III EDITOR'S COMMENT
Page 13
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GIVE A DAMN
• Have you ever watched a dripping tap fill a sink? It starts off slowly enough, but it doesn't seem to take too long before water starts to lap over the edge. This week Commercial Motor has turned on a dripping tap, in the guise of our Wheel Loss Campaign (see page 10). We hope it will raise enough cash to solve the last remaining riddles of the so-called 'Lost Wheel Mystery'. Of course a lot of effort has already been put into solving the mystery, notably by the Institute of Road Transport Engineers which pursued the matter doggedly refusing to have it shrugged off as simply "a matter of poor maintenance". This problem can affect any haulier: big or small, diligent or slapdash. The IRTE's call for limited design changes and higher torque settings is a measured and professional response to the problem; but the institute would be the first to agree that more research would not be wasted.
The Department of Transport seems to feel that funding research into the matter is unjustified, on the grounds that the number of fatalities caused by lost HGV wheels is small, and that money is needed on other, high-priority road safety research. But the next truck wheel to fall off just might hit a packed bus queue — and then watch the tabloids have a field day. The joint IRTE/MIRA research programme has alreay revealed a great deal about the problem, but if the chairman of the British Standards tyres and wheels technical committee reckons that more money is needed for research, then that's good enough for us. And it should be good enough for the thousands of 0-Licence holders in this country who run HGVs. That is why we are launching our wheel-loss research campaign. We certainly can't take the credit for it; that must go to haulier Colin Lowe who sent us a cheque of £10 with an exhortation to practice what we preached (CM Comment, 30 Ni November-6 December 1989). 'It is about time we took at least one initiative on this issue," he said. Our response is to add another £.100 to Lowe's donation and start the ball rolling. Now it's up to everybody else. If every 0-Licence holder in the UK sent in a £1 there would be a research fund of over £100,000. All the BSI is asking for is £30,000. We are frequently being told that road hauliers get a raw deal, and that the majority of Britain's operators are highly responsible, professional individuals who are constantly striving to raise standards in the industry. This is your chance to join us in putting our money where our collective mouth is. Remember — the next wheel to fall off could be yours. El Send your cheques (payable to Commercial Motor Wheels Fund) to Commercial Motor Room 403, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5A5.