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Know-how 40: Preventive Maintenance (25) 'Keep Talking'
Page 59
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TAST week I wrote about accidents brought J/ about or influenced by winter road conditions and inexperienced drivers. I pointed out that the engineer can do a great deal to prevent them in the first place by passing on vital information and accident prevention know-how.
But this is only one aspect of road accidents and probably the least vicious or expensive—of far more concern to the engineer and his company is the crash involving a third party with injury or worse. In the main they occur between a car and heavy vehicle.
Small proportion Records show that actual crashes involving two heavy goods vehicles are a small proportion.
it has been argued recently that the comradeship of the roads is dying out, but this contention is far from true. There is still ample proof that the professional long-distance goods driver has yet to be equalled in consideration for others.
However, I must agree that goods vehicle driving apprenticeship is not served today with the same interest or endeavour to be right in all details that it was some five years ago. This lack of interest or restraint can bring its own crop of accidents with the younger drivers, who think that in three months they know it all.
Pays dividends It is these younger men about to move on to faster heavy machinery, whom the engineer must take under his wing. Where there is a fleet of any size with a fair labour wastage, it pays dividends to attach an experienced driver to the engineers' department. It is necessary to select a man who can explain and put his points across confidently.
Make provision for training both on the road and around the table, and the engineer and senior driver between them can lay a foundation of commonsense and good road behaviour that will steer the trainee heavy driver safely through this otherwise "suck it and see" period.
To return to accidents, Police graphs and engineers' logs show the pattern all too well, and without doubt, "driving with drink
taken" accounts for a vast number of cars becoming involved with goods vehicles, and 9prn onwards to midnight on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays is the bad time.
In a previous article we spoke of lifting the front lower corners of certain cabs to prevent hooking-up when reversing yet recently a certain slope-fronted car went under the front of a 30-ton outfit like a wedge, literally lifting the vehicle engine free of its mountings. Both occupants of the car suffered shocking leg injuries—both had just left a well lit social club with the possibility of doubtful vision for several miles. Would a heavy front bumper have helped? It is doubtful.
Major risk Certainly the rear of vehicle or trailer presents less of a major risk with the low check-bar now being fitted.
With vehicles and trailers on night duty, full use should be made of white paints and reflectives to define their outline. Remember that a white tailboard with a green wagon sheet drawn down over it is useless—if this is a regular feature of loading, other parts should be clearly outlined to compensate.
Accidents are always worth study, and one manager who was expensively involved three times in one month on the same street, decided to find out why. This was not hard: four pubs and two night clubs in 800 yards was the answer. As the times were right, the manager promptly re-routed his night trunk run to miss the black-spot by three miles. If there is a particular area noted at particular times for "hairy" driving, it is worth more than a thought if the risk can be lessened.
Alternative Quite often a driver can give one a lead to these features and even suggest a possible remedy or alternative.
From the engineer's point of view, anything that can be engineered to promote safety, efficiency and economy must become very much his business, and if the chance of success or even some improvement may seem remote with certain accident patterns, keep the subject of defensive driving alive, and above all, "Keep Talking".