IRTE Anniversary Luncheon
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QPEAKERS at the 21st Anniversary %--7 Luncheon held by the Institute of Road Transport Engineers in London on Tuesday stressed the need for adequate vehicle maintenance, more stringent legislation dealing with braking standards and the importance of improving technical education.
The positive and progressive measures made by bodies such as the IRTE were welcomed by the main speaker, Lord Lindgren, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, who said that standards of vehicle maintenance were still not good enough. This was the driver's responsibility as well as the owner's, and possible deterrents were legislation on braking standards, roadside checks and regular inspections, and the plating of vehicles. if testing stations came, said Lord Lindgren, these, like vehicle checks, would be no substitute for adequate maintenance and skilled manpower.
Speaking as president of the IRTE, Mr. E. B. H. Elsbury informed the guests that membership of the institute now totalled almost 3,000. He emphasized that standards of maintenance must be improved and suggested that present methods of training for tradesmen and technologists were out of date. He referred to lack of co-operation between bodies sponsoring individual training schemes.
Proposing the toast to the guests, Mr. Roger Gresham Cooke, MP, suggested that at least one of the seven new universities should take up vehicle engineering as one of its special disciplines, emphasizing that something had to be done quickly, as it would take at least 10 years to train a new generation of academically qualified executives.
Replying for the guests, Mr. W. Swallow. past president of the SMMT, thanked the organizing committee of "this historic event ". Organized inspection. maintenance and repair played a vital part in eliminating accidents due to mechanical failure, said Mr. Swallow, and the knowledge and skill of members of the IRTE did much to ensure the safety of vehicles.