PROF I IA E LICENSING AUTHORITIES are usually selected from
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the ranks of lawyers, often from successful advocates before the traffic courts.
But recently there has been a welcome tendency to appoint practical transport men to the key double job of LA and chairman of the Traffic Commissioners. Mr B. J. Foster, after a lifetime of service to road transport, is now tackling the challenge of service as the Northern LA. Maj-Gen V. H. J. Carpenter, with 40 years' experience of Army transport, is translated to the post of Yorkshire LA. In the past four months he has been beating the bounds of his extensive territory—making friends with the industry with whose administration, in the broadest sense, he is now charged.
When I spoke to Maj-Gen Carpenter he revealed that he had been having discussions with chief constables in the county.
Heavy vehicle driver
Maj-Gen Carpenter, I understand, holds an hgv licence and that, in itself, is likely to commend him to an industry which appreciates practicality above everything.
In a recent talk to a section of the Freight Transport Association's Northern region, he described his background, starting as an Army apprentice in 1936, when he learned the rudiments of fitting, to his later jobs, such as Transport Officer in Chief of the Army, Director of Movements for the Army—" nothing to do with the medical side of the business! "
He confessed that he was a jack of all trades. Certainly, a life including Sandhurst, service as a Subaltern in France in 1939, and Dunkirk, where he led Hull Territorials and some chaps from the Durham Light Infantry, with everything that followed, has given him a great knowledge of people and transport matters.
Of his early army life he reminisces: " If there were any faults the (non-Yorkshire) soldiers always blamed the trouble on the Yorkshire troops." Clearly, he has a liking for the bluff, hard Yorkshire people he will now be dealing with as LA.
In the RASC he learned to drive on a Bedford furniture van. He was taught to double de-clutch by an instructor who kicked his ankle hard if he crashed his gears. No doubt a few veteran FTA transport managers can recall the vehicles their new LA drove, such as the Bedford OY and QL and the Chevrolet 4/4.
Much of his service was overseas in desert lands where he experienced "two out of four springs breaking in loose sand." He saw active service at Aden and Singapore. In the Royal Corps of Transport he was in charge of 10,000 men, 8,000 vehicles, 38 mules, five ships and some locos. For many years he has taken a keen interest in driver training —the Army has done some significant work in this field which is less well publicised than it deserves to be.
Among many worthy attri butes, Maj-Gen Carpenter possesses a keen sense of humour. Public administration which is leavened by the odd, humurous, aside, runs more smoothly than the other sort which is, sadly, more familiar.
Starting to explain his philosophy to the FTA, he warmed his audience with a tale of a motorway breakdown. A chiropodist arriving on the scene told the stranded motorist: "I've just come from a case; I think I can give you a toe."
The LA's job, said Maj-Gen Carpenter, was not simply to administer the Road Traffic Acts, it was rather to help the road transport industry. The maze of legislation appalled him—and this would get worse with EEC legislation. No wonder people were confused. As the legislation unfolds he—or his departmental heads — should be able to help the industry. FTA members would get a 'lot of help from their own organisation, but anyone in serious difficulty should not be afraid to ask the LA's office for advice.
'In the 'grey area' which is likely to persist for a year or two, it is our aim to keep you all out of trouble without hamstringing the industry," he said. His senior staff were well briefed and he hoped their knowledge would be effectively conveyed to lower level colleagues.
Nazi examiners
He sometimes heard comments such as: "All vehicle examiners are bullies or Nazis." Anyone feeling that the LA's staff were unhelpful, either through misplaced zeal, or over-keenness, should get in touch with him personally. In return, he asked the industry to receive "his chaps " sensibly.
Maj-Gen Carpenter was anxious that the industry's public image should not be de pressed by a minority of operators. "Are our big vehicles as they should be?" he asked. " The fact is that many vehicles and drivers should not be on the road."
Should such vehicles and drivers be put off the road? This was a matter of enforcement. Some vehicles might be improperly licensed. "But you in the industry have a responsibility for the state of vehicle maintenance and for the driving standards maintained."
He quoted two instances of lorry drivers pulling out of a motorway fast lane on his journey to the Wakefield meeting. Each incident could have caused an accident. "So long as any drivers are below standard things will continue to go wrong. Both hgv and psv drivers must accept that I may have to scrutinise their records to see if they are fit persons.' Our industry must show the world that road transport is not a bad thing and that it is safe; we must demonstrate that lorries are well operated."
Maj-Gen Carpenter said he had told Radio Leeds in a recent interview that there was more than enough legislation.
Dealing with specific abuses, he said some reports of vehicle examiners were horrifying. In the industry as a whole some people were unquestionably cutting corners, He was taking a fairly stern view and such operators could expect to get one or two letters and to have to appear before him if things did not improve.
He recognised that things could go wrong in the best known organisations. Generally, such departures from excellence were of minor significance, but he had to say that persistent offenders would not deserve sympathy indefinitely.
Welcoming the chance to talk to a sizeable FTA gathering, he said he hoped to see firms of various sizes and of different types of operation. He would take a particular interest in their driver training methods. Already, he had made visits on the passenger side of the industry and he had picked up a lot of useful information. On the freight side he would welcome an opportunity to meet typical big, medium and small operators to learn of their problems at first hand.
by John Darker