Worker Exceeded Duty: Case Fails
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ACLAIM against Cattermoles (Garages), Ltd., 78-89, Pentonville Road, London, N.1, by London County Council for payment of £23 Os. lid., the cost of repairs to a van damaged in Pentonville Road in a collision with a car driven by one of Cattermoles' employees, failed at Clerkenwell County Court last week.
Mr. E. W. Eveleigh, for the L.C.C., said that the negligence of Cattcrmoles' employee had been agreed. The point at issue was whether the employee was engaged on his employer's business at the time of the accident, and doing something for which he was employed, even though he was forbidden to do it. Mr. F. S. Coningsby, for the company, said that the employee was not employed to drive cars and had been forbidden to do so.
Thomas Joseph Preston, 219, Pentonville Road, London, N.I, said that he had been employed by the concern as
a greaser and shunter. He had no driving licence and was told he must not drive only after the accident, Mr. H. W. Mortimer, garage manager, said that if Preston had ever driven cars, it had been against instructions.
Judge Done accepted Mr. Mortimer's evidence. Preston, he said, was unauthorized to drive cars on to the public highway; this was not within the usual scope of his employment and the company was not liable. The action failed, with costs to the defence.
CROSS-CITY SERVICES FOR BRADFORD?
DY a large majority, Bradford Trans].) port Coinmittee has decided to apply to the Yorkshire Licensing Authority for permission to introduce cross-city services in place of some of the present radial services starting from the city centre. If approved, the new routes will be operated on trial for 12 months.
One of the routes affected, which will be linked across the centre with another route on the other side of the city, serves the Buttershaw housing estate. The number of passengers using the street at which it terminates at present has grown from 256,000 a week in l938•• to 344,000 to-day.
Between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., 78 buses leave the Town Hall Square terminus and 62 come down the Manchester Road. These have to cross and cause unnecessary obstruction. A Parliamentary Order is expected, enabling the route to Wibsey to be electrified. [Bradford's experience of trolleybus operation during the past 43 years will be described next week.] SCOTS DISLIKE LEVY
AiMEMORANDUM expressing Scottish ancillary users' dislike of the levy has been forwarded to the Minister of Transport. A deputation of members of the Traders' Road Transport Association, the Federation of British Industries and the National Union of Manufacturers submitted the memorandum to the Scottish Unionist Members' Committee last week.
Free Travel for Old Folk Approved
THE scheme of Birmingham Trans' port Department to provide free bus and tram travel for old people during off-peak hours has been approved by the West Midland Licensing Authority for a trial period of .12 months. He said that consideration of whether the scheme would create a need for a general fares increase did not arise, as the cost would be borne out of the rate fund. However, it could be ascertained only after a year whether the £90,000 allotment for this purpose was sufficient.
Mr. G. V. Prescott led a body of public opinion in objecting to the scheme. It is understood that he intends to put the question of its legality to the High Court.
TRADE-PLATE OFFENCE: TWO FINES
BECAUSE the use of the trade plates was restricted to employees of _ S.M.T. Sales and Service, Ltd., Carlisle, Mr. Joseph Sander Wilson, managing director of Lake Hotel Coaches, Ltd., Keswick, was fined at Keswick last week for using them to drive one of his company's coaches to Keswick from Carlisle after it had been repaired by S. M .T.
A submission that he was at the time employed by the repairer because he was not charged for delivery, failed. The S.M.T. was fined £15 for permitting the unauthorized use of the trade plates.
£49,000 SERVICE DEPOT FOR 850 VEHICLES
A DECISION to set up a £49,000 rt maintenance depot to service 850 of its vehicles has been undertaken by Lancashire County Council. At present, repair work is carried out by private contractors, and the expressed intention of the scheme is to save "contractors' profit." In .1951-52, the -council paid £9,933 to repairers for the maintenance of education, health and highway department vehicles. It believes it can save £3,110 a year.
Ambulances and sitting-case vehicles operated by the health department are not, as yet, affected by the scheme.
"THE GREATEST MISTAKE"
THE Transport Act, 1947, was the greatest mistake any Government had made, said Mr. Bernard Winterbottom, national chairman of the Road Haulage Association, when he spoke at the annual dinner of the Potteries Sub
area last week. Small hauliers were proud that they would be the first to revert to private enterprise.
FIRM'S EXPERIENCE GREATER THAN R.H.E.'s
nECIDING that the facilities of the • respondents, who had special experience, were more suitable than those of the Road Haulage Executive, the Tramport [Appeal] Tribunal recently rejected an appeal by the Executive against the grant of a licence a32
by the North Western Deputy Licensing Authority to Messrs. Morgan Bros., Llanfair Caerinion, near Welshpool, to run•an additional vehicle within 12 miles of base.
Mr. D. A. Grant, for the R.H.E., said that evidence of need had not been proved and that other hauliers in the district could handle the extra work. Mr. Edward Morgan, for the respondents, told the Tribunal of the difficulties that the firm had encountered at peak periods.
GLASGOW HOPES FOR SURPLUS
INCREASED tares and operational 1 economies put into effect by Glasgow Transport Departmelt in an effort to deal with the deficit of £3m. accumulated by May 31 last year, are beginning to show benefidal effects. At a transport committee meeting on Monday, it was reveale(I that so far in the current financial year, the department had incurred a deficit of £10,300, compared with £292,400 in the similar period last year.
It is now hoped that a surplus will be possible by the end of the year, even after provision for repayment of the £1m. loan from the city loans department.
LAND-ROVER LICENSING
MOVES are to be made by the British Agricultural Contractors' Association to obtain permission for Land-Rovers to be treated as private cars when they are accepted for registration in the goods-and-private class.
The spreading committee has drawn 'attention to the relinquishing of lime haulage by some concerns because of the delay of the Ministry of Agriculture in sanctioning higher charges.
Commer Cars, Ltd., Luton, has published a brochure describing its range of fire-fighting appliances.
Centralization Preferred
THE system by which crew schedules and working-arrangement sheets of a large bus company were compiled at the head office was recommended by Mr. J. H. Birch, schedule officer of the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., when he read a paper, "Bus Crew Schedules," at a meeting of the Birmingham centre of the :Institute of Traffic Administration• on Monday.
In this system, the schedules were forwarded to the respective garages, and in Mr. Birch's opinion the method was preferable to the preparation of schedules by the garages from running times supplied by head office. It was sometimes expedient to alter running times in the interests of schedule economy, and this could more easily be done when both departments worked together in close liaison.
Otherwise, the times were compiled by people who had little knowledge of schedules and were then forwarded to a garage staff which might be reluctant to make alterations.
In large garages, the division of the working-arrangement sheet into sections appeared the most popular. The turns covering certain routes, or a cornbination of routes, were then operated by a limited number of crews, who obtained an intimate knowledge of the lares and conditions. This bred a sense of pride and competition amongst the crews.
LEVY PART CAUSE OF HIGHER RATES
PARTLY because of the impending levy, parcels rates of Manchester Corporation are. to be raised 71 per cent. Revised rates will apply to parcels weighing 3 lb.-I cwt. The tonnage rates in the inner area will be raised from £1 Ils. 2d. to £1 13s. 6d. and from £1 18s. 10d. to £2 Is. 9d. in the outer area.
It is estimated that the levy will cost £400 a year. Higher wages have added £1,720 to the annual costs andfuel tax £1,700.