The Ban on Big Coaches,
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THE CLOSING of certain stretches of road in the New Forest area to coaches seating more than 14 passengers and to goods vehicles exceeding 2 tons in unladen weight, and of other roads to coaches seating more than 20 passengers and to goods vehicles exceeding 3 tons in unladen weight, is not a matter to be regarded as of small import.
It cannot reasonably be argued that the order of the Minister of Transport will merely help to develop the use in that area of the smaller types of passenger and goods vehicles. That, of course, will be the local effect, but the difficulty arises in the matter of through traffic and of traffic from a distance. What we feel is that, if these road-closing orders are issued at all freely (and, so far, there seems on the part of the Ministry a tendency to lend a sympathetic ear to the complaints of the local authorities against heavy vehicles), free circulation of traffic over the roads of the country will be rendered increasingly difficult, because barrier patches will be discovered in the most unexpected places, and the road traveller will be in the position of the sailor in a reef-studded sea unprovided with a chart.
The use of maps is a rare accomplishment—almost an unknown refinement—amongst .drivers of the .heavier type of vehicle; in fact, it is not greatlydeveloped amongst private motorists. Even if it were, maps clearly showing the roads closed to the class of traffic in which the owner or driver' of a particular type of vehicle is interested could not possibly be rendered available, because it would not pay to produce them, and they could not be kept up-to-date.
In order that road-traffic developments may not be checked (and there is no more reason for such a check than for hampering reasonable railway enterprise), the roads must keep pace with the needs of traffic, and this should be laid down as a fundamental principle. An application for an order prohibiting or restricting the use of a specified road by a particelar class of traffic should be acceded to only on the understanding that it is a temporary measure, and must be followed up, so soon as is possible, by a definite endeavour to bring the road up to the standard laid down for roads of its class. The importance of a road should not be judged by its width, or its direction, or the strength of its foundation, hut uponthe need of the public to travel to and from places to which it gives access. Every road should be so proportioned in its "dimensions and rendered suitable in its characteristics as completely to fill the needs of the road-travelling public, and to provide adequate facilities for the transport of goods, materials, foodstuffs, etc., to and from places and premises on and contiguous to such road.
How to Retain Coach Traffic in Restricted Areas.
THE FULL effect of the closing of certain roads to specified types of vehicle in the counties Of Cumberland and •Westmorland can only be judged upon the experience that will be gained this year, because the Order of the Minister of Transport did not come into force until after the close of last year's coaching season. In the same way, the season of 1923 will show the effect of the closing of the New Forest roads to some of the heavier types of vehicle.
Coach owners in these districts would be well advised to prepare maps based upon the details given in the Orders (they require to be shown on a large scale and with close precision, otherwise we should have endeavoured to set them out and given useful plans in the pages of this journal ; we were forced to admit, however, that the amount of space required to present the, information in a readable form could not be spared). The maps should show the roads that are closed to certain types of vehicle and the alternative routes which will give access to the places favoured by the holiday maker and coach user.
There is a largevolume of holiday-making traffic on the roads in the Lake District and -in the New Forest area, and, by the use of the smaller types of vehicle and by the employment of alternative routes (where they are available) by the larger types, this traffic can still be developed. Otherwise a great evil will have been done in depriving a section of the public of the right and opportenity to visit places of interest and scenic beauty.
The Meaning of Service. ,
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T IS fortunate for the popularity of the commercialvehicle trade in this country-that our makers are paying more attention to the provision of efficient service. It is not so very long since a customer was practically lost sight of almost immediately after he had purchased his vehicle, unless he made some call upon the manufacturer under the guarantee..
Service is a somewhat elastic term, and is one which is inter preted in many different ways. Perhaps the most important consideration is that of the provision of an adequate stock of replacement parts, which stock should preferably be held, partly at the maker's works or service station, and partly at different centres throughout the country, so that the time during which a vehicle is put out of action can be reduced to the minimum.
This alone, however, cannot be considered to meet the full requirements. It is also essential that the manufacturer should either personally, or through accredited agents, keep constantly in touch with all the users of his machines. It is only, in this way that satisfaction can be ensured to both parties.
It is to the advantage of the builder to know where his products fail, and it is also to the advantage of the user to know bow these failures can be rectified.
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unimportant ailment may, if neglected, develop into a serious illness, so may some little defect in a commercial vehicle lead to trouble of considerable 'magnitude unless taken in hand iii time, and it is here that the service department of the manufacturer can step in and give assistance.
"A little help is worth a deal of pity," and it is far better for the maker to give advice which will prevent failures than for him to commiserate with the user because his machines have not turned out quite so satisfactory a,s was expected.
A Good Example of Service Provision.
WE refer, in thie issue, to a very sound servicing scheme, organized by one of our biggest manufacturers, which is well worth studying closely by those makers who are not dealing in such a thorough manner with this important branch of their business.
It is, unfortunately, true that new designs of commercial vehicles often embody certain faults which were apparent to users in their prototypes, thus pointing conclusively to the fact that the designers concerned were not fully cognisant of the experiences gained in actual running conditions. It is in this respect that the maker who keeps in touch with his customers gains a very valuable adyantage, provided that the information obtained is permitted to reach the departments concerned, and that these are instructed to pay the.greatest attention to users' experiences, which, after all, form the truest evidence as to whether a certain design is satisfactory or
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Parking Places for Motor Coaches.
FOLLOWING upon the success of our feature entitled "Parking Plans for Visiting Coaches," which we maintained throughout last year's coaching season, it had, naturally, been our intention to develop further the idea of publishing full details concerning parking places appointed by the responsible officials in cities, towns, and other traffic centres for the accommodation of visiting motor coaches. We instituted the project early last year, prior to the opening of the coaching season, and gave first and exclusive information of the arrangements all over the country, which information, as we have ample reason to know, was of very great service to coach owners and the drivers of the vehicles.
Our feature was directlyresponsible for giving a very useful lead to officials exercising control over the traffic of popular centres, who, prior thereto, had not been called upon to make special arrangements for the reception and parking of incoming coaches. Those officials were enabled, by reason of the completeness of the details published by us concerning the arrangements in other centres, quickly to decide upon the best methods.
At a meeting in the autumn, of the National Council of the Commercial Motor Users Association, the secretary was a,uthoriied to compile a directory of coach parking places, and, as no good purpose would have been served by a duplication of efforts, we placed the whole of our collected information at the disposal of the ' secretary, and we are glad now to learn that a booklet has been prepared for free circulation, giving a list of towns in England and Wales where parking provisions have been arranged.