How the L.M.S. Trains Women to Man Its Motors
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Considerable Success is Being Achieved by this Railway Company in Imparting to Women Knowledge of Motor Vehicles and Skill in Handling Them. There are Four Instructional Centres which, up to Date, Have Produced Some 150 Competent Girl Drivers FFEW evil] dispute that the conditions under which railway-operated goods vehicles are driven are rough. Yet here, as in so many other fields of essential work, women are stepping into the breach and are doing with satisfaction the jobs formerly almost exclusive to men.
Already • 150 'women have been trained to drive road motors for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co. There are four instructional centres situated at different points in . the large area served by this railway. These are not new establishments, having been used in the past to train men, but they have only recently been brought into service for prbducing competent female .drivers.
Up to 12 girls at a tinge may go through the course, whicE occupies about 21 days, at each school, and they receive notably thorough training which equips them to perform maintenance operations as well as to'become good drivers.
After a visit to a centre near London, we were particularly impressed by the methods adopted Of developing re5soning power in driving matters as compared with just acquiring the knack of performing blindly mechanical operations, such as pulling a lever and pressing a pedal. We admit, also,, that we were somewhat surprised that the female mind should react so favourably —that if does so is proved by results— to this type of trainMg. Great importance seems to be set upon familiarizing the students with the reasons for the operations and actions that driving and maintaining demand and upon training them to think for themselves. With this object the school is equipped with drawings and specimens of actual mechanisms, and with a model of a road system complete with movable vehicles, etc.
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In addition, films are exhibited to demonstrate in convincing and easily assimilated manner the harm that can be done by a driver who fails to observe the instructions'that he or she has been given, whilst one wall of a " class room " is fully devoted to reproductions of all the approved road signs in common use which the students must memorize. They also have to learn the Highway Code, and' they are given training in the important operation of making out tlie " work note " and reporting defects.
From the accompanying pictures it will be observed that a salient feature of the class 'room is the chassis of a commercial vehicle, which has finished its term of useful service-on the road.
Parts of it have been cut open, notably one of the cylinders, to reveal what goes on inside. . From it, an immense amount of knowledge can be acquired by the students under the discreet guidance of their instructor. Moreover, by this means, they can get to know the controls, and learn something about operating them, and dispel the mysteries that lie beyond.
More concentrated investigations cif a mechanical nature are conducted with the aid of separate components and parts. There are, for example, a clutch and gearbox unit; sectioned carburetters, magnetos and sparking plugs, ail of which can be taken to pieces, reassembled and examined while their functions are explained.
We also observed batteries with their plates expbsed for instructional purposes, tyres cut up to show the details of their construction, and .tyre. valves taken to pieces to reveal the inner • , -parts.
On the model of the road system an exhaustive study of traffic problems and driving tactics, particularly under town conditions, can be made. There are numerous road junctions of various sorts—forks, side turnings, simple cross-roads, a roundabout, traffic lights, and so forth. Tramlines .figifre on some of the roads and there is even a policeman on point duty, whilst a wide variety of different types of vehicle is provided in model form, on the same scale, of course, as the roads.
In reply to a question we put as to how much actual maintenance work besides greasing, tyre attention, topping up batteries, etc., the girls 'were expected to do, we were told, " not very much." Such jobs as cleaning carburetters and petrol systems were included, and distributors and contact breakers, whilst fan-belt adjustment was also mentioned. "But I should like to emphasize," said our informant, "that they are thoroughly taught how to operate the fire extinguishers "
We were shown a schedule of 14 questions that have to be answered and 13 practical tests that have tole passed
• before students receive their provisional drivers' certificates. From among the former may be quoted: What examination of a vehicle would you make before
• putting it intri service each day? What precautions are necessary when putting away a vehicle during the winter months? How would you adjust or • repack the water-pump ,gland? What particulars would you obtain in the event of a street accident?
Included on the practical side are demonstrating how to test steering and brakes, how to rev,erse into a narrow road (possibly with an articulated vehicle), how to change down by double-declutching, how to test, clean and adjust sparking plugs.-' and, of course, how to fit a spare wheel or rim.
Drivers are given copies of booklets entitled L.M.S.R. Regulations for the Guidance of Motor Drivers. These contain not only the rules laid down by the company and certain Regulations under Road Traffic Acts, but also
a wealth of instructions and advice of a general nature and much information useful to the drivers. One can hardly expect the students to remember all its 149,injunctions, but it should certainly constitute a pocket encyclopmdia supplying the solution to every problem and the answer to every query that might normally be expected to arise.
. With regard to the films, these are based on the excellent and well-known priaciple of contrasting the actions of the bad driver with those of the good. One sees much more of Mr. Good Driver, however, and for the majority of the routine operations he is the star' actor, Mr. Bad Driver coming on to the screen less frequently, so that the comparisons, which invOlve repetition, are' not carried to the extent of tedium.
Instances of the use of the principle of. showing both the right and the wrong methods include the simple action of taking an oil-level reading with the dip 'stick and topping up with lubricant. The had driver throws' the bonnet open with a bang, reinserts the dip stick in a dirty condition and lets the nozzle of the oil-delivery pipe trail
on the ground. Other examples deal with the hazards of overtaking on bends, hills and hump-back bridges where approaching vehicles cannot be seen, cutting corners so that the rear near-side wheels run over the kerb, turning right out of a main road all" turning a vehicle around in various circumstances. The bad driver invariably causes inconvenience and danger or ties himself up into a hopeless tangle.
Special stress is laid upon measures which promote esonomy—particularly of tyres.
Those responsible for the functioning of these instructional centres appear to he working on the right lines. It is clearly evident that much thought, backed by a comprehensive knowledge of practical requirements, is being put into the job. That there are few failures when it comes to the examinations and practical tests is probably testimony to the success of the methods, but the kraal proof will be in terms of numbers of accidents, periods of docking and ton-miles perweek. We gather that running costs have not been adversely affected by the introduction of women drivers.