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BIRD'S EYE VIEW

25th June 1965, Page 72
25th June 1965
Page 72
Page 72, 25th June 1965 — BIRD'S EYE VIEW
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By The Hawk

Design Problem? I am told that the relative frequency of overturning accidents to loaded cementmixing vehicles is causing a little disquiet in the motor insurance world. Such incidents may be caused by fast cornering, but the high centre of gravity inevitable with most current designs is clearly a factor in instability.

It would be odd if pressure for a radical " re-think " of the design problems involved in cement-mixing transporters should come from insurers. One engineer I know suggests that there is nothing sacrosanct about a circular cementmixing chamber; and pumps presumably could replace gravity, if the centre of gravity were lowered. Draughtsmen to your boards, march!

Glasgow citizens who feel that sweetly-scented buses could make all the difference in the city might try persuading Glasgow Transport to copy a gimmick which has been adopted in California. There, I am told, the diesel fuel in the engine is being mixed with scent to make the fumes more pleasant. So far it has been a splendid success; according to the director of transport "people stand on the street corners and sniff when the buses go by".

In due course this innovation could have practical uses, too; short-sighted travellers could learn to smell their bus approaching.

Heaven Scent Valid Criticisms? The stress laid by the S.

Wales maintenance advisory committee on the problem of spares shortage as a major factor in achieving satisfactory vehicle maintenance (as reported on page 37 of The Commercial Motor, June 18) will, I know, be widely endorsed by professional road hauliers. Two points were made to me with vehemence: I, that the specifications of many lorries sold on the home market are markedly inferior to those sold abroad. 2, that the SMMT have been very much less than receptive to some of the detailed criticisms of operators in this country.

The SMMT, I was told, repudiated certain criticisms rudely, their attitude (" godlike and inflexible were two adjectives used) being that operators' criticisms were quite unjustified. We don't get these complaints from abroad the critics were told. If point 1 is correct (and this is surely ascertainable) manufacturers and component suppliers have a public relations problem on their hands. This may call for something more persuasive than soft soap.

If, as I suspect, quantity is the ever-present enemy of quality on the manufacturing side, improved standards of training and more stringent adherence to quality standards all along the line arc called for.

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Crystal Gazing The reference to the applica tion for a licence to operate a Queen Mary (Bird's Eye View, June 4) has prompted the makers of this famous war-time semi-trailer to write telling me of its amazingly swift birth. It appears that at the time of the Munich crisis the leading trailer makers of the day were asked to tender for the design and building of a low-loader which would carry an aircraft without damage and without the need to dismantle it into small units.

Imagine th surprise of the civil servants when only seven days later a tender from Taskers of Andover arrived at the Air Ministry, containing a letter stating that a prototype would be ready for inspection in three to four days. I wonder how many operators would like to know the secret of stimulating this type of enthusiasm? Could it he that Taskers' crystal ball showed that they would be asked to build' 4,000 in the ensuing five years?

"Project D" Ford has been awarded Britain's top export " Oscar " by the British Industrial Film Association for a documentary film on the way British know-how and engineering skills were used to tailor the new D series.

Because these vehicles were on the secret list, they had to be filmed in the early morning or whipped from under wraps for a quick take—the cost, £14,000. Not bad when it is considered that in four months—after receiving its premiere at Sochi on the Black Sea—the film, suitably dubbed, has been seen in 27 countries, bringing in orders worth .€8,000,000. The film is called Project D ".

Ambition Achieved Mr. Ray Mason, a Crowland (Lincs) haulage contractor, has bought himself a fire appliance after three previous unsuccessful attempts. The appliance—a Merryweather turntable fire pump—first licensed in 1943, was sold by Peterborough Fire Brigade, complete with its 100 ft. ladder. Mr. Mason, a vintage vehicle enthusiast, is now busy polishing and cleaning the appliance and learning how to handle it with a view to entering it in vintage rallies.

hear that Canadian lumbermen are using huge, gas-filled balloons to lift tree trunks from inaccessible forest areas to road and rail heads. These balloons can lift 8 tons. How long before these are optional extras on lorry cabs! Just the job for the Exeter by-pass in the holiday season.

Optional Extra?


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