OPINIONS
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and
UERIES
WHY A COMBINE BUS " SERVICE " WAS WANTED.
[5240] The extremely interesting • article by " Transex " in your issue dated December 31 reminds me of a conversation I had some months ago with a garage proprietor, who was also a town councillor and generally prominent in local affairs.
The district (which is not the one from which I am writing) is served by combine buses; also, in this town, there is an independent operator who runs, possibly, hall a dozen vehicles. The garagist remarked that he had no doubt that the independent would soon be bought out by the combine, and added that he would be extremely glad when that happened.
Coming from a member of the motor trade, that was rather unexpected; I asked him why he backed the combine (in that case, railway-associated) and not local enterprise. He replied that that was not really the point. At present, he explained, there is an excellent service of buses between his town and a much larger one about a dozen miles away, "but," he added, "as soon as the combine get it all to themselves they will cut down the buses and put up the fare's, and that will mean that people will have to shop in the borough instead of going over to ,' which will make things better for all of us."
He may be right, from his own point of view. Whether the change will be in the interests of the public is, however, another matter. As " Transex " implies, it is high time that the people of this country were made aware of just what the combines, with the aid of the law,
are putting across them. F.J. Brackley.
WHAT IS THE BEST ROAD MATERIAL?
[5241] Where is the oldest stretch of safe road surface in Great Britain? Surely the surfacing material used in this case would throw valuable light upon the most suitable type for use in the latest road schemes.
I remember hearing, some tithe ago, about a 43-yearold tarmacadam road in a busy part of Sheffield. Is this
a record, I wonder? M. j AFFE. Ripon.
SHOULD THE " USE " OF CERTAIN EQUIPMENT BE COMPULSORY?
[5242] With regard to the leader, "Must Have, But Need Not Use," published in your journal for December 24, it seems to me that the driver should be warned and told of possible dangers, but regarded as a responsible person and not completely robbed of his initiative.
After all, only the person in control of a vehicle can judge what action should be taken to cope with any particular emergency—that action cannot be laid down meticulously on a theoretical basis. In other words, there must not be an excessive amount of compulsion, otherwise The majority will be sadly penalized for the comparatively small minority.
I think that it is better for the authorities to enforce the fitting of certain items of equipment and leave their intelligent use to the man at the wheel, M.G. London, W.2. ENCOURAGE OUR EXPORT TRADE.
[5243] The time-honoured wish, "A happy and prosperous New Year," has been on the lips of practically all of us. How many have been content to voice it without caring about its chances of fulfilment? Yet the wish expresses what we all genuinely feel the world to-day is mostly in need of—happiness and prosperity. If the world is to be happy and prosperous we must achieve a state in Which our reasonable wants are met.
There can be no end to the task of making the fruits of the earth available in full measure to the greatest number. Perhaps it is because it is an endless task that it has never been properly, begun. The world is still without a system designed to maintain production at the maximum of necessity and to ensure that consumption is properly related thereto. When will imports be given their rightful place in international trade, so that it comes to be understood as nothing else than mutual accommodation?
Until these matters are rightly dealt with we must, as a nation, do all we can to improve our export trade, as the means for paying for what we already import or wish to import. Everyone of us, independently of the Government, can do much towards the fulfilment of our New Year wish. We can, for example, help to bring about greater appreciation of the national need fot export. We can resolve to do all in our power to make ourselves more proficient, more enterprising, more imaginative in the conduct of export trade.
R. J. TURNER, POINTERS CONCERNING ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
[5244] In your issue dated December 31,1937, " F.J." suggests a complicated system of pipes and valves would be a help in "topping up" electrics. Considering that this operation consists of pouring, once a fortnight, about an eggcup full of water into each cell, a job that takes less than 10 minutes of the simplest work imaginable, we fail to see what he is driving at.
His remarks about regeneration are vague; but whether he knows it or not, the only possible regeneration an electric could do would be during braking. The added complication required to recover the small amount of energy lost. (on a properly constructed and properly driven vehicle) while braking, costs more, both in money and weight, than it is worth, as many trials have proved.
A smaller battery, could it be used, would not save charging time. An electric vehicle does not require a long period of enforced idleness for charging. Any Victor Electric can be ready for another 50 miles' running five minutes after it has done its first 50 miles the same day; and many are at work on this plan.
The electric vehicle is not higher in first cost than equivalent-payload petrol types; it is loWer. Now that c31 batteries can be hired according to mileage, and can, therefore, be correctly reckoned as fuel, along with the extremely small cost of energy, the low price of the vehicle itself, apart from battery, at once becomes evident.
Electrics do not require specialized maintenance, in fact, they hardly require any repair at all; and, as our instruction sheet says, if one stops because of some obvious mechanical fault, any motor garage can put it right; but if the reason be not obvious, then any electrical contractor can deal with it. This must be true, for we should starve very quickly did we rely upon our spares department for profit, sales therein being approximately .01 per cent, of our total.
H. N. OUTRAM, Ormskirk. For Victor Electrics, Ltd.
THE INTERNAL HEIGHT OF COACHES.
