Maintenance problem exaggerated, says TRTA chief
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THE whole question of the maintenance standards of goods vehicles had been exaggerated quite out of all proportion to the size of the problem, said Mr. J. Delicate, president of the Traders Road Transport Association, last week.
Mr. Delicate, speaking in Manchester at the annual dinner of the Association's North Western, Merseyside and North Wales division, said it was just not true that there were large numbers of lorries likely to run away out of control down hills, yet this was the impression which the unknowing member of the general public could well have gathered from recent Press reports. The Association was doing all it could to ensure that the opposite side of the picture was presented.
The main problem in the maintenance field was not the few irresponsible operators who simply did not care about vehicle standards, but the considerably larger number of firms whose arrangements were one degree below par. The Road Safety Bill and other new measures would mean that in future this would simply not be good enough and firms would pay dearly if they disregarded the writing on the wall.
Mr. Delicate then turned to the Association's maintenance inspection scheme. Market research for its extension had recently been taking place within a 25-mile radius of Manchester, although it was far too early to assess the probable demand.
Members using the scheme in London had enthusiastically welcomed it. Some members had avoided prohibition notices which they would almost certainly have received without TRTA inspectors. Others had been able to spot at an early stage defects which would later have cost a great deal of trouble and money. Some had sought TRTA inspectors' advice to overhaul the whole of their maintenance arrangements.