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HOW TYRE MILEA( IS WASTED

15th January 1943
Page 26
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Page 26, 15th January 1943 — HOW TYRE MILEA( IS WASTED
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

No. IS.— Bad Driving

• HE title "Bad Driving' covers T

a multitude of sins. In the

introductory article of this series I said that " the weak link between the conscientious operator and his tyre equipment is the driver." This, undoubtedly, is the greatest difficulty

, with which the operator has to contend—the human element. A few minutes' maltreatment in the hands of a careless driyer will upset the most . carefully organizedsystem of tyre maintenance. . • In the course of my .work I run up • against this " bad-driver " problem every day. Hardly a day passes but I see examples of tyre wrecking and mileage Waste. 'It can be divided into two classes:—(1) Damage done ' through sheer ignorance or a lack of appreciation of the tyre's needs; (2) damage caused by wanton abuse.and carelessness.

The first class is due partly to the fact that most drivers are not properly educated in their job as are other tradesmen. Many of them are amazingly ignorant of the tyre's elementary requirements. They do not know tire correct pressures.

Boot Is Not a •

Pressaure Gauge Some of them seem to think that the toe of their boot is an efficient pressure gauge: they give the tyre a kick, and, if it seems hard, that, is near enough. They know nothing of carrying capacity or load distribution. They attach no importance to known mechanical defects, such as .,

misalignment and faulty braking.

For all this I • partly blame the employer. No matter how. good or bad a man may be in his job, he expects some guidance and• training from his boss. " Many employers regard their drivers as a class apart from their other workmen. They will guide the efforts of their 'office staff and those employees engaged in manufacturing or maintenance processes,but the'driver is left more or less to his own devices except for a

• good "talking to " when things go wrong due to lack of proper instruc tion.

• The second class is rather different. Wanton abuse and carelessness can be blained on only the driver. It is usually due to apathy, unsuitable temperament, or laziness. Apathy and laziness lead to neglect. These are the men who would rather run on a flat tyre than change a wheel. They would rather keep on, blowing up a tyre with a slow puncture than strip it down and cure the trouble properly. It is too much trouble to removed a brick from between twin tyres, or a flint. from the tread.

Drivers of unsuitable temperament are usually of the break-neck type. ' There are some people who just can

not drive normally.. High speeds are the breath of life to them. Braking. and acceleration must be sudden and fierce. Kerbstones are a natural target when pulling 'up. They seem to resort, to every practice by which the tyres can be made to suffer.

On lop of all this natural capacity which the bad driver has for tyre destruction comes the war. Shortage of labour .makes his job even More secure and he throws discretion to the winds. addition, very often, he develops that war-time "emergency complex," to which so many people seem to be susceptible and' which reflects itself in their furious driving. Thus, at a time when care is of the utmost importance, the tyres are subjected to wOrse treatment than fOrmerly:_

Tyre Abuse Now Punishable by Law

What can be done about it? Well, there is this new legislation that has been introduca whereby tyre 'abuse becomes pen:shable by law. Why _not? If it be an offence to destroy a bit of , paper, a length of string, or a piece of rag, why shouldn't it be an offence -to wreck a tyre? Rubber, surely, is a far more via war material (at the moment, anyway) than paper, string, or rag.

Make no mistake, it will be impossible for the guilty ones to escape the clutches of the law. When a tyre is unfit for further service it is surrendered•to the Authorized Tyre Depot in exchange for a new one. A form is made out for the old cover, giVing the size, make, serial number and owner's name.

The tyre and the form arc sent by the A.T.D. to a Minis try of Supply inspection point, and the cover is examined with a view to its being retreaded if in suitable condition. The men who examine these old covers are tyre experts. If a cover be ruined they can state, without a shadow of doubt, the cause of failure. Thilp brings us back to one of my early statements in this series to the effect that every form' of tyre misuse leaves characteristic. symptoms on the tread or casing.

