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30 m.p.h. Limit Vindicated•

13th May 1955, Page 50
13th May 1955
Page 50
Page 55
Page 56
Page 50, 13th May 1955 — 30 m.p.h. Limit Vindicated•
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

MAY I, through the columns of your excellent journal,

comment on the remarks made by J. Spencer, in his letter published on April 8. In this he referred to the investigation into the effect of raising the speed limit of heavY vehicles to 30 m.p.h. which was conducted by John Savage and published on March U.

Mr. Spencer, who claims to be a regular reader, should be aware that The Commercial Motor does not indulge in publicity stunts, but will test any vehicle, or carry out any investigation, that may benefit driver or operator. It may surprise him to know that the original suggestion which gave rise to this investigation was made by me—a fellow driver—and The Commercial Motor generously agreed to adopt the idea. I suggested that an articulated vehicle of 22 tons laden weight should be used, but as one was not then available, the A.E.C. Mercury tractor N.vith an Eagle semi-trailer was chosen. My opinion is that if the vehicle suggested had been used, the results would have been the same.

Instead of criticism, we should pay a tribute to Mr. Savage, and Mr. Thurlby of A.E.C., for a truly remarkable achievement carried out under appalling conditions. In spite of Mr. Spencer's inference that it was possibly Mr. Savage's first experience of a vehicle of this type, he did not complain of the "anxious hours" such as Mr. Spencer suffers when he drives an " artic." I do not have anxious hours either, as with some 30 years' experience behind me I use intelligent anticipation when driving.

The tests were carried out with strict fairness. The description and careful logging were excellent, and all drivers should be grateful that they now have this evidence should there be any negotiations for a wage claim following an increase in the speed limit.

I suggest that Mr. Spencer's statement regarding middleweights and articulated vehicles is entirely irrelevant. The tests were conducted to determine the maximum possible daily mileage of a heavy vehicle, driven during the hours of work legally permitted, at a maximum speed of 30 m.p.h. It was also intended to show whether an articulated vehicle should qualify for the increased speed limit, and whether it is a safe vehicle to drive consistently at 30 m.p.h.

The Commercial Motor has proved that it is, and I hope that the Minister of Transport has had this brought to his notice. As for Mr. Spencer's remarks about conducting the tests with a vehicle having 50,000 miles on the clock, all vehicles should be in the workshop for

overhaul at this mileage. Also I do not see what difference the height of load makes to the speed of a heavy vehicle, and as Mr. Spencer has been on the Scottish run, he knows as well as I do the speeds of which large Luton vans are capable!

I would like to thank The Commercial Motor for this investigation, and hope that you will now conduct a further test with an 8-ft.-wide vehicle loaded to 24 tons gross weight.

Hounslow, Middx. W. F. YORATH.

I COMPLIMENT Mr. C H. Willson (The Commercial I Motor, April 22) on having driven for 35 years without an accident of any consequence, but I strongly disagree that drivers' wages should be raised in return for an increase in the speed limit on heavy vehicles to 30 m.p.h.

816 Heavy lorries are driven at anything from 30-40 m.p.h, regularly twice a day over a I5-mile stretch of the Glasgow-Carlisle road, and there is no justification for any increase in wages. A higher speed limit would release drivers from probable penalties, such as fines and endorsements of licences.

I agree with Mr. Willson that a heavy lorry is as safe as a light one at 30 m.p.h., and without a load is safer. If suitably braked, a tractor-trailer outfit is as safe as a rigid vehicle at 30 m.p.h. if handled by a competent driver.

Mr. Willson says that if heavy lorries were to be allowed to travel at 30 m.p.h., all but those that were new should be required to pass an official brake test. When does a vehicle cease to be new? Many old vehicles are in far better condition than new ones.

Stonehouse, Lanarks. R. Newet.L.

WHILE reading the letter from C. H. Willson in your issue of April 22,1 wondered whether he had ever

driven a multi-wheeler. • • Making an emergency stop with such a vehicle loaded with 16 or so tons of oiled-sheet-steel can give one of two results. Either the brakes will not pull up the vehicle in the required distance, or, if they are well adjusted and powerful, the load will go through the cab or shoot over the road.

As for a heavy vehicle being safer than a fight one when braking while unladen, I have seen dozens of eight-wheelers bouncing all over the road as a result of the rear wheels kicking up when the brakes have been applied strongly.

Mr. Willson claims that he drives in such a way that whatever happens, he can stop his vehicle without hitting anything. In theory, of course, that is the correct thing to do, but in practice, it may be impossible, at least in heavy traffic.

