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Apart from the new national defence contribution, road transport interests, as such, have almost completely escaped the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this year's Budget.
Mr. Chamberlain referred, in one sentence, to his proposal that the unladen 'weight of a goods vehicle shall be taken, for taxation purposes, to include the weight of any receptacle placed in or on the vehicle for the carriage of goods, if they he loaded into, carried in or unloaded from the receptacle, without its being removed from the vehicle.
The proposal takes effect from janu ary I, 1938. The effect of the change on revenue is described as negligible.. The estimated revenue of motor-vehicle duties in 1937-88 is given as £34,000,000, as compared with £32,727,000 received in 1936-37.
Vague Brake-efficiency Definition.
Mr. Lyons asked, in the House of Commons this week, for a definition of the standard of efficiency required for brakes and steering gear, under the new regulations. He was informed by Captain Hudson that the requirements in question were set out in the regulations.
All brakes and steering gear had to he maintained in good and efficient working order and kept properly adjusted.
Eighth International Road Congress.. At the invitation of the Government of the Netherlands the Eighth International Road Congress will be held al The Hague from June 19 to July 2, 1938. Adequate representation of British interests will be arranged by the British Organizing Committee of the Permanent International Association of Road Congresses, 7, Whitehall Gardens, London, S.W.1. Many well-known engineers have already promised to submit their. views on the questions asked.
C.M.U.A. Conference Date Fixed.
The Fourth National Road Transport Conference of the C.M.U.A. has now been definitely fixed to take place at Porthcawl, South Wales, from September 2022 inclusive.
Bodybuilding Supervisor Required.
A bodybuilder in Norfolk requires an expert supervisor with extensive ex perience. Salary and prospects are good. Letters, adressed " Supervisor," care of the Editor, will be forwarded.
Illuminated-kerb Experiments.
Illuminated kerbs are being tried out at Kingston-on-Thames, Nottingham, Tynernouth and North Shields. No report is yet available as to their efficiency as a factor in road safety.
EXPORTS SHOW UP WELL IN TRADE • RETURNS.
The Board of Trade returns for March last show that the value of commercial vehicles, cars, chassis and accessories imported was £538,951, compared with ,522,27'5 in the corresponding month of 1936.
The number of complete commercial vehicles exported was 361, which shows a useful advance on the total (226) for the same month of the previous year, their value this year being £116,647, contrasted with £61,695 for March, 1936.
There was also a good increase in the number of commercial chassis exported, this year's total of 1,413 comparing with 884 for March of last year, their respective values being £208,290 and £130,753,l Showmen's Vehicles Must be Specially A decision of Haverforclwest justices affecting showmen's vehicles was upset by a King's Bench Divisional Court, last week. The police were the appellants and it was stated that the legislature had provided that, when a motor vehicle was constructed for the business of a showman, it could be specially licensed at reduced cost.
G. B. Chaprnan, Ltd,, a concern of showmen, was charged with using a lorry in Ha.verfordwest under such a special licence when it was not constructed for a showman's business. The lorry, it was said, was flat with a ledge about an inch high. It carried ropes and canvas, and pulled a trailer having a caravan top full of equipment. It was admitted that the trailer could be used for living accommodation.
The magistrates dismissed the in formatioe on the ground that the lorry was used solely for the showman's business, although the police had contended that it could not be used solely for that business unless it were fitted with a special body.
The court allowed the appeal, with costs,holding that tha material matter which entitled the vehicle to enjoy the special licence duty was its particular construction for that class of business. This lorry was not so constructed. 4
FEWER ROAD ACCIDENTS IN LONDON.
The Minister of Transport has stated that the latest statistics show a substantial reduction in the number of accidents to persons on those roads in London which were called the "black spots."
With regard to the Metropolitan Police area as a whole, there were, during 1.936, 1,038 accidents resulting in death and 50,186 in personal injury, as compared with 1,413 and 52,184 respectively in 1934, The total figures show a reduction of 2,378.
India Tyre Service in Birmingham.
The sales offices in Birmingham of the India Tyre and Rubber Co., Ltd., have been transferred from Bromley Street to Essex Street. Stores and service departments remain at the former address, and adequate communication between the two establishments preserves continuity of service to traders and commercial users.
A Lecture on the Flow of Metals.
The 27th annual May lecture of the
Institute of Metals, entitled The Flow of Metals," will be delivered by Professor E. N. cla C. Andrade, D.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.S., on May 5.. The lecture will be given in the Hall of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey's Gate, Westminster, London, S.W.1.. Tickets of admission may be obtained from Mr. G. Shaw Scott, secretary of the Institute, 36. Victoria Street, London, S.W.1.