An expert can diagnose the cause of failure with even more accuracy than a doctOr diagnoses an illness. If, then, a tyre be found to be wrecked by overloading, under-infla

tion, concussion, etc., the examiner has only to refer-to the Orm relating to that particular cover and he has the name of the operator who has been guilty. There is a. complete tie-up from start to end and evasion is impossible.

I am told that stern action will b e ' taken against offendeis, involving fines or imprisonment. If the wrecking persists the operator will have his licence taken away.

do not like to have to include a warning such as

this. These articles are 'intended to be helpful—not threatening; but I have no alternative. It is relevant to the question we 'are' discussing, and it is certainly better -to be aware of it than to carry on in ignorance. The law seeks to right the wrong by punishing the offender. There is a far better way than that, and it is within the operator's power to put it into effect. We-have seen that most of the damage done by careless driving is due to ignorance tar wanton abuse.

Ignorance can be overcome by education. The driver must be made to see that the tyre has certain essential needs which must be fulfilled. The gap between the -employer and the driver must somehow be bridged, and the employer must try to impart some of that information which, formerly,, the driver was exp.;cted to pc up Tyre Book to be

Published There is enough material in the present series to form a solid basis of tyre education, and the driver would do well to -acquire it. Incidentally, it is hoped that these articles, together with other useful tyre data, will be shortly published in book form. In the national interest, the price will be modest, a.nd / suggest that any employer who presents a copy to each of his drivers will be well repaid.

Wanton abuse is rather more diffi-") cult to oVercomn, but I feel sure that even the worst driver can be. brought into line. If.he sees that a systematic effort towards tyre conservation is being made by his employer, and if the seriousness of waste be brought home to him, he will eventually yield. If he be stubborn be must be reminded of the penalties which will certainly be imposed.

Thoughtlessness is responsible for much damage. A well-trained driver

• does the correct thins instinctively, ' but the bad driver needs to be constantly reminded of the things he must and must not do. I think that there should be a noti& in the cab of every commercial vehicle, reminding the driver of a few essential points. It should be stuck on the dashboard—in front of him, not behind his head where he never sees it. Something like this:—

CHECK YOUR PRESSURES DAILY—CORRECT PRESSURE X LB.

DO NOT OVERLOAD—M.NXIMUM LOAD X TONS.

CHECK FRONT-WHEL ALIGNMENT MONTHLY—COR

RECT SETTING —. • — DO NOT HIT THE KERB.

DO NOT DRIVE FAST OR BRAKE HARD — MAXIMUM SPEED X M.P.H.

DRIVE. SLOWLY OVER ROUGH GROUND.

REPORT MECHANICAL DEFECTS IMMEDIATELY.

Bonus System Based on Tyres

There are many firms who run some form of bonus scheme for their. drivers. Sometimes it is based on the workdone, and sometimes on vehicle care, i.e., the lower the run' ning costs of the vehicle the higher the bonus. The first system is full of snags, because it takes no account of vehicle depreciation. Drivers are encouraged to overwork their lorries. The second scheme is better, because it encourages vehicle care which includes, of course, tyre care.

At the present time, when the need for care is so great, I think that every operator should have a bonus scheme for drivers, but 1 do not advocate' either of the above methods: A better idea, I firmly believe, is to base all 'bonus on the tyres.

Actually, this system is much more comprehensive than would appear at first glance: Primarily, of course, it encourages tyre care, and as the conservation of rubber is nationally more important than any other aspect of vehicle maintenance, this alone Would justify the scheme.

But it goes farther than that. Care of tyres automatically entails care of the whole vehicle. Harsh driving and fierce brakinlk, which do harm to both vehicle and tyres, will be -avoided. Overloading will be cut down, mechanical defects, such as faulty braking -and misalignment. will be speedily corrected, and general care is encouraged. This idea is really worth consideration.

It should not be difficult to work

out a satisfactory basis • L.V.B.

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