OPINION
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• The Friends of the Earth campaign "Cities for People" is the sort of insidious nonsense which will be picked up by trendy candidates in local council elections. What Britain needs is a genuine "People need lorries" campaign. The industry would have to rely on self discipline to make sure it really was based on truth. Is this industry prepared for that? Commercial Motor, March 15.
• "Lessons of the BL fiasco," an article by former Prime Minister Ted Heath in The Observer, April 6, said: "If GM now decides to make drastic reductions in the workforce of Bedford Trucks or indeed to shut it down altogether, let no one believe it was because it was not allowed to buy BL. It would have happened anyway. But BL can then expand its sales of trucks to fill the gap." The former Conservative Premier says that never again must there be an attempt by the Government to sell off state-owned assets to people of their choice in a behind the scenes deal • "Over the years, successive Chancellors have accepted the strength of the Freight Transport Association arguments that diesel fuel should be given preferential tax treatment. "This year the duty increases on petrol were again higher than those for industry's main motive fuel to the point where tax on a gallon of diesel is 16 pence below that for petrol. Given that, you would clearly expect the pump price to reflect that differential but in practice the opposite applies to most garage forecourts. "There can be no justification for this anomaly. Smaller lorry operators might be a captive market, but that is no justification for oil company or retailer exploitation." Freight, April edition.
• The April issue of Transport Engineer asks: "How is the vogue philosophy of competition to be upheld without compromising safety? For there is a stream of sub-standard motor components being offered on world markets." While there are plenty of instances where ouside suppliers have devised improved parts, it says. "That said, the day must dawn when there be (sic) some official quality control of quality parts," El The long awaited Review of Road Vehicle Limits initiated by the National Association of Australian State Road Authorities has been released for comment. Truck & Bus Transportation's February edition said in an editorial: 'Apart from the predictable lift in gross combination mass to 42 tonnes and a few minor changes in dimensions, it would appear that the road transport industry in Australia will continue to roll along under the ultra-restrictive limits which lift it barely out of the horse-andbuggy era."