IN YOUR OPINION
Page 76
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H.G.V. Licences
REGARDING the Ministry of Transport's proposals for the issuance of heavy goods drivers' licences (The Commercial Motor, August 7) I am very surprised that the Road Haulage Association and the Transport and General Workers' Union should look favourably upon them, I am sure that the majority of the scores of thousands of commercial vehicle drivers up and down the country will view with a very jaundiced eye the idea of being documented anddossiered in such a fashion. So many faults are that obvious in the proposals as published in The Commercial Motor that it is amazing that the R.H.A. and the T.G.W.U. did not reject them out of hand much less show enthusiasm, particularly when even the Ministry of Transport itself cautions "provided a suitable scheme can be worked out ".
• The proposals seem mainly concerned with weights arid apparently no consideration is given to the actual size and type of vehicle. Different driving techniques are required for a short-wheelbase tipper (weighing say 3 ton 10 cwt. unladen) and operating to the maximum gross legal weight of 14 tons, and, say, a Luton van, built to maximum permitted length, height and width, with an alloy or hardboard body, which might barely clear three tons unladen. There is also a very wide margin in weight in, say, a comparatively short, heavy-duty artic designed for general haulage, and a 45-ft.-long caravan transporter. One might be pernutted to drive the latter but not the former—purely on unladen weight grounds.
One might also wonder how the conclusion is reached that the holder of a single-deck p.s.v. licence should automatically be deemed qualified to drive all classes of commercial vehicle, be they rigid or articulated.
Many large passenger transport undertakings have been forced by labour shortages to take on youngsters, whether native or from the Commonwealth and give them some training. The next thing we see—they are driving double-4 deckers. True, they have to be 21, but they may have had very little experience of any sort of driving prior to going on the buses. Then, after a few months of buswork—and tired perhaps of shift operation—they seek employment with a private coach operator. He, perhaps, is in the same labotir position as the bus undertaking, and only too pleased to send them up for a Ministry test, for any variation of their licence that should be needed. Thus, perhaps with only a couple of years' driving experience all told, in the eyes of the Ministry of Transport our youthful p.s.v. driver is now deemed qualified to drive any type of commercial vehicle—including tandem tractor trailers. However that doesn't mean that the opposite is true. The heavy artic driver of perhaps 20 or 30 years' safe driving is not automatically considered qualified sufficiently to drive a p.s.v.—even a p.s.v. Minibus! By the acquisition of that magic p.s.v., a driver can shortcircuit the four years or so driving heavy goods vehicles, necessary before being eligible to drive maximum weight artics.
If a Licensing Authority can suspend a commercial vehicle driver's licence for hours and record offences, one presumes that by the suspension of the driver's licence he B42 is automatically disqualified for the suspension period from driving anything at all—including his own car. This, one might say, is tantamount to regarding him as a secondclass citizen, as the private motorist is at liberty to drive his car 24 hours a day without infringing any laws regarding hours and so on.
It should have been apparent to the unions that the personal log book idea makes a driver's whole future career very largely dependent on what an individual employer might say. Who is the judge as to whether they might be biased comments?
In their present suggested form these proposals are bound to, hurt the small father and son business, or the one-man-C-licence holder. The likely result is that two vehicles will be put on already overcrowded roads, where one large one would have sufficed.
Personally, I do not think that these proposals for heavy goods licences have one single feature to recommend them. Far better to adopt the simpler two-licence system which for many years has been practised satisfactorily in other countries, whereby the applicant for a driving test decides for himself which type of licence to sit for and whether he needs a private licence only or a commercial one. Subject to passing written, oral and practical road tests before the licence is issued the driver has to obtain from his local police chief a statement of good character and supply two passport photographs, one to go on file with the local police and the other with the Ministry of Transport, or a national body.
This, I thould think, would satisfy the security-minded R.H.A. Also the licence holders physical description is entered on the licence. in the event of any trouble—a call to the police and the authorities would have all the relevant information concerning the driver at their finger-tips.
This system is far simpler to operate, does not need large clerical staffs—and is for more economical.
Hornchurch, Essex. S. A. TROTT.
Cut Price Tickets
WITH reference to the item which appeared under the " heading "Cut Price Tickets in Book Form" in your issue of August 7. Your readers may be interested to learn that the Ulster Transport Authority introduced a similar scheme between certain stations on their railway undertaking last April for a trial period. Under the scheme tickets in books of 20, 40, 60 and 100 areoavailable at reductions ranging from 15 per cent to 30 per cent according to the quantity purchased.
Each ticket is valid for three days and permits a single
journey in either direction with break of journey en route As the tickets are transferable they are popular with employers who buy them in bulk for issue to individua' members of their staff. Bulk tickets are also purchased 135 those whose frequency of travel between certain points i5 not such that they would derive any benefit by purchasiril ordinary season tickets.
Belfast, 2. W. A. RYAN,
Public Relations Officer, Ulster Transport Authority.