Medals for Yorkshire Veterans.
Sir John Quarmby, chairman of the West Riding Federation of " Safety First" Councils, and Mr. Joseph Earndale, chairman of the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners, have each promised to provide a medal for award in the Yorkshire section of the safedriving competition which is being promoted by the Leeds " Safety First " Council.
As previously reported, Mr. Robert Barr, of Leeds, is providing a modal for award in the other section of the contest—that for goods and public service vehicle drivers living in Leeds. The medals will he awarded to drivers who have held licences for the longest period (not less than 25 years) without being involved in a blameworthy accident.
Important Highlands Road Works.
Further schemes for the improvement of roads in the Highlands of Scotland have been prepared by the Ministry of Transport, and work will be put in hand in the near future. They include the reconstruction of parts of the road from Laxford Bridge to Durness—one of the most northerly points of the Scottish mainland—the Uig-StaffinPortree road in the Isle of Skye,.and the Loch gilphead-Inverarayroad in Argyllshire. The cost of the work on these three roads is estimated at about £184,000, and grants have been made from the Road Fund.
The improvements on the Laxford Bridge-Durness road afford a good illus tration of how the Crofter Counties programme is opening up the more remote regions of the Highlands to road transport.
Minister to Open £150,000 Road
A new g150,000 road linking High Street, Stockton-on-Tees, with the Haverton Hill Road, near the approach road to the Tees Bridge, will be opened on April 30 by the Minister of Transport.
CHIEF CONSTABLE DEFENDS MOTOR USERS.
The. chief constable of Carmarthenshire, in his report on road accidents in 1936, says that motor drivers (excluding motorcyclists) are solicitous for the safety of other road users, "much more so than they get credit for."
He adds that it is riot/ surprising that the Motorists Defence League has made a strong protest to the Ministry of Transport against the unfair and restrictive legislation directed against motor users, whilst other contributory factors do not receive due consideration.
Other road users' carelessness, poor and skid-provoking road surfaces, and bad lighting are mentioned as occasion.ing most accidents. WHY RACEHORSE TRAINER PREFERS ROAD TRANSPORT.
Reasons why he prefers 1 that racehorses should be transport d by road, rather than by rail, were g' en by Mr. W. A. Hall, a racehorse trainer, of Towton. Tadcaster, in e 'deuce, at Leeds, on Monday, in support of an application by Mr. T. H. Piercy, haulage contractor, of Flaxton, near York, for permission to operate an additional horsebox, Mr. Hall, who said that he employed Mr. Piercy to take horses pni. road to and from race meetings, stated that he preferred road transport for this work because the horses had not to start so early as if they went by rai , and they could frequently be returue4 home two or three hours sooner. This was highly important from the standp int of the
welfare of the horses. They were often excitable, and nine out of ten horses would not eat away from home. In answer to the Yorkshire Deputy Licensing Authority (Mr. E. Russell Gurney), Mr. Hall said thatracehorses could not be brought away fi orn a racecourse immediately they. had run. It might take three hours for them to cool and calm down sufficiently to be moved.
Mr. Piercy, the applicant, said that, in addition to transporting horses, he moved a great deal of cattle. Owing to the increase in his business, the two vehicles which he operated were inadequate, although he w4ked them double shifts.
The hearing was adjourned for railway evidence.
Shipping Guide for Hauliers.
The following is the number of ships trriving at the London docks, wharves and jetties named, from A.pril 23May 1 inclusive :—Docxs : King George V. 6; Royal Albert, 8; Royal Victoria, 5; Surrey Commercial, 9; Fast India, 3; West India, 3; South-'West India, 3; Tilbury, 7; Tilbury Stage, 2 ; Royal, 5. WHARVES: Hay's, 5; *ddleton's, 1; Mark Brown's, 1; Butler's, 1. Tilbury Jetty, 1. Regent's isanal, 1.
Daimler Passenger Chassis Described.
Transport Vehicles (Daini er), Ltd., Coventry, has recently prtluced an excellent catalogue dealing with its passenger chassis, which serve's to emphasize not only the special features of the vehicle, but gives an idea of the extent to which it is being used, not only by operators in this country,
B2 but also abroad. Full specification details are embodied, and a good feature is the illustrations of alternative seating layouts for different types of single-decker. The alternative powerunit equipment which is available for the Daimler chassis is also referred to. NEW THORNYCROFT STURDY TRACTIVE UNIT.
Designated Model YE/TC4, a new 10-ft. wheelbase chassis has been added to the Sturdy range of goods vehicles made by John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., Smith Square, London, S.W.1. Powered by a 60 b.h.p. four-cylindered petrol engine, having a bore and stroke of 98.4 mm. and 127 mm., the new machine is for use as the tractive unit of an articulated 6-tonner, of which the gross weight must not exceed 101 tons.
