for practicable features which would tend towards the promotion of safety not only in passenger vehicles but in road-transport units of every type, and it is to these that we appeal to help in this vitally important cause. If all combine some good must result, and, in fact, we have no doubt that already those responsible for the prodUction of motor vehicles will have gained quite a number of useful hints from the many letters on safety published in this journal.
As an example of how easily an accident may happen, we will quote a case which occurred only last week. A lorry was beginning to descend a steep hill when its foot brake fired; the driver dismounted, put a brick under one wheel and poured some water over the brake ; the brake released immediately, the brick was crushed and the. vehicle ran away.
It is difficult to account for such an occurrence, and it may well be asked why the hand brake was not utilized, and, if it were, why it was not effective. It would seem that such an accident could be averted if provision were to be made for holding down the brake pedal by means of some form of ratchet or clip. In this way, two brakes could always be in use for holding the vehicle while stationary.