The Progress of the British Six wheeler at Home and Abroad.
Page 43
Page 44
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A CONSIDERABLE amount of transport -1-1-work overseas is now being effected by the rigid-frame six-wheeler, as this has proved a type peculiarly suited for employment both on the road and across country, providing that the latter be not of too boggy a nature, and despite the start which was obtained by machines of foreign make, the satisfactory design and the excellent manufacture of British vehicles have enabled our makers to forge ahead, with the result that the majority of this type of vehicle in use is of British make.
Much of our foreign trade in commercial vehicles is now concerned with the six-wheeler, and it is highly probable that the demand will continue to increase as the, capabilities_ of this type of machine become more widely. known. In the home markets, and apart from orders from the military authorities, there is not such a big scope for the six-wheeler as a crosscountry machine; but it is showing itself as a remarkably efficient and economical vehicle for the transport of goods and heavy materials, both petrol and steam types having proved successful. _ So far as passenger transport is concerned, there was a good deal of propaganda against this transport medium, and the principles of Its construction have been held responsible for failures on several occasions, instead of restricting the censure to the particular vehicles Involved. It must be remembered that the sixwheeler is a comparatively new machine, and it was not to be expected that perfect examples could be evolved immediately. One might just as well have said in the early days that there was Lis° future for the motorcar because the tube ignition was not really satisfactory. Welldesigned and well-built, the six-wheeler should ' prove an almost ideal machine, capable of carrying a large number of passengers in safety and comfort. It possesses many advantages over the four-wheeler, particularly in respect of safety—for one thing, it is extremely difficult to make it skid.
There is a tendency amongst some users to consider the six-wheeler as only suitable where very large numbers of people have to be carried —say, 08 to 72—so that it can replace tramcars, but it must be remembered that many tramcars seat only 60 people or even fewer, and it is interesting to note that, in fact, most of the sixwheeled vehicles sold for passenger transport have a capacity in the neighbourhood of 52 persons.
Quite recently, a well-known maker produced for the first time a passenger six-wheeler, another maker more than doubled his output of these machines last year, the number of goods vehicles of this type is ever increasing, and it is probable that still further types will soon be on the market ; so that even those most biased against the multi-wheeler must admit that it is making steady progress.
Running Coaches in Convoy.
QUITE a number of instances occurs where a large party has to be split up amongst a group of coaches, and there is a natural inclination on the part of the drivers to keep together the vehicles conveying each such party. This is all very well unless it be carried to extremes, but nothing is more dangerous on a busy road than a number of large vehicles running with but little interval between them.
During the recent holiday period we received several complaints regarding the danger of this practice. In one case a member of the staff of one of our associated journals was passed by four coaches all running within a few yards , of each other, with the inevitable consequence that an oncoming motor had to pull right up, and an accident was only avoided with some difficulty. Even coaches containing dissociated passengers appear to possess this clinging habit.
The great difficulty is that in passing other traffic there may be time for one vehicle to get through quite safely, but there is often insufficient time to permit others to clear without 'causing a temporary block. It was proved quite conclusively during the war that driving in convoy is one of the slowest methods.
Perhaps much of the trouble is caused by the Oct that a coach can often pass a small car, ibut it is not always so easy for it to pass another vehicle of its own class; consequently, after a certain period of running, a procession is formed in which the leading vehicles are those which, either by wish or necessity, travel at only a moderate speed. We believe that, considered as a whole, the driving of motor coaches is performed exceedingly well. The men in charge of these vehicles do not have light tasks, but, as a general rule, they show much skill and care in their work and courtesy to other, users of the road.
Motor Vehicle Owners' Contribution to Road Cost.
A FEW days before the General Election we 11. received a "Special Election Bulletin" from a source which was new to us and which was termed the St. Stephen's News Service, an institution apparently occupying the same offices as the Metropolitan Division of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations and having the same telephone number. it was stated to have been issued under the authorization of the Minister of Transport and dealt with motor taxation and the cost of roads.
The statements made in it were so misleading that we are glad to see that our associated journal The Motor, in its issue for June 4th, has made an exhaustive reply, and as the matter is of considerable interest to all users of the road we propose to deal with a_ few of the most important points.
It was stated in the Bulletin that the figures advanced by the recent deputation of motoring organizations to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer were quite fallacious so far as the contribution to the roads was concerned, and that, in fact, the road costs last year reached £60,000,000 and the contribution of the motoring fraternity was not more than £35,000,000. This argument was obtained by considering a portion of the duty paid on private vehicles as luxury taxation. In our view, this is entirely wrong, for a very large proportion of so-called private cars is composed, in reality, of utility vehicles, i.e., those used by commercial travellers and by business men in the course of their occupation.
Therefore, it is essential to consider the whole taxation on vehicle users, and this amounts to £43,000,000, or over 70 per cent, of the total cost of the roads ; in addition, vehicle owners also pay for the roads by their contributions to the rates.