* Swedish experience
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A fascinating and very topical book has just been sent to me. It is the annual report for January to June 1967 of the Swedish motor vehicle inspection organization (AB Svensk Bilprovning) which runs the compulsory tests, covering all vehicles and trailers more than three years' old. The particular interest of the results lies in the fact that not only are total percentages of passing and failing recorded, but every type of failure is listed, and the principal faults found with each model of commercial vehicle and car.
For example, the "clean pass" percentage was 25.8 for cars, 19.0 for lorries, 38.3 for motorbikes, 28.6 for trailers and 27.5 for buses, while the failures were 27.2 per cent for cars, 30.8 for lorries, 20.6 for motorbikes, 27.5 for trailers and 17.6 for buses. In each case the "missing" percentages are accounted for by those which passed with minor faults. (For example, 19 per cent of lorries passed with a clean record, 50.2 with minor faults and the 30.8 was the failure already referred to.) In almost every case headlights, exhausts and brakes were the three most frequent causes of criticism. Volvo and Scania are the two most widely used heavies in Sweden; 9,350 Scanias were tested and about 28 per cent of them drew comments about brake line defects—mostly damaged hoses and defective valves. About 12 per cent had spring defects. The 1957 models attracted the most critical comment and the latest (i.e. 1964) the least. The number of Volvos inspected was 15,382 of which about 28 per cent (identical with Scania) had brake line faults. In this case, the 1956 to 1960 models showed up well, the 1961 and 1962 versions were those drawing most comment, while the 1964 vehicles were again the best.