S I NOTED last week, 1986 is European Road Safety
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Year and the Department of Transport has sent me interesting statistics and other information. Just glancing through this stuff ought to make anyone drive more thoughtfully.
Now that the Iberian countries are in the European Economic Community, we can all guess which nation has the most road accident deaths per million population (Spain with 300 in 1983). Two years ago the United Kingdom's figures (101) were the least horrendous; France was 228, Germany 167 and the Netherlands 112.
Motor fatalities have been with us since February 23, 1899, when the first car driver in Britain was killed — travelling down hill at Harrow in a wagonette, with a maximum design speed of 22.04km/h (14mph), at over 40km/h (25mph) and causing the wheels to collapse. The Autocar reported that the driver's pride and self confidence caused him to show off. It's the sort of thing that can still cause accidents, even among professional drivers.
IDON'T want to be flippant, but the Confederation of British Industry has launched a competition for 2l-year-olds entitled "Tell British Industry Where To
Go". It's being called the "21/21" competition, with prizes worth more than £15,000. It marks the CBI's 21st birthday year. And it appears that 86 is not only Safety Year but Industry Year.
I've been looking at their handout very closely and I can now tell you that you don't have to be 21; "And we're looking for young people who, by 21, are able to demonstrate that they are on the right road, say in the final year of a BA or BSc, or are showing enterprise in starting up or running their own business." Essay length is given as 1,000 words.
I always look forward to reading something really good when I hear of a contest like this. There ought to be some entrants from transport. Entry forms will be available from Loyds in England and Wales, the TSB in Scotland or from any CBI office.
WHEN THE Department of Transport got around to changing the format of number plates a couple of years ago, it made a conscious decision to not issue low numbers in each sequence or numbers which would easily translate into "words", thereby trimming the trade in personalised numbers.
I thought this move had been successful, until I sat in yet another M25-jam the other day, and idly read the plate of the car in front. Its socially aware driver had obscured a significant area of the rear window with a large CND sticker — in itself probably no great crime if that's the way your political views run. However, one should not do it if one's number plate i BXXX WAR.
ORD TEV1OT, who was once briefly employed by Premier Travel as a bus conductor and who often speaks on road transport in the House of Lords, was chief guest at a dinner called to celebrate the company' jubilee year.
The firm was started by Arthur Lainson, who organised bus trips to tht seaside in 1936 while he was an undergraduate at Cambridge, and this dinner is one of several events planned to mark the half-century. Lainson took the opportunity to announce that he ha! retired as group chairman but retains a seat on the hoard.
The company has 60 coaches and the birthday cake was modelled in detail on one. Premier also has 14 retail outlets ir East Anglia and runs holiday operations as far afield as America, China and the Far East. Turnover approaches 5:20 million.
by the Hawk