Opinions and Queries
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REGISTRATION OF LORRY DRIVERS SUGGESTION RECEIVES SUPPORT
REGAR.D1NG the article "Register All Lorry Drivers and 'Clean Up' the Industry," by Mr. Eric Cant, published in your issue dated August 13, there is, perhaps a strong case for the adoption of some such scheme of driver registration. One hears of members of this and and fellows of that, and by such distinctions individuals may be accepted as people who know something about their professions—in other words, the possession of such an " honour " is probably an indication of their ability.
From what I can gather, it is for some such reason that it is thought that the time has come to evolve a scheme for drivers. One cannot deny that the occupation might well be compared with some professions, because it involves high standards of knowledge and practical ability, and men with such qualifications have a right to be recognized. Also, when it comes to being "on the market '• for work, they need some sort of hall mark to distinguish them from those with less experience.
Shall we have a diploma as a Fellow of the Distinguished Order of Lorry Drivers ? The more one considers such a scheme, the more one realizes what is covered by the term "commercial-vehicle driver," and how difficult it may be to evolve a satisfactory and workable plan.
If it were merely to embrace drivers engaged in what I might call " marketable traffic," that is to say, transport as a business, it would be difficult enough. With few exceptions, however, a lorry driver's work is not just that of driving. Quite large numbers of men handle general haulage, which brings them into contact with many classes of load and the operations involved in dealing with them. There are also many drivers engaged in specialized work, such as the transport of liquids in bulk, agricultural produce, furniture, cattle and racehorses, sand and building materials. There are those who control municipal appliances, tower wagons, gully emptiers and road-maintenance vehicles, not to speak of those engaged in post-office work. Would the driver of a "Black Maria '' qualify ?
The greatest numbers are engaged in the ancillary field, where transport is not the industry but is a service link between the trader and his customer. The drivers in these fields have no less skill, although they may be handling only one type of traffic and have possibly graduated from horses to motors.
I think, therefore, that it would be necessary to peg an individual to his background industry. Then I might ask how much better off we would he, and the answer is, not at all Good men and good masters do not change unreasonably their jobs or personnel, respectively, so why the fuss ?
I admit that the recent activities of some blackmarketeers have given transport workers a bad name, mainly .because of necessarily short reports of incidents in the daily Press.
There are still many owner-drivers and executives who believe in handling their vehicles occasionally. This helps them to keep their knowledge up to date, and may be an important part of their " schooling " in the broad science of transport. How would they be dealt with ?
Whatever comes of any scheme of registration of drivers, I would plead for the right of individuals to select their fields of employment. The closed shop serves no good purpose and is useless to the nation. There is too much of it already.
The integrity of any driver can be substantiated by the machinery that already exists, such as his licences and testimonials. Most employers keep records of their men and are usually willing to give references when
these are required. A. J. PARRIS. Bletchley DESPITE the fact that the theoretical possibilities of Mr. Eric Cant's ideas on the registration of lorry drivers may run up against practical difficulties in application, anything which will rid the road transport industry of the small undesirable element is worthy of closer examination and discussion. In olden days a man jealously guarded his "good character" and soon exposed the "rotten apple "; nowadays a man with a "good character " does not get anywhere, or so it would appear. Still worse, he sees the "rotten apple" getting away with it in many cases, and his own morale suffers as a result.
The following is an extract froman article of mine published by you some months ago. It has a direct bearing on " spivery" and the " couldn't-care-less " attitude. "The chances of a youth of reasonable education entering the industry to-day and securing a good post after years of hard work are considerably slimmer than they should be The facilities for education are too haphazard, and because there is no target, incentive is lacking, with the result that the sensible youth goes elsewhere to some other trade or profession. If he starts as a driver (for which occupation no apprenticeship is required) he probably finds that he remains a driver only for so long as his record and his health remain good, and that his opportunities of learning and his prospects of advancement are small."
An extract from Mr. Eric Cant's article reads: "The examination should be made progressivetv harder, so that a man passing out with a top-grade licence could claim to be in every way a top-grade driver. If this were the aim of the system, lower-graded workers would try to climb to the higher levels. At present there is no incentive either in pay or honours."
With a properly balanced system of general and technical education available to all personnel of the road transport industry, there is no reason why those reaching Mr. Cant's higher level and having a large measure of practical experience should not train on into the various institutes of the industry. If those institutes were officially recognized by all operators, local and Government authorities, in making their staff and administrative appointments at home and overseas, it would provide an outlet and the incentive required.
A properly balanced system of technical education extended to the youth of the industry would be of great benefit to the Services when the youth arrives for his period of national service, and the Services's great cry to-day is for skilled personnel. This would mean an extension in the scope of the institutes without in any way lowering the high standards demanded by them.