[52451 We are building a coach body for a 26-seater chassis, and, upon reading the appropriate law, are somewhat bewildered as to what can be the meaning of paragraph 36 of the Public Service Vehicle (Conditions' of Fitness) Regulations, 1036. What we really want to know is the height allowed from the front edge of the foremost passenger seat to the front edge of the rearmost passenger seat served by the gangway, which will be in the centre. A sliding roof is being fitted.
We should mention that Section 1, with all the subparagraphs, is the complicated one.
Tanycoed. BODYBUILDERS.
[A clear height of 5 ft. 10 ins, is required at the centre line of the gangway, eitending from the front edge of the foremost passenger seat to the front edge of the rearmost passenger seat served by that gangway. The proviso
which follows (sub par. refers to those parts of the gangway at both ends of the section defined above, and is included to allow for any curvature of the roof which is required; thus the clear height, as apart from the section from the front edge of the foremost passenger seat to the front edge of the rearmost passenger seat, may be reduced to 5 ft. 6 ins. Alternatively, of course, the roof could be straight, and the gangways could be raised at these points. We are not surprised at your having some difficulty in interpreting this particular section, which, like so many other regulations, is so worded as to create confusion rather than to clarify details which normally may not be too easy of comprehension.—En.)
A QUESTION OF LEGAL SPEED WITH A CONTAINER.
[5246] As a regular reader of your paper for some years, I am asking you to give me your opinion concerning vehicle taxation and speed when heavy box containers are carried on a flat-platform lorry, and when, without the container, the unladen weight is under 24 tons, but with the container weighs, unladen, more than this figure.
For some time now I have been paying duty on the 3-4-ton scale for the use of a container on a platform lorry. This amounts to £50 per annum, and I have marked at the side of the chassis frame the words 'with container, 20 miles per hour."
One of my men, who is not in the habit of driving this particular vehicle, was stopped for driving at 28 m.p.h.
Have I any chance of reverting to 30 m.p.h., stating that, after all, it Was my mistake in having the 20 m.p.h. painted on? GRATEFUL. Lincoln.
[The first point upon which you will have to satisfy the c32
magistrates is that the box container is not part of the vehicle hut is in the nature of a packing case in which goods are packed. Section 26 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, provides that for the purpose of that Act, and of other enactments relating to the use of motor vehicles on roads, the weight unladen of any vehicle shall be taken to be the weight of the vehicle inclusive of the body and all parts which are necessary to or ordinarily used with the vehicle when working on a road, but excluding the weight of fuel, accumulators for propelling the vehicle and loose tools and loose equipment. The question of whether the container is part of the body or not is a question of fact for the determination of the magistrates. If, as you state, the weight of the vehicle without the container does not exceed 2i tons the vehicle is a motorcar, and not a heavy motorcar, and therefore it was unnecessary for you to have the rate of speed painted on the vehicle. You should explain to the magistrates that the speed of 20 m.p.h. was painted on the vehicle owing to a mistake on your part. If they accept the view that the container is not part of the vehicle, they will probably adjourn the hearing of the summons to enable you to have the vehicle weighed unladen without the container in order that they may be satisfied that the weight does not exceed 2i tons. Section 7 of the Finance Act, 1937, seems to make it clear that for taxation purposes you will be entitled to licence the vehicle on the weight of the vehicle without the container, if the latter be loaded and unloaded complete with its contents, but that Act does not affect the question of the unladen weight for the purpose of speed.—En.]
RESPONSIBILITY FOR A DELAY IN A MARKET DELIVERY.
[5247] I shall be pleased if you can give me your valuable opinion on the following transport problem:— I have been running a service from Worthing to Covent Garden Market for 14 years. Recently, through congestion in the market, I was later than usual in delivering some consignments. I usually deliver between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. On this occasion it was actually 7 a.m.
The sender claims £62 against me on the grounds that if goods had been delivered earlier they would have fetched a better price (all goods are sold on commission). There is no agreement, either in writing or verbally, as to the exact time of delivery, only that it is the rule to have goods delivered in the early morning. All vans were in the market in good time, but could not get to the unloading stands on account of other vehicles being on those stands.
The sender refuses to pay the account due to me for transport. As the goods are sold for what they will fetch, can the grower prove that his goods would have obtained any particular price if delivered earlier? Can be claim against me for a delay which was beyond my control?
TROUBLED.
Worthing.
[The position appears to be governed by the terms of the contract, as between yourselves and your customer, for the cartage of goods. We observe that you tell us that there is no existing contract either in writing or orally as to the precise time at which the goods were to be delivered to the market. In any event we do not think you can be liable for the £62, because any claim against you would have to be based on (1) breach of warranty, and (2) negligence. We observe that the reason you could not get the goods delivered in time was due to the fact that, although your vans were in the market at the precise time, they could not get to the stands owing to overcrowding, which state was clearly beyond your control. We therefore advise you firmly to repudiate liability and intimate to your customer that unless your account be paid by return of post you will instruct your solicitors to apply for payment thereof.—En.}