'Some Garages Not Competent to Maintain
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rtA NUMBER of C-licensed operators described the increasing difficulty of obtaining a good maintenance service from outside garages for a small fleet of vehicles at a Traders Road Transport Association (West Midland division) open meeting in Hereford on Monday. This followed a talk by Mr. G. R. Atkinson, senior vehicle examiner of the Ministry of Transport (West Midland area) on "Goods vehicle maintenance and the law ".
One member stated that none of the three garages which jointly mantained his fleet of II vehicles could be trusted to note defects or to rectify them; another claimed that improved maintenance facilities would not be available until mechanics were given their due in the form of a higher wage.
The suggestion was made by more than one member that the Ministry should certify garages that were competent to carry out repairs, but Mr. Atkinson pointed out that the deficiency mentioned resulted from a lack of interest rather than lack of ability, and that certifica
tion would not overcome this problem. Mr. Len Patrick, secretary of the division, said that a similar problem faced operators in the Midland area and had been discussed at a recent meeting of the West Midland area maintenance advisory committee.
Mr. Atkinson frequently reiterated his recommendation that regular inspections by garages should be based on "what the vehicle examiner looks for ", and the observation that a thorough inspection could be completed by a mechanic and a helper in 10 to 15 minutes. The attention of garages should be drawn repeatedly to the terms of the M.o.T. recommendations.
Later, Mr. Patrick said the Ministry's proposed scheme for heavy goods driving licences was far too complicated. Preferably, he said, the Ministry should revert to the pre-war practice of testing drivers of vehicles of more than 3 tons, but provision should be made for a special test of the drivers of articulated vehicles. Unanimous support was given to the proposal.