Getting to Grips wi Destructive Driving
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ALL the fine arrangements made for servicing and repairing vehicles have little effect on the serviceability of a fleet if that fleet is subjected to unfair wear and tear because of the incompetence of those handling the vehicles. It is well known that a bad driver causes more headaches to the engineer than almost any other factor in road haulage, and all too often such a man is either sacked out of hand, or left to his own devices, so becoming a bad influence on other members of the driving staff, particularly the younger element.
I have often heard the remark, sometimes made by a promising youngster, that "old Joe Bloggs gets away with murder ", and from that time onwards have seen a noticeable decline in the quality of the younger chap's work. You only need one bad apple in a barrel to very quickly contaminate the rest.
Mr. Amey has devised a method of bringing such people up with a jerk, and although it will not replace the need for a vehicle workshop, it does ensure that a driver is kept informed about the tremendous cost of breakdowns caused by bad handling. There are not very many drivers, good or bad, who have much idea of the cost involved when a major unit is smashed, or in the event of a minor accident. But the Amey system shows them by keeping a pictorial record of the major units wrecked in service, and also of any smashes that take place. The company makes up a very effective album, complete with captions, telling how the damage was done and what the cost of the repairs were.
This album is distributed to each depot manager who, in the event of a driver having an accident or, for instance, being responsible for damaging a diff, or running a pair of wheels off, will bring the driver into his office and read the riot act to him, using the pictures to illustrate his points. The book is also used to educate drivers before they do any damage, and it is claimed that the effects are very encouraging. R. D. CATER.
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