OPINIONS and QUERIES
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Overloading and Insur ance. The War Office and Hired Six-wheelers.
The Police and Tyre Condition Braking Light Tractors and Trailers. Progress of the Oil Engine. A New Suggestion for Taxation
Overloading May Invalidate Insurance.
The Editor, Tun 'COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3514J.. Sir,—We venture, to bring to the notice of users of commercial vehicles a matter relating to insurance which ought to be more widely known.
About two months ago we sold a 2-ton Bedford truck to a customer of ours who does long-journey work, and in common with many other haulage proprietors habitually overloads his vehicle. A week or twos ago he met with anaccident, causing damage to his own and another vehicle, and the claim has been repudiated by the insurance company on the grounds that his vehicle was overloaded..
To -be perfectly fair to the insurance company concerned, we must state that the owner admits having a load of three tons; also in his policy there is a clause which protects the company in the event of overloading.
However, we have asked several other insurance companies about the matter, and they all say that they would not turn down a claim on this account.
Still, we think it should be widely known that it can be done, as if this decision be legal it means that in spite of compulsory insurance 75 per cent, at least of, proprietors of haulage vehicles are running uninsured.
We would suggest that commercial-vehicle users should re-examine their policies so that the possibility of such repudiation can be definitely ascertained.
London, E.15. H. V. STONE, Sales Manager, For JESSUP% LTD.
The War Department and Hired ,Six-wheelers.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
Purposely refrained from raising any controversial point as between the War Department and contractors, but since several. have been discussed by " Interested " I shall be grateful if you will allow me to make a reply.
When contractors started hiring six-wheelers to the Territorial Army it was understood that contracts could only, be placed from year to year, since the money for payment came from grants made annually by
.1342 Parliament, and that, as a consequence, no continuity of hiring could be guaranteed ; moreover, with changing dates and places of camp each year it is extremely doubtful whether such an offer, had it been made, could have been accepted by the contractors. However, the best opinion that contractors were able to obtain from official sources was that if their services were of a satisfactory nature they could expect a continuity, that they would probably be given good notice of any change of policy and that if the War Department decided to do the work themselves they would probably take over, at a fair valuation, all vehicles that were in sound working condition.
I would mention that the majority of vehicles owned by contractors has done an average of not more than three months' work in any one year, and that they have been mostly very well maintained, few even of the oldest vehicles having exhausted half their useful life whilst a considerable number of them has done much less than this. As a comment on the condition of the vehicles in question I would add that last year my company sold, at i200 each, our original fleet of 1927 vehicles, after they had done a great deal more work than any of the 100 or more contractors' vehicles which were bought new in 1928 or after, and that these old vehicles are still giving satisfactory service.
An instance of particular hardship in the case of one contractor is that he bought six new vehicles last year, at the urgent request of certain' Territorial Army Associations that their full requirements should be met, at a time when we now believe the War Office decision to form a pool of vehicles had already been arrived at. As a consequence, these vehicles have only had six weeks' use and they are therefore in practically new condition; the War Office has provisionally signified its willingness to take over these vehicles (which cost nearly £500 each) at £215 each, a price but little higher than that which my firm obtained for vehicles which had done approximately 14 times the amount of work.
So far as I am aware the War Office has offered to purchase, in all, only about 20 vehicles belonging to contractors, and the prices offered are ridiculously low. I must add that the War Office has not yet taken over a. single vehicle from contractors, nor have the vehicles been inspected with a view to purchase; further, "'Interested" has been wrongly informed with regard to the state of repair of the vast majority of the vehicles, which is in thoroughly sound mechanical order.
Contractors feel that the general lines of War Department policy could have been carried into effect, With further economy, without placing some of them in a position of insolvency, and since they have always been willing to subordinate their individual positions and fall into line with any reasonable scheme, it certainly seems that there must be a national waste in placing out of commission a very 'large number of vehicles which is entirely fitted for the work required and for which no other work can be obtained, particularly if the policy entails an increase from other sources of the War Department's fleet of vehicles.
May I emphasize that contractors have never asked that their interests should be studied at the expense of the nation, but having performed a valuable service and saved a considerable amount of expenditure on the part of the Government, whilst assisting considerably in the increased efficiency of the Territorial Army, they have felt all along. that they were entitled to as much consideration as is consistent with national economy. Contractors believe that this could be best attained by making use of their vehicles.
Dealing with the last point in your correspondent's letter, the majority of vehicles owned by my firm is of the 2-ton type. Actually, the only difference between the 30-cwt. and the 2-ton models is one of wheelbase.
