Lorries 8 ft. Wide This Year
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BEFORE the Commercial Motor Show in September, the Minister of Transport hopes to issue draft regulations permitting goods vehicles weighing over 4 tons unladen to be built 8 ft. wide. He made this announcement last Friday when he formally opened the Motor Industry Research Association's proving ground at Lindley, Northants (see page 521).
He hoped that an increase in width would solve one of the difficulties of British manufacturers in exporting.
DRIVERS "MEDICAL" PLAN UNREALISTIC
THE proposal that drivers should be medically examined every five years, contained in the General Agreement on Economic Regulations for International Road Transport, has been described as " unrealistic " by the council of the Public Transport Association.
Following a letter from the Ministry of Transport outlining the proposals, the Association have replied that they were " generally unrealistic, and would he unlikely to prove acceptable in practice amongst operators in this country."
MIDDLE EAST MARKET CHANCES DIG road developments to take place during the next few years in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria will result in a demand for heavy lorries. Continental manufacturers are making a special effort in these markets and are strong competitors of Britain.
This opinion is expressed in "Report of the U.K. Trade Mission to Iraq, Kuwait, the Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia, November-December, 1953," published this week by the Stationery Office at 5s.
STATE-OWNED BODYBUILDERS? rOMPLETE nationalization of the
vehicle-building industry is to be discussed at the annual conference of the National Union of Vehicle Builders to be held at Whitley Bay from May 31June 4.
Other topics will include wages increases and a 40-hour week, and the need for an examination of plans. to find new markets for British vehicles.
TOUR APPEAL REJECTED A N appeal by Smith's Luxury Coaches (Reading), Ltd., against the South Eastern Licensing Authority's refusal to grant them permission to operate an additional excursion to Dover for tours on the Continent, has been rejected, with costs, by the Minister of Transport.
M.P. WANTS BETTER ROADS 'THE need for a more extensive road I programme than the Government announced on December 8 last is to be debated in the House of Commons today.