Bird's Eye View
Page 68
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EVER heard of a seven-year-old belting along in a 5-ton tipper at speed? If you find this difficult to believe I suggest you keep your eyes skinned if you ever happen to be passing a disused airfield in the Corby, Northants, area For I have it from a usually reliable source that Alan Wright (7) makes a habit of pushing a 5-tonner along the-runways at a good rate of knots.
Apparently Alan's driving career began two years ago when his father, a garage owner, gave his son an old Austin 7 to amuse himself with. To Mr. Wright's astonishment Alan promptly taught himself to drive. A year ago Alan was allowed to try his hand with the 5-tonner, which, it seems, he found a little awkward at first. But he soon got the knack of it and though he almost disappears from. view when using the clutch he remains very much in control.
Naturally this miniature Stirling, who has it in mind to become a racing driver, will not be allowed on the public highway until he is 17. So his more immediate plan is to teach his twin brothers to drive. They are 10 months old!
What's in a Number?
cCENE: Last week's demonstration of the special cycle" carrying buses for the Dartford-Purfleet tunnel. Among those present: representatives of the Ministry of Transport and London Transport. In other words, a somewhat " official " occasion, which made what was evidently a signwriting error in the painting of the registration number of the vehicle on show all the more amusing.
It bore the number FJJ 526, which would have been issued about 24 years ago, instead of 526 FM, which appeared on the licence disc and would obviously have been about right for a recently registered vehicle.
Oddly enough, London Transport had quite a large number of STL-type double-deckers and TF-type Green Line coaches with registration numbers in the original HI series, although the block of numbers involved did not include 526.
Money-spinning Greyhound
ARLIER this month the American publication Forbes, " gave some interesting figures about the Greyhound Corporation, these showing, among other things, that Greyhound's 5,000 coaches carried 104 m. passengers along 100,000 route miles last year, and that the ensuing revenue of £100 m. was a record for the Corporation. In contrast to Greyhound's traffic, all the aircraft operated by all the U.S. trunk airlines combined carried a mere 51 m. passengers last year, and I think it is significant that Forbes
B42 should compare the Greyhound figure with that of the airlines: a few years ago the railways would have provided the comparative factor, but where are they now?
Further Greyhound income came from using spare luggage space in the coaches for conveying small goods, totalling £10 m., whilst the 127 Greyhound Post Houses sold £8-75 m. worth of food. Chartering and furniture-removal services added another £7.5 m to the kitty, making a total revenue of over £126 m.
The total revenue of the U.S.A.'s next largest coaching concern, Continental Trailways, was £20 m. last year, this company operating over 52,000 route miles. Continental Trailways' load factor was 40 per cent, compared with the Greyhound figure of 60 per cent.
Booklet for Drivers
AN admirable little booklet produced by Hoover Ltd.
has come into my hands. It has been produced by the company's transport department for the guidance of Hoover drivers. Much of its merit lies in the fact that the presentation is so good---there are clearly defined sections on, for example, "The Driver at Work ", "The Law and the Driver ", "The Law and the Vehicle ", and "Before the Off ". The book is also very nicely illustrated with entertaining cartoons of the usual Brockbank excellence.
Among the items of advice I was pleased to note in the section "On the Highway" was a reminder that: "You are too good a driver to need to blare at anyone who gets in your path" and the caution: "Don't race a diesel downhill in any gear faster than its governed speed in that gear on ground level ". A curt admonition amongst several pieces of advice on emergency procedure is: "Be polite but don't (Hoover italic) admit liability ".
There are numerous light touches in this very useful publication, which should go down well with drivers. I particularly liked the reminders that there's no such person as the unofficial passenger and that The law says (Hawk italic) no driver may sleep in a vehicle.