Private Enterprise for London?
Page 61
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MOW that we are having so many upheavals in con" nection with the bus services of London Transport, would it not be possible for the Minister of Transport to call in private coaches and thus alleviate the heavy penalty imposed upon the public by the overtime ban, unofficial strikes and the shortage of -staff? During the war use was made of such vehicles to provide emergency transport. The travelling public have been pushed around for long enough. The first duty of the staff of London Transport should be conveyed in the words "pro bono publico " and a certain section of militant drivers and conductors should not be in a position to hold a pistol at London's citizens. • If the bus men want shorter working hours and more pay, their demands should be made through the proper Union machinery. In the meantime, other drivers and people in general who may work 11 hours or so by day or night should be given the travelling facilities they need.
Many people would be glad to travel in luxury coaches, for, after all, they are now paying luxury fares.
I am sure that private enterprise would -Oblige with the vehicles.
Hounslow, Middx. W. YORATH.
Passengers on Goods Vehicles
I SHALL be glad if you will advise me regarding the I law in connection with the carriage of passengers on commercial vehicles; particularly concerning the liability which would attach to us, as owners, if a vehicle became involved in an accident which resulted in injury to or the death of passengers conveyed therein.
As a general rule, our drivers are instructed to carry • passengers only with the expressed permission of our directors, but there are occasions when it is necessary to carry employees in the normal course of their duties, or persons not in our employ, to assist in unloading heavy articles at another branch, also those in charge of buffer depots, for the purpose of opening the depots so that the goods required may be collected.
It would therefore seem that, in order to cover such cases, the instruction to our drivers should be re-worded, but we realize that if this were done it would leave a loophole in that the driver could, in the event of an accident, say that he understood that his passenger was proceeding on the normal business of the firm, and this might have the effect of prejudicing any legal proceedings which ensued. I
Will you, therefore, favour me with your opinion on these matters, together with your advice on the type of insurance necessary to cover such eventualities?
Stockport. ANXIOUS.t [It is always difficult to advise comprehensively in such a matter in a short note, but it is hoped that these few remarks may assist in clarifying the position, . I. An employer will be liable for any injury caused by hisdriver in the course of, and within the scope of, his employment.
2. The effect of the recent Court of Appeal decisions on this rntter4sfhatif the driver acts contrary to instructions • .mg • .
giv lifts to unauthorized persons and the latter are clearly informed, e.g. by -notice' on -the vehicle, of -the position, then the employers are not liable.
3. Where it sometimes becomes necessary to authorize the conveyance of.persons normally not allowed to travel on the vehicles, these persons,. if injured by the driver's negligence, would have a claim again the employers.
4. To avoid the possible loophole referred to in your ,letter, it is suggested that the notice prominently displayed on the vehicle should be to the effect that "no unauthorized person may travel on this vehicle. Such authority may only be given by" (someone in a position of authority, as a director, manager, foreman, etc., or to whoever, you wish to"delegate this responsibility). In such a case any person not so authorized is no less than a trespasser and the driver himself has nopower to authorize any passenger's presence, which-his instructions should make clear.
5. The insurance cover " necessary " should not arise if by that expression you mean to insure against a claim . by an "unauthorized" person. Any insurance company will insure against a claim by authbrized passengers that arises out of the driver's negligence:—ED.]
Modern Buses —by a Driver
I HAVE read your recent account concerning a rear/ epgined donble-deckersand have noted that the noise of the engine is subject to criticism because it is considered that it might annoy the passengers. What a pity it is that the drivers of vehicles of the conventional forward-control type have no say in the matter. They are subject to hours of engine roar and various clatters in the cab. How much more pleasant their terms of duty mould be for them if the noise level could be reduced to that which can be heard inside a bus. Is this impossible to achieve, or is the driver, as usual, considered merely as a paid servant of the ptiblic who has to drive what is chosen for him?
Now that the underfloor-engined single-decker appears to be a success, is there any reason to believe that the double-deck version would be a failure? Any manufacturer who can produce a bus which will help to alleviate the lot of the driver will, I am sure, earn his heartfelt thanks.
The present trend seems to be towards undue engine noise; driver's seat almost on the floor, even whenfully adjusted for height; steering wheel under the chin, and the top of the windscreen set so that it cuts off much of the driver's vision. Even the new London Transport Routemaster has its hand-brake lever on the near side. Yet what could fall more naturally to the driver's right hand than this? I would like to see some of our brilliant designers condemned to chive their " perfect" buses; what a howl of protest would come from them. Let us, therefore, see more co-operation between designers, management and staff.
Wallsend-on-Tyne. T. P. STEELE. [It is always of interest to have the views of readervwhose task it is to drive the products of the vehicle-manufatturing industry. Mr. Steele refers to the noise in the dab of a bus, but whether a driver is subjected to More noise than many other industrial workers is arguable.Nevertheless, designers should aim to make the lot of the driver more pleasant, if only because attraction of labour to the bus industry at present is difficult.—En.]