Have the Loopholes Been Closed?
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ON ANOTHER page we give publicity to the arguments of Lt.-Col. Alfred Hacking, D.S.O., M.C., who is the general secretary of the Motor Legislation Committee, on the question as to whether, where it is to the monetary advantage of the owner of a goods-carrying vehicle, an applicaCon should be lodged for a licence for, and registration of, the vehicle on the horse-power basis.
The contention that, as the schedule in the Finance Act is framed, the owner of the vehicle is entitled so to apply was first advanced in the contribution "Transport Tips for Tradesmen" in The Commercial Motor, although it has never been accorded Editorial support. We do not claim to have greater knowledge of the law, than the general understanding required of the occupant of an Editorial chair; although we have always loved the story about the charwoman who begged her daily employer not to talk to her, as her husband knew all about the law: he had done time!
We are afraid. that (Jul. Hacking's argument s will not receive much sympathy at the hands of the licensing authorities, for, when one of them receives an application, the first question which that authority musi ask itself (under Section 5, Sub-Section 2, of. the Roads Act) is whether it is satisfied that the licence applied for is the appropriate licence for the vehicle specified in the application. If the vehicle is, in fact, a commercial goads vehicle with a lorry or van body, which the owner may wish to use occasionally for private purposes, it might be held that no provision has been, made for hissrequirements, for the vehicle is then not one which is solely used as a goods vehicle, which fact excludes it from the category of the goods vehicle, whilst it is not a vehicle charged with duty under paragraphs 2, 3, 4, or 5 of the Finance Act, 1920, and the licensing authority may refuse to include it under paragraph 6.
We are afraid we do not see eye to eye with Col. Hacking in his contention that a. vehicle registered as a hackney vehicle with seating accomrnodation for six passengers can, without incurring a liability, be used for the carrying of goods when the duty upon the vehicle as a goods vehicle would be higher than the 212 or 215 paid.
The eecond schedule' of the Finance Act, 1920, is full of pitfalls and loopholes, but the clause in the Roads Act, giving the discretion to the licensing authority, seems to have been devised, at any rate, to stop the loopholes.
The Commercial Value of the Three-wheeler;
FOR reasons which are difficult to understand or to define, the three-wheeled parcelcar, which would certainly be a most useful adjunct to the transport systems of many businesses, is not receiving the same attention as hitherto, and has apparently lost a certain amount of its aforetime popularity.
The use, of bicycle carriers ridden by youths is certainly on the increase, but this would appear to be only because the claims of the three-wheeled parcelear are not sufficiently pushed, with the result that recognition of its utility as a commercial proposition is being very much under-estimated. The light parcelcar which can be driven by any youth over 14, after very little tuition, can easily perform as much work as four or five bicycle carriers, because its body can carry a much bigger load and its work is done far more expeditiously. With the new scale of taxation in operation, the three-wheeled parcelear, weighing under B cwt., will only entail a licence fee of 24, as compared with 210 for a four-wheeled commercial vehicle not exceeding 12 .cwt.
As the engine of the average three-wheeled parcelcar is comparatively small, its petrol consumption is very little, averaging between 25 and 40 m-pg.; for the lighter types, such as the Auto-Carrier Junior, much greater mileages than this are possible. Before the war there was quite a number of suitable machines on the market, but very few arc now being manufactured, although we consider that the employment of suitable propaganela would open up large fields of usefulness for these machines, which are extremely cheap to run, as well as being far cheaper to purchase than even the lightest types of fourwheeled commercial vehicles.
Where expeditious deliveries of email quantities of goods have to be made, and particularly where the delivery distances are fairly great, the three-wheeled parcelc,ar is without rival. '
What Shall be the New Speed Limit ?
THE MATTER which is now of the most urgent importance is the re-vision of the law concern ing the maximum speed of met or vehicles and of the regulations under which the speed of vehicles, the unladen weight of which exceeds two tons, is restricted to 12-m.p.h. or less.
