'Ministry Must Endorse Proper Testing Standards for Vehicles'
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UNDERLINING the importance of a high and uniform standard of goods vehicle testing, at a meeting of the West Midland division of the Traders Road Transport Association in Birmingham on Monday. Mr. H. R. Featherstone. the national secretary, said that standards of measurement must be laid down for such items as the emission of black smoke and the amount of wear permitted on moving parts. These standards, he asserted, should not be left merely to the subjective judgment M the tester. as they are at the moment when vehicles are checked at the roadside.
Most important of all, he thought that testing must be arranged in such a way as to minimize loss of vehicle use. " This is more vital to trade and industry's transport than the actual out-of-pocket charge for the test." This meant that whatever type of test station was established there must be sufficient of them to he within reasonable reach of all vehicle operators: vehicles must not be kept idle waiting to he tested; and the actual test must be conducted speedily.
The larger firms running fleets of vehicles, provided they had first-class workshops. as many did, could help the testing programme by arranging for official exarreiners to test their own vehicles on their own premises. This would minimize the demand on national resources for the establishment of test stations and would also be a great convenience to the firms concerned, he said.