London. W. LAFFAN, Director, , For G.N. TRANSPORT, LTD.
The Police as Judges of Tyre Condition ?
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL Moo.
[35181 Sir,—Many letters have been written re worn or t mooth tyres, and it appears that this matter is again left in the hands of the police to judge and always to obtain convictions.
Recently a police officer walked into the office of a friend of mine and showed him a list of lorries (with numbers) that had been reported for having bad tyres.
• A vehicle• may have a new set of tyres on and still have the misfortune to chip a piece out of the side.Such a tyre might give good service for thousands of miles, but the word of one police constable can condemn it.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Light Road Tractors and Trailer Braking.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
13519] Sir,—The great economies, which may be obtained by the tractor-and-trailer method of road. transport is naturally making this old and well-tried sYstem more and more attractive to those who have to carry good,s on the ordinary roads, and it should receive every Possible encouragement.
• The terrible accident' which Mr. H.. Newland reports in your 'issue, of July 21st,, however, points out, once again, the dangers of using very light four-wheeled road tractors, which may be perfectly safe when hauling their loads on the level roads, but may be highly dangerous when handling their loads either up or down severe gradients when the loaded trailer is perhaps liable to take charge, especially if, as Mr. Newland says, the brakes on the trailer are not applied first, or at least at the same time as those on the tractor.
Of course, it is a very advisable thing to have all these regulations and provisions for braking on trailers, etc., but the real trouble is that there seems to be a tendency to put on the market a whole tribe of tractors which are much too light, especially if they be of the four-wheeled type. In any kind of haulage locomotive work the four-wheeled machine is, and always will be, a most undesirable hauling apparatus, for the simple " mechanical" reason that so soon as the drawbar pull comes on the weight of the rear driving wheels is augmented by the addition of the drawbar pull and a transfer of much, if not all, of the weight on the front or steering axle, so that this very important axle will have a tendency to lift off the ground and the tractor have a tendency to rear. In railway work,, also in the old-time steam-traction engines, we always had this " natural " trouble with four-wheeled jobs, and it was for that reason principally that for railways the wheels were afterwards coupled and a consequent multi-wheel drive brought about, with a better distribution of the weight and the drawbar stresses and with much less tendency to rear. When climbing grades, and when the drawbar pull is highest, this tendency is accentuated by the steepness of the grade. Mr. Newland is quite right; it can be safely put down as a dangerous practice to endeavour to handle a 12-ton or 14-ton load behind anything less than a 4-ton tractor; in fact, in my opinion, a tractor or road locomotive (as I prefer to term it) of at least 50 per cent., of the load hauled should always be used, especially in hilly districts, and even then any sudden snatch or severe pushing will end in the front wheels or the rear wheels leaving the road, which means dangerous rearing, or doubling around, of the tractor, either, of which may have disastrous results.
Trailer brakes are always liable to be not quite up to concert-pitch, and a road locomotive which cannot "really " handle its load without the use of trailer brakes should not be allowed on the public roads.
" Thanks to the fine roads with which this country is now being furnished, there is surely no reason why developments in railway practice should not, with equal success, be applied to road-locomotive engineering.'
43,. In the case of a design of one of my Paragon roadpassenger trains, which I have recently prepared for use in a foreign country, the locomotive is of our 4-4-4-0 type; it has four steering wheels and eight driving wheels; the six passenger coaches are all of the self-tracking (eight-wheeled) type aud can ascend or descend mountain grades with great safety, the engine power carried being only equal to about 50 per cent. of the ruling-grade climbing power,' as the storage accumulators carried supply the extra power for the train speed, and form the receptacle into which the train-braking energy is sent and stored when the train descends the severe grades which it will probably have to negotiate.
The braking question is daily becoming of greater significance in the whole sphere of road transport, and I consider that the road-haulage industry should be grateful to Mr. Newland in so pluckily and fearlessly asking you to give publicity to his practical experience in the use of road tractors.
WILLIAM P. DURTNALL, Locomotive Engineer. London, S.E.5.
The Oil Engine's Real and Encouraging Progress.
The Editor, TRE COMMERQIAL MOTOR.
[35201 Sir,—It is just about three and a half years since the first oil-erigined vehicle made its appearance in this country. This was a heavy lorry. The first bus with such a power unit started its work on public service on March 9th, 1930. Steady progress has been made all the time since then, notwithstanding some adverse criticism, mostly by people who really had not taken the trouble to go fully into the matter and examine the actual facts and advantages claimed and proved.
