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Sir Reginald defends lorries in the environment

1st October 1971, Page 21
1st October 1971
Page 21
Page 21, 1st October 1971 — Sir Reginald defends lorries in the environment
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• Sir Reginald Wilson, speaking at the Freight Transport Association dinner in Glasgow this week, said that the road haulage industry was not at the top of the pollution league and must decline to be made guilty by association. The old view of road haulage as an unfair or marginal poacher of railway traffic, controlled by hard-faced persons contriving to make large profits by irresponsible means without thought or care for the environment, was quite out of date.

While agreeing that commercial vehicles contributed to noise and fumes, Sir Reginald did not accept that the contribution was as high as many people claimed it to be. "The rising vehicle population is much less connected with rising congestion than people think", he said, "at any rate so far as road freight is concerned." He went on to suggest that road haulage was more sinned against than sinning and referred to the failure of traders to make the night delivery schemes work.

Making an obvious reference to a statement from Mr John Peyton at CM's Fleet Management Conference, Sir Ronald said that special roads for heavy goods vehicles would have many of the characteristics of a railway. "We already have one railway, however, and cannot afford the luxury of another", he said. He added that the superiority of road transport in matters of cost, flexibility and service would disappear for the larger commercial vehicles. He saw a danger of even greater congestion if such a scheme were introduced in that operators would turn again to slightly smaller vehicles to give an uninterrupted door-to-door service.

He suggested that if 50,000 heavy commercials were withdrawn they would require to be replaced by 62,500 smaller vehicles. In a matter of costs this would increase the operating costs of road transport by £50m per annum.

Replying to Sir Reginald, Mr A. G. Hunter, Scottish chairman of the FTA, said that in certain environments lorries should have priority over people. It was his opinion that attempts to make pedestrian areas in shopping centres would impose insurmountable difficulties, on distributors and shopkeepers and in addition would cause chaos and congestion in adjacent streets. The answer, he said, lay in adequate service areas to the rear of shops.

Mr Hunter argued that in all environment matters individual communities should be allowed to establish their own standards. He warned against the dangers of blanket restrictions on a national basis, such as the proposed 20-yard parking ban at all junctions.


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