TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL
Page 48
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Brussels Meeting on Inspection and Safety
A JOINT conference of JIDITVA
(Journees Internationales de l'Inspection Technique des Vehicules Autpmobiles) and SBIA (Societe Beige des Ingenieurs de l'Automobile) is scheduled for next week. The JIDITVA section of the conference takes place between September 23 and 26, whilst the SBIA section, which is being held under the auspices of FISITA (Federation Internationale des Societes d'Inginieurs des Techniques de l'Autonnobile) will be on September 27, the complete meeting being at the Palais des Congrbs, Brussels.
The JIDITVA papers are, as the name of the organizers suggests, concerned principally with the technical inspection of motor vehicles. Included among the papers is one dealing with the development and planning of the West German inspection-station network, planning for which started in 1952 on the basis of the number of licensed vehicles and trailers in the districts concerned, whilst in a subsequent paper the training of inspectionstation personnel is dealt with, such training periods lasting up to 12 months in the case of the basic courses.
The inspection of heavy vehicles in France forms the subject of another paper, whilst Mr. H. Perring, chief mechanical engineer of the British Ministry of Transport, will give details of equipment and methods used for vehicle tests in Britain.
Two papers will deal with vehicle lighting and the testing of same, whilst a Germanpaper will deal with the physiologic situation of the driver in relation to his field of vision, difficulties being caused by the driver's physical shortcomings and his age as well as by heat, noise, vibration and lack of oxygen. Constructional faults in current cabs which restricted driving visibility are detailed in this paper also and a plea is made for international regulations to be drawn up and the advice of psychologists, labour physiologists and doctors sought.
Mr. R. A. C. Fosberry, of MIRA, and Mr. R. L. Moore, of the Road Research Laboratory, are scheduled to give another paper dealing with vision from the driving seat in which references will be made to recent changes in headlamp design and mounting. Other papers will include a German one on the inspection of smoke emitted by diesel engines and one from Switzerland on the anti-noise drive in that country, including checks made on the noise of vehicle doors being closed and the noise generated by the tyres of moving vehicles.
Other papers to be presented will deal with the construction and the equipping of inspection stations, the influence of vehicle condition on the number and importance of accidents, the results and usefulness of vehicle inspection, and the distribution of technical information collected in the vehicle-inspection stations. Mr. W. T. Williams, secretary of the S.M.M.T., will be presenting a paper about the liaison between interested parties and organizations with regard to vehicle testing.
The SBIA papers will deal with vehicle safety and construction and will include papers by Mr. Grime, of the Road Research Laboratory, and Mr. Kinchin, of the Dunlop Rubber Co., concerning the control of vehicles during braking and cornering. Other papers scheduled for presentation will deal with steering control of vehicles when adhesion is lost, safety glass and safety belts, the interior layouts of vehicles from the safety angle, and aspects of vehicle design which could contribute towards keeping drivers alert, particularly on night driving and on long, straight stretches of road.
FOR FIRE, LIGHTING AND HEALTH SIX vehicles with Bedford chassis will be among the exhibits at three forth
coming conferences. At the Hastings conference of the Chief Fire Officers Association (September 30-October 3) three Bedford-based appliances with bodywork and equipment by H.C.B. Engineering Ltd. will be shown. Two are water tenders, one on a TK chassis and the other on a 6-ton normal-control chassis, and one a pumping appliance on a 3-ton normal-control chassis converted to forward control.
At the Eastbourne conference of the Association of Public Lighting Engineers, October 8-10, an Eagle hydraulically operated two-stage tower wagon on a 15-cwt. van chassis will be displayed, while Bedford/Eagle exhibits at the Public Health Inspectors Conference at Eastbourne (September 24-26), will be a 16/ 24-cu.-yd. Compressmore refuse collector on a TIC 6-tonner and a continuousloading collector on a TK 7-ton chassis.