Maintenance Improving: Watch on Black Smoke
Page 33
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THE standard of goods-vehicle maintenance ih most traffic areas is improving, although not in the case of small vans engaged on local delivery. This observation is made in the Summary of Annual Reports of the Licensing Authorities, 1956-57," published last Friday (Stationery Office, 3s.).
It is stated that in the year ended September 30 last, particular attention was paid by enforcement -officers and the police to vehicles emitting black smoke. Of 118,826 vehicles examined, '27.115 were prohibited. Immediate prohibition notices were placed on 8,157 vehicles.
Enforcement work was much reduced because officers were diverted to fuel rationing. Traffic checks made in co-operation With the police showed, however, that falsification of records ° was still prevalent.
Sonic Licensing Authorities reported that stiffer penalties were being imposed. They attributed this trend to the full presentation to magistrates of the facts of serious cases, and to an increasing number of cases coming before the same courts. This was not, however, the general experience, " the fines imposed elsewhere being hardly calculated to serve as a deterrent to the commission of the same type of offence' in the future."
• As in past years, Licensing. Authorities comment strongly on the inconvenience and waste of time resulting from the withdrawal of applications, frequently without proper notice. On receiving objections. many new. applicants withdrew and their applications were refused by default.
Some of the Authorities comment favourably on the continued activities of road-rail negotiating committees.
11,531 Objecfions Of the 11,531 objections lodged against 5,157 of the 30,433 notifiable licence applications received, 37.1 per cent, came from British Railways. 14.7 per cent. from British Road Services and 48.2 per cent. from other hauliers.
Between December 31, 1956, and December 31, 1957, the number of vehicles on A licences increased from 65,758 to 68,273, on contract-A licences from 22,237 to 24,548, on B licences from 68,906 io 70,691, and on C licences from 998,219 to 1,070,201. The number of vehicles on special A licences dropped from 25,276 to 23,746, The fleet of C-licence vehicles was arti ficially inflated by fuel rationing which Caused many owners of utilities to declare them as goods vehicles in the hope of securing a more generous fuel allocation.
[The Licensing Authorities' reports
for the year ended September 30, 1956, the publication of which was delayed, were summarized in The Commer'cial Motor on June 13.]
• NEW MANCHESTER PREMISES
N' premises have been acquired in Scotland Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, by W. T. Noble and Sons (Manchester), Ltd., for the collection and distribution of bulk loads. There is 2,000 sq. ft. of storage space for removals traffic, The company, whose operations were described in The Commercial Motor on July II, have added two more Austin vans to their A licence.