I honestly believe that a 30 m.p.h. limit in built-up areas for heavies may put up the accident figures. Even now, with some of our old vehicles carrying 17 tons, the brakes need adjustment every 500 miles. On an intensive service, that means every other day.

Compared with the United States of America, where I lived for a time, this country lags behind in matters concerning road safety. Although their heavy vehicles travel at between 50-60 m.p.h. on the highways, speeds are cut right down in built-up areas and the limits strictly enforced.

ln addition, road safety rules and precautions arc prominently displayed in fleet depots and nearly all large fleets have road safety committees who meet regularly to discuss accident prevention and receive suggestions.

If there is to be an increase in the speed limit for heavy vehicles, let us keep to the 20 m.p.h. in towns.

Cardiff. E. C. RF.ED.

Stop this Flickering Nonsense

IN his letter, published on April 15, R. W. Knight lists I most of the faults of " flashing " or " winking " indicator lights and then, rather naïvely, suggests that these faults do not exist.

In fact they are not only ineffective in conveying clearly a driver's intention and are therefore confusing, but, as a learned magistrate has said, "... are distracting to both following and approaching drivers." Hand signalling by day and illuminated semaphore-type indicators by night are the most positive methods of signalling.

A personal experience, which nearly resulted in an accident, was caused by a vehicle in front of me which was equipped with two stop lamps, but had the bulb of the near-side one broken. As we approached a cross-road the off-side stop lamp flickered, and I, thinking it was a flashing indicator, attempted to overtake on the near side, only to find that this driver was about to turn to his left. • Many reputable manufacturers do not fit flashing indicators as standard and I sincerely hope that the others will stop the practice. Let us have no more of this flickering nonsense.

Slough. L. W. DIXON.

WITH regard to the letter from R. W. Knight, pub

lished in your issue dated April 15, I quite agree in principle with what he says concerning flashing indicators, but I think any criticism is more because of the way in which the Government allow new regulations of this kind to come into use.

The public should be better informed through newspapers, radio, television and cinemas, so that important points regarding innovations can be brought to the attention of the maximum number of the public.

From my point of view, I would ask who on earth allowed white signal lights at the front and red at the back, when for many years the semaphore-type signals have had to show an amber light, otherwise they would be illegal.

The majority of drivers and most of the public know this, and I believe that on the Continent all such lights are of amber colour, although America uses white and red. Have we, 'however, no will of our own to retain the amber after using it for so long?

In my view, the manufacturers of accessories should be debarred from using one filament in a bulb for two purposes. In two well-known makes of vehicle, the " stop " filament is used for flashing by breaking in on the circuit according to the way the vehicle is turning. The result is that in the case of a driver who is using his brakes gently on a bad surface, or one who jams on his brakes, and has his flashing indicators working at the same time, those behind cannot tell what he is really indicating, for both lights can be going on and off.

In my case, I have a warning signal on the dash which fails to light if either of the flashing bulbs fail, and they are amber.

Littleborough, Lancs. C. A. FOSTER.

No Great Price for Rear Safety

IN his letter published on April 15, R. J. Mountfield I readily admits that " Scotchlite " brand reflective tape has life-saving qualities, yet he considers 6s. 9d. too high a price to pay for such an insurance. Safety, at any price, can hardly be balled a luxury, but I would like Mr. Mountfield to consider that for this 6s. 9d. he gets:—

(I) A reflecting area equal to at least eight conventional reflectors.

(2) Delineation of the width of his car.

(3) Angularity far in excess of that given by conventional reflectors.

(4) Reflection up to half a mile. (5) A reflector which is weatherproof, pet rolproof, . is unbreakable and lasts for years.

Your correspondent quotes the American price of " Scotchlite" Lite-a-Bumper tape, but ignores the fact that if it is imported there are duty and shipping and freight charges to account for and so increase the cost. As it is, we have a specially built factory, in South Wales, for the manufacture of reflective products and by the end of the year this should be in full production.

A major factor in the higher British price is the fact that many of the basic raw materials are anything from 30 per cent. to 120 per cent, higher than those used in the U.S.A. and, on average, the general price level is in the order of 50 per cent. greater.

On this question I would ask Mr. Mountfield to look at the price of many other items, some costing pounds not shillings, fitted by thousands of motorists, i.e., wheel trims at 20s., each, rimcaps for headlamps 5s. 3d., fly deflectors 7s. 6d., not to mention silly, dancing mascots which distract and serve no useful purpose.

London, W.C.2. R. K. HART, Sales Manager, Reflective Products, (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co., Ltd.)

