Bird's Eye

10th November 1967, Page 203

10th November 1967

Page 203

Page 203, 10th November 1967 — Bird's Eye

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ViewBY THE HAWK

Talking Turkey

I SEE that the enterprising Michael Woodman is threatening to take his company, Asian Transport Ltd, out of Britain unless the Government intercedes with the Turkish authorities to obtain for him the same tax exemptions which other nations have gained for their road operators.

You may recall that Michael was the man who did those overland hauls to Afghanistan and later developed a regular service from London to Tehran. On July 4 the Turkish Government imposed a swingeing tax on transit traffic—but with an exemption for nations having acceptable safety regulations for heavy vehicles. Several European countries have applied for—and obtained—the concession but I gather that Britain didn't even apply until the end of September. And I was told on Monday by Asian that the situation is still the same. The company is having to pay a Turkish levy of about 000 per vehicle in each direction and has now shelled out around £16,000 in just over two months!

I gather that Michael's first choice for a new "home" is Holland, whose regulations have been accepted by the Turks.

Come on, MoT: don't let it happen.

Happy timeservers

IT secms to be safety award time again, to judge from my postbag. The indefatigable John Spencer Wills has just attended his seventeenth consecutive Midland Red long-service presentation ceremony. In the past 12 months no fewer than seven employees have joined the 50-year-service category, while 23 have qualified for 40-year awards and 31 for 25-year awards.

While Midland Red has been enjoying its function with a dinner in Birmingham, over in Hull the EYMS 25 Association (all members with 25 or more years' service) has been dining celebrationally.

About 100 long-service employees were told by Lord Buckhurst, a director of East Yorkshire: "You are the backbone of this company ". And he added that the company reckoned itself fortunate to have one of the highest proportions of long-serving staff of any BET undertaking.

And surprise: Lord Buckhurst is identified with Rediffusion rather than buses, but he revealed at the dinner that he had gained his p.s.v. licence in Maidstone—and showed hisbus driver's badge to prove it.

ft must have been ice!

MY colleague Paul Brockington had a hair-raising experience last Friday evening on M4 when travelling at about 65 mph in the fast lane out of London. An accident in which five vehicles ahead of him were involved in a multiple crash was obviously caused by a freak weather condition which produced a road surface with icy tharacteristics. This accident was the first of at least 15 between :he London airport intersection and the end of the motorway, :he results of which he personally observed. According to one -eport there were 30 independent accidents on this stretch of M4. Both carriageways were eventually closed by the police.

London Airport Met office told Paul later that the ambient temperature was 8 degrees C, but slight rain was falling at 7.30 p.m. and there was a South/East wind of some 5/10 knots. The rain followed a dry day and the film of moisture on the road surface was insufficient to produce spray.

Paul Brockington skidded to a standstill over a long distance "as if on ice". He tells me that he believes that in every accident the driver of the leading vehicle initially lost control without braking and he believes that ice was formed on the exposed sections of the road by vaporization of the road surface moisture by the relatively warm wind.

"It must have been a freak road condition", said Dunlop when he told them, "that merits further investigation". But yes!

Heading for the last round-up

TWO RLH-type London buses were aboard the Queen Mary when she set sail on her last voyage last week. In fact ship and buses are destined to the same new owner—Long Beach Public Transport Corporation. I understand the buses are wanted as museum pieces. And as this class of bus was designed for routes with low bridges and has seats with lower than usual headroom . . . let's hope the Americans don't lose their heads over them.

Museum piece

THIS week's HMSO publication "Railway Policy"—or how to cook the books legally—is revealing, to say the least.

The top-level steering group which recommends the gigantic financial write-off, nevertheless, boggles at estimating the 1974 losses; they might be £5m, and then again they might be /55m! Hey-ho for the disciplines of financial life.

But the group has made one firm decision, and says so. Records now in a railway museum, going back to the first of the companies, "are of no value to the Board in running their business."

I suppose profit-motivated decisions of a century ago must make quaint reading in 1967.

Watching It go down the drain?

NOT unconnected with the above thoughts is the announcement of a railway appointment on Monday. This is a new post called director (passenger studies) and, I quote with a perfectly straight face, this has been created "to deal with all matters relating to unprofitable railway services."