During the past few weeks, however—for the first time since the start---a real and interesting milestone has been planted on the road to oil-engine progress in road transport. I refer to two large orders for oil vehicles—one for 30 double-deck buses and one for 50 buses. Without going into the matter of engine details and manufacture it is interesting to note that of these 80 engines 30 will be of the direct-injection type and 50 will have the chamber type of head.
The fact that 80 oil vehicles have been ordered almost at one time is proof positive that the oil engine has thoroughly proved its case and* has now come to stay ; moreover, all of these are -to be passenger vehicles, which is another big point • in favour of the new power unit.
Further progress, which may possibly cause some surprise, is that one British firm has timed out 200 oil engines for road vehicles. All these engines have been made and fitted into vehicles during the past 17 months, which, I think, can be taken as a record production for high-speed oil engines. They are being used in the Far East, South Africa, South America, and in a few days will also be .running in Spain. Besides these there are many in Ireland.
In this industry, at least, we can say that British products are more than holding their own, which, in these pessimistic times, is distinctly encouraging. These engines, combined with the splendid British chassis which are world famous for their strength and wear-resisting qualities, make vehicles which will attract buyers from all parts of the world, and will undoubtedly be of considerable help to the motor industry, also to employment generally, besides doing their share in due course in reducing the adverse trade balance.
This real and positive progress of the oil engine is most gratifying to all those who, like myself, have never doubted the result and who have put in their modest efforts towards this successful innovation.
I would like to take this opportunity to urge those manufacturers of motor vehicles who until now have been waiting and watching events, seriously to consider taking action and getting to work on oil-engined vehicles.
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The thne has come without a doubt, and the markets— home and overseas—are ready now. Our goods are right and if we cut out the apathy and get really busy. we can obtain the major share of the demand.
One of the best markets is South America and more especially the Argentine, because Argentine people do and 'always have appreciated British goods and prefer them to any others. They also have an abundance of oil right on the spot, which is more suitable for this use than for the production of petrol. Furthermore, the recent British Empire Exhibition has stirred up matters greatly and made our products more popular than ever.
The enormous quantities of wheat and maize have to be carted great distances to the railways and here is the great opportunity for the British oil lorry, running economically on fuel produced in the country, and with no fear of stoppages for ignition or carburation troubles.
Some vehicle manufacturers I know are hanging back because they fear that the design and manufacture -of oil engines are matters for specialists in this particular line and that their petrol experts will have to go through a lot of expensive research work before they . can produce a good engine. This is to my mind a' perfectly reasonable assumption, and to them I would say—go to the oil-engine maker and get your engine there. It is far easier for the engine maker to suit his exterior design to any chassis than for the petrolengine man to produce an oil engine. In fact the history of the oil engine in this country so far has quite borne this out, the most successful oil vehicles having been a combination of a good chassis with a proprietary engine. If, however, they do wish to make their own engines, there is always the possibility of producing them under licence or royalty with the engine-makers' experience always behind them. The important point is, however, to get busy and to produce the goods. The world's markets are open; we want the business.
Leeds. W. H. GODDARD. • A Suggestion for Taxing by Load Capacity. The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[35211 Sir,—We have' read with interest your recent leading article on the evils .of overloading.
It appears that there is only One method by which this could be definitely overcome to the advantage of vehicle manufacturers, sound-headed users and possibly the Treasury by lessening damage to roads through overloads being carried by vehicles which, normally correctly tyred, become under-tyred. Tyre manufacturers would also obtain the benefit.
Why should not commercial vehicles be licensed to carry up to a particular load, instead of being licensed by unladen weight, in exactly the same manner as passenger vehicles are' licensed to carry a definite number of passengers, with the exception of stage vehicles which are allowed, only during rush hours, an additional live passengers standing.
A reasonable scale of annual licences could easily be arrived at, starting with a minimum of 5 cwt. and increasing every 5 cwt. to I. ton, and then by every 10 cwt. upwards. In all cases, to overcome possible hardship, as a slight additional load might have to be carried in the ease of emergency, an overload of 10 per cent, could be allowed without legal action being taken.
This method of licensing would certainly repress the class of haulage -contractor who buys 30-cwt. vehicles with the definite intention of carrying loads of between 2-24. tons. We even know, of cases where 30-cwt. vehicles seldom carry less than three tons. It is truly marvellous how the vehicles stand up to such work.
DISTRIBUTOR.