"Site Lorries Caused 500 Accidents"
Page 45
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AT least 500 accidents, six people killed and more than 100 injured is the toll taken by the fleet of lorries which has carried almost 5m. tons of filling material to the site of the new Spencer Steelworks, near Newport, since the beginning of the year. These facts were given to the Monmouthshire Standing Joint Committee. last week, in the report of Mi. Neil Galbraith, the Chief Constable.
Coupled with monthly statistics from the office of Mr. F. H. Smeed, Chief Constable of Newport, they provided the first overall account of the shale lorry "invasion" on the roads of Newport and Monmouthshire.
Between January and June, the number of shale-lorry accidents in Monmouthshire rose from a monthly total of 13, to 55, and the total for the six-month period was 248. Five people were killed and 66 injured in these accidents. February was the blackest month for Newport, when seven people were hurt in accidents with lorries.
Mr. Galbraith told the standing committee that originally it was expected that the volume of-traffic would slacken off at the end of July. He now believed that this date hail been amended, and that Monmouthshire would see the shale lorries for "some time to come."
"Even if the shale traffic slackens off, it will be replaced by other heavy lorries travelling to the steelworks," he said.
TYRE FAILURE RULED OUT IN Ml COACH FIRE
THE theory that an overheated tyre burst into flames and set fire to a coach on the M1 at the week-end was dispelled by the operators on Tuesday. Mrs. I. Brown, general manager of Hollands Tours, Ltd., Oldbury, told The Commercial Motor that they had ruled out any possibility of tyre failure as a cause of the fire which resulted in a oneyear-old Commer 41-seater being completely burnt out. The vehicle was cruising at speeds between .40-45 m.p.h.. added Mrs. Brown.
The driver, Mr. B. Deakin, who collapsed after recovering passengers' luggage from the flaming vehicle, said afterwards that the first thing he did when he stepped from the coach was to look at the tyre below where the flames had started. He reported that it was not smouldering and could not have been the cause of the fire.
Mrs. Brown added that the Northamptonshire Fire Brigade had carried out an extensive investigation after the incident, but that no report had been received from them yet.
PIONEERS TAKEN OVER
THold-established coach-operating
'T'HE of Messrs. Barlow, Phillips and Co., Yeovil, will be taken over by Darch and Willcox, Ltd., Martock, Somerset, from September I. The Yeovil concern was started in 1912 by Mr. Herbert Barlow and Mr. George Phillips with a 22-seat char-a-banes.