Importance of Rear Bumpers On Semi-trailers
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IN the July 7 issue of The Commercial Motor you pub lished an excellent review of the first report made by the Road Injuries Research Group, Inter alia, you mentioned from points made in the report that it referred to the "particular hazard to cars and motor cycles " occasioned by the long overhang of many vehicles and trucks. The report, it Seems, made it clear that " very serious facial, neck, and chest injuries" have often been sustained by car drivers and motorcyclists (and by their passengers) when they became "jammed under the overhang."
We would like to commend you for bringing this particular hazard into sharp focus. It is a hazard provided not only by trucks, but also by the overhang of semi-trailers as most people well know. Here at York, ever since the introduction of our range of lightweight, frameless, enclosed vans, we have built in as standard equipment a heavy-duty rear bumper based on the American Inter-State Commerce Commission regulations.
Mandatory in North America
Such bumpers are mandatory in North America, with good reason, we believe. Indeed, we contend that such regulations could be introduced to this country with advantage in the field of road safety and in the interests of reducing the number of fatalities and injuries sustained on our roads. The I.C.C. regulations provide that " where a body or chassis assembly has a clearance at the rear above ground of more than 30 in. (it) shall have a bumper fitted at a maximum distance of 30 in. from the ground, and not more than 24 in. from the rear end."
Since the introduction of York products in the autumn of 1959, with the I.C.C.-type bumper fitted as standard equipment, certain other British semi-trailer manufacturers have seen fit to adopt this very necessary safeguard for the public at large using smaller vehicles. Our bumper is also available as an optional extra.
We like to think that York Trailers set a trend in Britain in this regard, and we try to keep alive to all similar new developments of a practical nature that would have the objective of making commercial vehicles even safer on our roads than they are now.
Corby, Northants. F. W. DAVIES,
Managing Director, York Trailer Co., Ltd.
Rail Brake on Road Haulage
uTE are a company that believes there is quite a future " in Continental haulage and as such we went into rates quite thoroughly. We were, therefore, interested in Janus' article "The Big Fix," published on June 16.
Our commodity is finished cars, and a door-to-door service has got the present system stone cold. What at present is taking two or three weeks, we could do in three to four (-18 days, and again avoid pilferage that is fairly rife in some areas.
A case in point was to Zurich, in Switzerland. Our first costing was £80 per vehicle, although with return loads we had hoped to bring this down to £40 per vehicle. We can compete both here and on the Continent, but the ferry charges make our rates prohibitive, yet the railways quote L25 per vehicle; how can they do this?
This is without doubt impossible, and surely it is only another case of yearly losses being met by the taxpayers that enables this state of affairs to continue.
The railways have plenty of privileges already, what with duty-free fuel, no road fund taxes, no rates, etc.. etc., and they must surely be taking into account that losses will always be made good, hence their ridiculously low quoted rates.
Birmingham, 31. D. A. TALBOT,
Director, B. and T. Transport, Ltd.
Distorted Picture of Road Transport
HOW hany hauliers, I wonder, listened to the recent "Any Questions?" programme on the radio when the old problem of controlled transport was raised?
Panellist Christopher Mayhew's views seemed more concerned with theory than practice, but nevertheless the distorted idea put forward could have an unfortunate impression on the public. He stated that present transport policy is biased heavily against the railways, who have to pay for their own track upkeep, whereas the taxpayer in general pays for the roads. Apparently the fact that tax income from licensing and fuel is four times the expenditure on the roads seems to escape him.
Then shrewd Derbyshire educationalist Jack Longland complained of being impeded by heavy transport, saying that much more freight should go by rail in the " Roadrailers." Even when mentioning this very name it did not occur to him that transport from rail depot to'customer still had to be by road, invariably through congested town areas. In addition the Roadrailer trailers are very much in prototype form.
Surely then, a safe, prompt, door-to-door service by road cannot be equalled by the railways, a fact underlined by the increasing proportion of goods traffic (now more than half) carried by road. The importance of the railways in the economy of the country is diminishing and will continue to do so. It is time that they and the Government face up to this, and assume a policy to encourage the cheapest and most efficient transport system.
Birmingham. INDEPENDENT.