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Improved Comfort
Page 65
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By R. H. Wynne,
A.M.I.M.I., A.I.R.T.E., A.M.I.T.A., Transport Manager, Excel Co., Ltd.
rIREATER attention to the corn
fort and construction of cabs in delivery vans is urgently needed. I find that they are liable to leak after three or four months' service. In one case, the rain drips on to the electrical cut-out and in others it • drips on to the driver's knee. Cabs are draughty, gaping holes occurring where the steering column and pedals pass through the floor, and in one type of vehicle we have had to line the cab walls with felt to improve comfort for the driver.
Accessibility is another important conlideration in light vans. Engine covers are unwieldy and awkward to remove, and to top up with oil is a long and dirty job that is apt to be forgotten. The inaccessibility of some dipsticks has to be seen. to be believed and is a deterrent to conscientious examination of the sump level.
In one current design, the gear lever is placed so that when the hand brake is applied, it is practically impossible to engage reverse without barking one's knuckles. In another instance, when the gear lever is in a certain position, it is at chest level, and gear changing becomes an operation more of luck than of good judgment.
To locate the starter buttons requires the aid of a search party, and it is impossible to read the instruments from a normal driving position in one type of van. Moreover, the door handle is arranged so that the driver leaves his coat pocket on it when alighting.
The designer of another model has placed the door handle 'somewhere vaguely behind the driver and has arranged for the man to kick the paint off the wing when alighting, or to allow the door to do it, for him if he forgets.
Driver comfort and ease of control have deteriorated as much as other aspects of design have improved. There is no comparison between the post-war product and a 1939 van in the matter of comfort and ease of driving.