One of the present-day drawbacks is that parents encourage their boys, quite rightly, to enter " collar-andtie " jobs, not, perhaps, so much because of cleanliness, but because there are better chances of security and a future than as a " worker." As it is. Mr Cant's higher level, for which large numbers of good, staunch drivers will qualify, still presents a dead end. If a reasonable percentage of the " workers " were able to equip themselves for, and did obtain administrative posts, it would immediately attract a better type of youth to enter the industry, which would become a career, not merely a job. •
Glasgow, W.4 ARTHUR R. WILSON, M.I.k.T.E, THE TRAM AND BUS CONTROVERSY "YOUR correspondents who have been advocating the 1 retention of the tram in several letters published by you recently are being more sentimental than practical. Any system of transport which picks up or deposits passengers in the middle of busy streets is not only out
of-date, but dangerous. In fact, it speaks well for the skill and patience of other road users that accidents are not more-numerous.
As regards the capital represented by the trams and their equipment; when a thing or system has outlived its usefulness it must be ruthlessly scrapped and the capital written off to make way for better things and methods. The recent scrapping of H.M.S. " Renown " must be regretted by all those who have been connected with her, but most people regard such events as inevitable and the price of progress.
1 was interested to note that one correspondent considers that the tram possesses an advantage by running on fixed rails, which enables other road users to know betorehand exactly the course it must take When an obstacle appears suddenly on the tramway track a tram driver can do only two things—sound his gong and/or apply his brakes. Most people regard the lack of steerability as a fundamental weakness of the vehicle On the other hand, the driver of a bus, in similar circumstances, has several ways of avoiding a collision with another vehicle. He can apply his brakes and at the same time steer away from it, or, in some cases, avoid accident by a combination of steering and acceleration—in other words, he can get round it rapidly before theie is time for a collision. Maneetivrability is surely an essential requirement of a vehicle employed on modern city streets, and it is here that the bus excels I wonder if any of your correspondents have el,er lived near a tram route, especially close to a sharp curve or points. This is something that should be endured before it can readily be appreciated what a nerve-racking noise these things make. Then there is the danger that tae rails create for cyclists, who are compelled to swerve violently off their course every time they wish to cross them.
It is worth noting that London Transport, the advisers of which can be presumed to know more about passenger transport than mast people, has decided that even the trolleybus, which is undoubtedly a vast improvement on the tram, must eventually be superseded by the motorbus. It has evidently concluded that a vehicle that can operate only if connected to a cable from a power station, is a little too rigid and inflexible to serve in its area. F. PLEDGER. London, S.W.15.
INTEREST IN OUR STAMP FEATURE VOU must not blame me if I have been distracted A from my work by your announcement, on page 15 of your issue dated August 6, concerning the issue by China of two commemorative stamps depicting passenger transport by road.
I am an amateur collector, but 1 must secure copies of these delectable specimens. Therefore, I approach you as to where I can buy, borrow or cajole someone into letting me have them; but wait a minute! 1 see that they are marked 1,800 and 300 dollars respectively, and it might break the British currency regulations (or myself), if these rates are to be taken literally. However, I gather that in that inscrutable country dollars are worth very little, and I hear exciting tales of the Chinese having made small fortunes by trading these stamps across their borders.
Seriously, I have inquired of big stamp dealers, also of a friend at a large foreign shipping house in Manchester, and they have no knowledge of them, so
you have "scooped the news." J. E. WOODFORD Manchester, 3 A POINT REGARDING THE LAND ROVER J\,LTHOUGH quite a time has elapsed since the public I—kannouncement of the Land Rover, I now feel tempted to voice a layman's comment on this admirable English vehicle of the general-purpose or Jeep type.
The technical reports in various journals have been very thorough, and, consequently, I was rather surprised that I have seen no mention made concerning the fuel tank. In my humble opinion, it sits right in the target area for anything thrown up from the off-side front wheel. From the diagrams it appears to be unprotected by a stoneguard or shield, which, for a vehicle designed to spend much of its life in the rough," seems to court danger. Most of us know that a stone can be projected from a road wheel with bullet-like force, and at a range of some 30 ins, this could be a damaging missile.
Without a "cut away" illustration to •hand I must rely on memory in suggesting that there seems to be ample space for fitting a fuel tank farther to the rear of the chassis. The offset position of the power-take-off shaft through the rear panel would surely permit a fitting in the angle of the off-side chassis member and the rear cross-member.
I may add that I am always an interested reader of
" The Commercial Motor" N. G. MALLON. Cranford