WHEELS of INDUSTRY
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"The wheels of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the
roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crozier.
Official Investigation of Road Accidents.
A conference, convened by the Minister of Transport, was held on November 16 to consider the form of return to be used by the police, and the instructions as to its use, in connection with the official investigation into the causes and circumstances of fatal road accidents. The drafts of these documents have for some time been under consideration by the Ministry of Transport, the Home Office and representatives of the chief officers of police.
Sir Henry Pigott, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Transport, presided at the conference, which was attended by representatives of the Home Office, the Scottish Office, the Commissioners of Police for the Metropolis and for the City of London, and of the Chief Constables' Association, as well as those of many important organizations in the motoring industry.
It was announced that it was the Minister's intention that the official in.vestigation, conducted through the police, into fatal road accidents should start on January 1.
Census Reveals Motor-traffic Growth.
A census of traffic carried out on Class I roads in Great Britain during a week in August, 1931, has just been published as a Flue Book. The statistics show that there was an increase of 8.04 per cent, in the number, and 11.88 per cent, in the tonnage of passenger motor vehicles, as compared with 1928, whilst in the case of goods vehicles there was an increase of 32.17 per cent, in number and ..of 20.45 per cent, in tonnage. The number of horse-drawn vehicles was lower by 32.57 per cent.
Remarkable Results with Oil-erigined Seammells.
Recently a number of the Scammell vehicles owned by M.R.S. Ltd. was equipped with Gardner oil engines, and amongst these was the famous 100tanner, which, a week or two ago, utilizing its new power unit, put up such a remarkable performance in the conveyance of a huge transformer weighing 116 tons.
On this page is given a table which gives a comparison of the ton-mileage and other figures with oil-engined vehicles as against those obtained with similar machines utilizing petrol power units.
A Good Scottish Show Order.
The Gilford Motor Co., Ltd., High Wycombe, has secured an order for 15 Gifford 168-0T chassis, with 32-seater Wycombe de luxe saloon coachwork by Wycombe Motor Bodies, Ltd. The vehicles are being supplied to the Western S.M.T. Co., Ltd., of Kiltnarnock, which concern already operates 43 Gifford vehicles of the same type. This is one of the best orders placed at the Scottish Show last week, Death of Mr. Daniel Duff.
We learn with regret of the death of Mr. Daniel Duff, who, in his early days, was associated with the Edinburgh tramways, and later became manager of the Dundee tramways. He then migrated south, and became manager of the London Road Car Co., and later helped to effect the amalgamation between that concern, the Vanguard Co. and the Loudon General Omnibus Co., under the last-named title, and became joint general manager of the amalgamated business. He retired when the company was absorbed by the Underground group, being appointed a director, a position which he held until his death.
State Encouragement for the Oil Engine.
We dealt, in a recent issue, with the rapid development of the oil-enned vehicle in France. This movement has just received a generous measure of Government support, as the French Finance Ministry has decided to reduce the ordinary h.p. tax by 30 per cent. in the case of all vehicles employing cal fuels.
The methods employed in France for calculating the taxable h.p. of an engine are quite different from those of our own Treasury authorities. If one may be allowed to say so, they seem to show rather more intelligence. The French formula is P = Kn D2 LR, where P is the engine h.p.; D the bore in cm. ; L the stroke in cm.; R the normal engine speed in revolutions per second. K is the pumerical co-efficient having the following values :—.00020 for a single-cylinaered, .00017 for a twocylindered, .00015 for a four-cylindered unit and .00013 for engines having more than four cylinders.
In the case of oil engines, the resultant P will in future be multiplied by 0.7.
Meetings of the R.H.A.
Meetings of the Road Haulage Association have been arranged as follow :— West Midland Area Committee, to-day (Friday), at 7 p.m., at the White Horse Hotel, .Congreve Street, Birmingham; North Western Area Committee, Tuesday, November 29, at Rochdale. A meeting was held at Cardiff a few days ago, when Mr. W. Claude Venn, of Venn and McPherson, Ltd., took the chair. The meeting was addressed by Mr. L. ar. Gupwell, a member of the R.H.A. Council, who dealt with the history of the Association and with its objections to the Salter Report., A meeting was held at Swansea on the following day, when Mr. A. Bater took the chair. As a result of these two meetings, a committee has been formed in the South Wales area.
Accuracy of Weighing Machine Questioned.
When lorry owners are summoned for permitting their vehicles to be overladen and when, in the subsequent policecourt proceedings, a weight ticket is produced as eyidence, a line of defence is to question the accuracy of the weighing Machine.
In a case that was heard at Warrington, a few days ago, Mr. E. Rowson, who appeared on behalf of Mr. Walter Bailey, of Manchester, summoned for driving a heavy motorcar which was 19i cwt. overladen on the rear axle, pointed out that no evidence had been produced to prove that the weighing instrument was correct. It was not a public weighing machine, and no evidence had been given of the accuracy of it.
The bench dismissed the case on the ground that the police had not brought sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction.