AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Handbrake overheating caused accident

19th May 1972, Page 38
19th May 1972
Page 38
Page 38, 19th May 1972 — Handbrake overheating caused accident
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• The cause of a furniture van running away on a steep hill while being unloaded was overheating of the handbrake which operated on a disc on the transmission, Dukinfield magistrates were told last week.

George Hawkins and Sons Ltd, Oldham, was prosecuted by the police for causing the use of the vehicle with brakes not properly adjusted and in good and efficient working order.

Evidence was given that the vehicle was parked on Longridge Hill, Stalybridge, which had a gradient of 1 in 5.5, and had been stopped for 10 minutes when it set off unattended and collided with a house at a bend in the road. This occurred on December 15 1971 and two days later the van was seen by a vehicle examiner who found the handbrake was noteffective at all.

Mr T. Widgery, a consultant engineer, appearing on behalf of the defendant, said that he examined the vehicle and found the handbrake disc to be blued as if from overheating.

Mr Widgery added he carried out an experiment with a similar vehicle and found that the handbrake heated if left partly on. This caused the disc to expand with the heat and from cold to hot there was a variation of 0.003in.

With the brake in a heated condition he parked it at the spot where the accident occurred and it held the vehicle for 17 minutes and then it started moving away quickly. After stopping the vehicle the disc was measured and it had contracted by 0.0025in., sufficient to release the tension.

Mr J. A. Backhouse, defending, submitted that this was the• probable cause of the accident and, if so, the brake was working properly when the vehicle pulled up.

After the prosecution had pointed out there was no explanation how the brake came to be out of adjustment when inspected by the vehicle examiner two days later, the magistrates found the case proved and fined the company £25.

Tags


comments powered by Disqus