Rise In Laden Weight Still Sought for Tankers
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THE S.M.M.T., with the support of the British Road Federation, have been seeking a further meeting with the Ministry of Transport to reopen discussions on its efforts to secure an increase from 24 to 28 tons in the gross laden weight of multi-axle tankers.
Referring to this, the annual report of the B.R.F., issued last week, says: "The matter is of importance to the economic distribution of bulk liquid loads in this country and becomes of greater importance to manufacturers in view of the probability of Britain joining the Common Market" Addressing the annual meeting of the B.R.F. in London last week, the chairman, Lord Derwent, emphasized that the Federation would continue to be the conscience of the " men in power."
He spoke of "the distinct possibilities that competition from other European countries will double in intensity before much more time has elapsed." Because of that, the anxiety of British industrialists about the state of our roads was even more understandable.
West Germany had more than 1,800 miles of motorway and planned a total of 3,000. Even tiny Holland had 240 miles. In Britain there were just about 150 miles in use.
Lord Derwent declared: "As a Federation we should go on underlining the folly of allowing this state of affairs steadily to grow worse. The Minister of Transport will frequently hear from us."
Referring to what he described as terrible congestion in our towns and cities, Lord Derwent said that because of this food deliveries were delayed, traffic to and from the docks was slowed down and so many thing were directly affected. At least f500m. were wasted every year in traffic hold-ups.