The unladen weight of this Sturdy is 1 ton 19 cwt. and the complete outfit will weigh under 4 tons. It has an overall length of 16 ft. 11 ins., a turning circle of 44-ft. diameter, is equipped with 32 by 6 R.H.S. tyres, and costs LICENSING AUTHORITY PROSECUTES FOR SPEEDING. .
The second summons of its kind in the country was heard at Northampton Police Court, last week, when a Northampton firm of hauliers were fined £.2 for not observing a condition of a licence, in that the lorry to which it related had been driven at more than 80 m.p.h. The only other previous summons of a similar nature was at Rawtenstall.
For the East Midland Licensing Authority the importance of the proceedings, both from a public-safety standpoint and as a means for avoiding unfair competition, was stressed. Evidence was given that the average speed of one of the firm's lorries, on a journey from Northampton to Pettrborough, as shown by the driver's
record, was 33.4 m.p.h. •
Salesman Wanted for East Sussex,
A leading British commercial-vehicle manufacturer requires a salesman for the East Sussex area, qualifications being that he must be resident in Brighton arid have had previous commercial-vehicle experience. Further details may be obtained from a small advertisement appearing in this issue, and applicants should write to the box number given therein.
More London Police Patrols.
It is officially stated that the Metropolitan Police traffic patrols in 1933 and 1934 numbered 522, in 1985, 526, in 1936, 560, and at present 630 (including 63 sergeants and 613 constables). In 1936 there were 140,692 prosecutions (charges and summonses) and 121,630 convictions for motor offences in the Metropolitan Pace district, compared with 118,410 prosecutions and 101,051 convictions in 19354
Servicing of Springs.
J. Brockhouse and Co., Ltd., pays particular attention to the servicing of springs, and it will be remembered that this concern owns the well-known spring-manufacturing firm of James Leach, Atkinson Street, Hunslet, Leeds, 10. A chain of branches is available at London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow, all being operated in a similar manner to that at Leeds, which has proved so successful. The London branch is the Brockhouse Spring Service Co., Cobbold Road, N.W.10, and the Glasgow section is J. Brockhouse and Co., Ltd., Livingstone Street, Clydebank.
-Another Big W.D. Order for Leylands.
The War Department has placed an order for a further 251 six-wheeled chassis with Leyland Motors, Ltd., so the company's share in Government orders during the past 15 months totals approximately 400 machines. The chassis ordered is the Retriever, a light-type six-wheeler designed to War Department specification.
Out of the total, 44 of the machines will be equipped with a 7.5 kilowatt ,generator mounted, together with the necessary power take-off, along the near-side frame member ; current generated by this unit will be sufficient to drive the machinery of a mobile workshop. Common to all the chassis will be fully floating rear axles, which are to be provided with shrouded buffers and slings to limit articulation over exceptionally rough country. For this reason, too, wire cables will displace the usual brake rods,
Coronation Visitors at Ford Works.
Special arrangements for the entertainment of Coronation visitors to the Ford works at Dagenham are being made by the company. Trained guides who are fluent linguists will be available. .Visitors will be welcome every day of the week except Friday (and Coronation Day) throughout the season, and it is expected that the motor ship, " New Dagenham" will be put into service about May I. Guests will first be entertained to a programme of Ford sound films and will then make a tour of the factory, partly by coach.
Weight of Vehicle and Trailer.
The total laden weight of a trailer, together with its motor tractor, heavy motorcar or motorcar, must not exceed 22 tons, and not .28 tons as stated in our resume'. of the new Regulations.
MORE SUPPORT FOR WILLESDEN'S MEMORANDUM.
At a recent meeting of the Camberwell, Peckham and Dulwich Chamber of Commerce, consideration was given to the transport document recently circulated by the Willesden Chamber of Commerce. The case for road operators was presented by Mr. II. J. Woodgate.s. a member of the executive, who dealt with the inequalities of the 1933 Act. Following a discussion it was unanimously resolved to give full support to the claim for an immediate investigation into the working and interpretation of the Act.
G.W.R. Sympathy!
When, at Newport. Mr. William Butcher, a Pontywaun haulage contractor, applied for a licence for a lorry that was to replace a vehicle hurried Out • in a road accident, in which the driver was killed, the G.W.
• Railway Co. objected. It was said that the lorry, at the time of the accident, was carrying tin-plates.
The G.W.R. contended that it offered every facility for that type of traffic.
The South-Wales Licensing Authority reserved his decision. •