Jam Today and Tomorrow

I READ with great interest Mr. Champion's letter. I "New York in a Jam" (April 8). He criticized oneman operation of American buses. It so happens that I was in the United States and Canada last year and used their buses frequently, both for travelling to work and for pleasure.

At first sight, the one-man system does cause one to wonder, but there are several good points to consider in it. First is the high cost of labour in these countries, Mr. Champion quotes the wage of a New York driver as being $2 per hour, which works out at £4 14s. 2d. for a nine-hour day or 123 lOs 10d. per 45-hour week With a conductor this would equal £46 for a bus crew. In London, the equivalent wages for a driver and conductor would not.total much more than £18.

I rode on motorbuses and trolleybuses in New York. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. and although those in New York were a little slow, the vehicles in other cities operated well, considering the conditions on the roads. Vancouver's Brill and other trolleybuses get away well from the kerb and have the advantage of wide, modern city streets. They give a good five-minute service.

In Toronto, the bus service is well maintained, and even at rush hours an adequate supply of vehicles is available for factory workers. The transit bus has a definite advantage over our double-deckers, in that one does not have to wrestle one's way to the front seats and back again during the peak periods. As most of the municipalities in Britain belong to the old school of thought, however, we shall probably not see these vehicles in large numbers for many years.

Why do not British bus bodybuilders fit jack-knife doors as standard on double-deckers? No wonder British vehicles are the coldest found anywhere.

Why is it not compulsory for heaters to be fitted to all public service vehicles? Even where used, they are often effective only for passengers in the front seats. Would it not be possible to pipe water from the radiator around the lower sides of the bodies, or under the floor? Most American and Canadian vehicles are heated in this way.

Why cannot the conductor be seated at the rear and thus be out of the passageway? There is nothing worse for this type of employee than to be squashed in the gangway and have his, or her, toes trodden on, or be hit in the stomach with an over-sized ticket machine.

In one-man operation, as in Toronto, girl attendants are stationed at the main loading points, where they sell tickets to passengers, so that there is no need for a conductor to fumble with a bag of coins. Also, both in Canada and America, the drivers call out the stops befzre they arrive at them. In Britain, they appear to be too indifferent to give this any serious thought. On several occasions in Wolverhampton, I have been carried past the stops I required.

As to traffic jams, a visit to Wolverhampton around 5.30 p.m. would reveal congestion as bad as any in New York. If ever a place needed a by-pass, this is it. Every size of vehicle, from a cycle to an eight-wheeler, forms a solid column over three miles long.

The way things are dragging along, we shall be lucky to have motorways by 1980. If the same state of affairs existed in America or Canada, the Governments concerned would be thrown out. What a mockery it is for a modern country like ours to have a 20-m.p.h. restriction on heavy vehicles. The big operators here should see the heavies rolling along at 50 m.p.h. in the U.S.A., and this with loads of up to 50 tons on articulated vehicles. Even 15-tonners are employed for localdelivery work.

The traffic jam in New York is a special problem, for the city is built on an island with 2m. season-ticket holders coming and going every day by subway, bus, ferry and car; coupled with this is the fact that there is extensive cross-city dock traffic. New York is also a big tourist centre. The only cure would seem to be to take the docks away or move industrial premises to the suburbs. Long Island would be a good breathing space for this purpose.

In London, there are nothing like such conditions, so no real comparison can be made as to traffic here and in New York. Given more street space and less dock traffic, New York's system could be just as good as that of London Transport.

Tettenhall, Staffs. J. MORRIS.

Why Should Trolleybuses be Scrapped ?

YOUR analysis of omnibus and trolleybus profits in The Commercial Motor for April 22 reveals the utter folly of the Minister's decision in allowing London Transport to scrap their trolleybuses, together with the miles of overhead equipment and electrical units.

The figures also give a warning to municipal operators against blindly following every trend that London Transport seek to set. The approach of atomic-produced electricity should, in time, reduce the cost of this power and lower still further the cost of operating trolleybuses.

The towns which have yvisely developed their trolleybus routes are, in almost/every case, reaping the benefit of much higher profits than on their omnibus routes.

Reading, Berks. D. L. EMBERY.

Cause of Burned Contacts Discovered

NAY thanks to the readers who have answered my I" question about the burning of contact points. I think one has found the root of the trouble.

In my original letter (The Commercial Motor, March 25) I did not wish to decry the service given at the Newcastle upon Tyne depot of Lucas. The manager there has been most helpful at all times. It was during a service week that I received the shrug of the shoulders and I have since found out that the man concerned was attached to the mechanical, and not the electrical, side.

Newcastle upon Tyne. N. BREWIS.


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