BIRD' S
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EYE
VIEW By The Hawk
"I've never noticed that pedestrians need much separating from motorists!" • •
Buses or Minis The cartoon (above) this week is really rather topical, 1 feel. Last week our sister journal Motor (by which we are revered) published a feature disparaging the bus and suggesting the use of 4-seater mini-bubble vehicles in its place. Parts of the Smeed/Wardrup survey were quoted, including the Following:— If, during peak hours, all present bus and car passengers were to travel two to a mini-car, taxis were replaced by miniears at present average occupancy, and commercial vehicles were prohibited, journey times would fall by 25-30 per cent...."
This, of course, is all very well for mini-makers, but rather think that taxi-drivers, C-licenseds and hauliers might have a few well-chOsen words to say on the subject. not to mention bus operators!
Personally, 1 would have thought that this idea was essentially anti-Buchanan.
"To V or not to V?" Some interesting comments were made by Mr. W. L. Morgan, chief engineer of British Road Services Federation Ltd., in a speech he made as principal guest of the Diesel Engineers and Users' Association at its annual lunch held in London last week. The changes in regulations likely to come into force in the not-too-distant future—regarding weights and minimum power to weight ratios—coupled with possible laws luniting noise and smoke would require vehicles with very much more engine power, said Mr. Morgan. Without, of course, extra size or weight. Most operators were fanatically opposed to this, he said. The result, thought Mr. Morgan, could be the end of the conventional in-line four-stroke diesel engine in maximum gross good's vehicles. The
RECOGNIZE THIS?
question of "to V or not to V? ", he understood, was currently being hotly debated in a number of makers' design offices. Most interesting!
Hard Cheese? Watch out for flying (20 lb.)
cheeses in Cheshire. One hit a car at Agden, sir. Lymm, in the county recently. According to the report that reached me it fell off a lorry—and the driver was subsequently fined IS for having an insecure load. Well, Eve heard of " high " cheeses, but this is ridiculous!
The R.H.A.'s Northern dinner and dance went otl with a swing at Newcastle last week. About 420 were accommodated at the Mayfair with ease .and, I noticed, it was the "modern " dances—the twist, the shake and so forth that attracted "youngsters like Bob Durham, the area chairman, and Archie Glendenning onto the floor.
Obviously enjoying himself was the L.A., John Hanlon— he was telling us about his new courtroom which was opened at the Ministry's new offices in Low Friar. Street during the week.Complete with interview rooms, underfloor, heating and yellow upholstery, the room was "launched " successfully, I gather, after the first goods and passenger sitting held there. For relaxation after late court sittings " La Doke Vita "• (a nightclub) is close at hand! With it in North Regular 1,500 Miles Taking a keen interest in the proceedings at the Newcastle dinner/dance were Mr. Marvyn Daggett and his wife, who are staying with Bob Durham. Mr. Daggett is a haulier from Minnesota, U.S.A. He was talking in nonchalant terms of a regular 1,500-mile journey his vehicles make non-stop. They carry two drivers —one drives while the other sleeps. The loads, to quote Mr. Daggett, are " Two-hundred head of hogs! ".
Biggest applause of the evening was for the R.H.A.'s staff responsible for the dinner arrangements.
Metre Meeting? Was the sight of a German
Mercedes-Benz coach with the word " Berlin " on its side and which I saw parked in the forecourt of the Ministry of Transport's offices on Monday significant, I wonder? Could it be that they were checking the new metric measures? Or was it a round-table discussion on plating, power-weight ratios, braking requirements and so forth?