Clarify the Regulations
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THE wording and construction of many of the Regulations applying to road transport, whether they be concerned with the construction of vehicles or their operation, are still, unhappily, most obscure, Proof of this lies in the number of queries we receive, even from important makers and operators, who find the requirements so puzzling as to demand advice on their elucidation.
One difficulty is that the people who draft the Regulations do not have to interpret them. That is left to legal minds, and then not always with success. If only those preparing the various clauses could be persuaded to put them into plain English and to use terms undetstandable by the lay mind, the position would be greatly improved. Is it hopeless to expect that, with the march of progress in other directions, this may one day be accomplished?
It seems altogether wrong that Ministerial. Departments should have to issue explanatory booklets when new sets of Regulations are devised ; the latter should be self-explanatory, although, of course, simplification might entail some small loss to those publishers, including the proprietors of this journal, who issue booklets for the purpose of, explaining the law in an intelligible manner.
We well remember one Ministry official who gave thanks to providence ,because so many El people had issued explanations of the Road Traffic Act, 1033, and the Regulations which followed it, and thus relieved the Ministry from dealing with many awkward inquiries.
Analysis of the German Road Sy5tem
AMOST carefully prepared record of facts and technical data concerning the system of motor roads in Germany has been written by Professor R. G. H. Clements and published by the German Roads Delegation (1037), 120, Pall Mall, London, S.W.1. It fills a large brochure of 34 pages, and deals with the design, safety features, construction and policy of the system. This production should do much to combat the arguments of those who are inclined to the opinion that it is either impossible or uneconomic to construct independent motor roads in Britain. and supports the strong views expressed in the House of Lords by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon concerning road development.
Engineering Applied to Bodybuilding
THE final efforts to keep down the unladen weight of certain classes of commercial vehicle are, more often than not, left to the bodybuilder. A chassis manufacturer will, without any apparent reason, add a hundredweight or two to a chassis, and if the bodybuilder has been working to a close limit, he has to find ways of cutting down the weight of the body.
This he may do by reducing the thickness of the timber, or, in certain cases, by cutting down the nurnber of supporting pillars and using thinnergauge metal in the fittings. These practices, however, may reach a dangerous stage unless a thoroughly sound method of bracing be introduced. This is where engineering principles are adopted, the result being that, whilst the body may be light for the duty it has to perform it possesses a far greater degree of rigidity than it .would if reliance were placed on the inherent strength of material of greater section.