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Lorries and the Law
Page 56
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• Predictably, the monumental Transport Act 1968 has led to the writing of text books designed to elucidate its many obscurities. There are dangers in simple distillations of legal prose and if past history is any guide lawyers will be arguing about the intentions of Parliament for several decades. Lorries and the Law by G. Chandler, claims to be a plain man's guide to road haulage management, administration, organization and finance after the 1968 Transport Act. It is a tall order: the book will certainly be useful to "persons engaged in goods vehicle operation and students sitting examinations requiring some knowledge of the law affecting road haulage".
I am not sure that the author was wise to include a sizeable section on accounting and business organization-12 pages are devoted to taxation alone in a 53-page section dealing with Forms of Business Organization, Accounts, Interpretation of Accounts, Costing, and Taxation. The same space could equally well have been devoted to simplified maintenance control procedures, for example.
Although the book was written in October 1969, efforts have been made to project legislative requirements taking effect after that date. The new drivers' hours and records rules are treated somewhat cursorily and more space could usefully have been devoted to the heavy goods vehicle driving test details—readers are referred to the official booklet on the subject.
There are two appendices, one containing a useful List of Definitions from the Construction and Use Regulations; the other containing voluminous extracts in very small print—from the C and U Regulations. This section would have been improved by more illustrations—for example, of profiles showing weights, lengths and number of axles—and by an interpretation of the meaning of some regulations. What is the "reasonable distance" from which every direction indicator should be visible from any point to the rear of a trailer?
The book is well produced and there is an adequate index. Perhaps future editions could with advantage contain a bibliography.
Lorries and the Law is published by Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Middlesex, 50s.