Power Politics
Page 29
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IT would be foolish to suppose that the Ministry of Transport have not noted the new legal provision in West Germany which specifies the minimum engine power output for any given weight of commercial vehicle. It would be equally unwise to ignore the wish of some road users for similar legal control of goods vehicles in Britain. They complain of the low speed of heavily laden lorries on hills which impedes the flow of traffic, causes impatience among following drivers and encourages them to take rash action.
It is not difficult to sympathize with the motorist who has pressing appointments to keep and is irritated by delay. Commercial-vehicle operators, on the other hand, are equally anxious to complete their journeys quickly. The speed at which they may travel is governed partly by law and partly by economics. The engine power required to maintain a reasonable speed on hills is completely out of proportion to that needed on level roads.
An engine output of 125 b.h.p. is adequate under most British operating conditions for an eight-wheeler laden to 24 tons gross. It affords a maximum speed on a level road in the region of 35 m.p.h., which cannot legally be used except on a motorway, and enables the vehicle to climb a gradient of 1 in 10 at 71 m.p.h. If the power delivered were increased by half to 187.5 b.h.p., the speed on a 1 in 10 gradient would rise correspondingly to 11 m.p.h. Doubling the output would also double the speed on the hill, but, even so, the effect'on other traffic would be negligible.