The Ministry of Transport is now concluding an inquiry into this and other matters, chief among which is the question of the advisability, or otherwise, of instituting examinations into the qualifications of an applicant for a -driver's licence.
So far as the commerdial vehicle and passenger transport industries are concerned, the question is of vital importance, because axle weights, sled, therefore, permissible loads, are bound up with speed, and in revising the one the other must necessarily come up for discussion.
The Ministry is obtaining the opinions of various representative bodies and representatives of the local licensing and other authorities, and itis sin cerely to be hoped that the great mistakes of 1903 and 1904 will not be repeated. When the Motor Car Act of 1903 was being drafted, the evil effects of the fatal Paris-Madrid race were being felt throughout Europe. The resultt so far as they affected this country, was a material reduction in the permitted speed, and, in consequence, the law has consistently been disobeyed by everybody from the highest to the lowest, and has fallen into disrepute. It is desirable, in establishing new control; to legalize existing practice ; anything less would be foolish, anything more would be -unnecessary and inadvisable until the average road User has acquired new habits.
If one took a careful census of the actual and 02 normal speeds of motorcars and heavy vehicles, it would be found that they range as fellow ; Powerful and moderately powerful cars ... 35 m.p.h.
Light cars Fast motor coaches ... . 25 Solid-tyred motor coaches ... 18 to 22 Public service vehicles ... 16 Light vans, etc. ... ... 18 to 25 Heavy goods vehicles ... ... 13 to 16 Tractors with trailers ... Steel-tyred wagons In favourable circumstances thesespeeds would be capable of more or less improvement. It is desirable that these speeds should now be legalized in order to enable the owners of goods and passenger vehicles to secure the most economical efficiency in running. The incidence of wages is so high that some means must be found of obtaining more . ton mileage per man, and this can only be. done by permitting higher road speeds and heavier axle loads.
At the present moment, a vehicle drawing a trailer is ruthlessly limited in speed to 5 m.p.h. This is actually a penalty upon the man who wants to spread his standing charges and rmining costa ever a larger load, and who desires to spread his load over more axles—which is good for the mechanism and good for the roads Under the new regulations, the speed of a vehicle with trailer should not, be restricted by more than 23 pet cent, of the Permitted speed of the same vehicle without a trailer. As the limit of unladen w-eight has now been increased to tons, the new legislation will make a marked improvement in the conditions under whicli commercial road transport now operates.
Qualifying by Examination for Driving Licences
HE QUESTION as-to whether an applicant for a licence to drive a motor vehicle shall be subjected to a-series of examinations in physical capacity and technical ability before one be granted is one which, for years, has appealed to the person who does not think deeply. Except blindness and certain nervous and muscular affections and loss of essential limbs (in themselves sufficient to kill the desire to drive a motor vehicle), there is little, physically, to prevent a man from becoming quite a good driver. We have often heard deafness quoted as a bar equal to blindness, but one of the best drivers in this country, and a real pioneer motorist, is a.man who, for 50 years, has never heard a sound, and, as a matter of fact„ hearing is of little use in driving. To examine all applicants for driving licences would take a long time, and entail the appointment of examiners all over the country. This would infallibly mean the prevalence of different standards, and, as an examiner must show his capacity by ploughing a candidate now and again, there would be frequent injustices and hardships. Again, with different standards, the man ploughed in Birming ham Might pass easily in Newcastle.there are some men, quite competent-, but wo hopelessly muff an examination, and others, much less capable, who go through an examination with confidence and a flair not justified by their knowledge or experience. We believe in the retention of the medical examinations a-nd practical teats of drivers of public service vehicles, but we are unreservedly opposed to ami extension of the plan. It mutt be remembered that driving a motor vehicle is not a skilled occupation, and, if these examinations were instituted, there would be a strong tendency on the part of these who passed successfully to regard themselves as skilled men, entitled, in consequence, to a inatethi inerea,se of pay.