The R.A.C. Commercial Motor Trials.
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(To be held under the Open Competition Rules of the R.A.C.)
Supplementary Regulations.
The following regulations have been prepared by a joint committee of the Royal Automobile Club, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and the Commercial Motor Users' Association, and are consented to and approved by the Royal Automobile Club :— I. UNDER THE OPEN COMPETITION RULES.— These Trials shall be held under the Open Competition Rules of the Royal Automobile Club for the time being in force (hereinafter called the Open Competition Rules), and under these Regulations, which shall be supplementary thereto.
2. OFFICIAL REGULATIONS.—All vehicles entered for these Trials shall comply with the Acts of Parliament and Statutory Orders relating to such motor vehicles, and shall be duly registered.
3. DURATION OF TRIALS.—The Trials will begin on Monday, 9th September, 1907, and continue for about four weeks.
4. NATURE OF TRIALS.—The Trials will take the form of a tour passing through the chief commercial centres of England and possibly Scotland, and will be conducted on the lines of the Club's ',coo Miles Motor Vehicle Trial of tgoo. The length of the daily run shall vary according to the Class of vehicle as set forth in the Table below. Every vehicle shall stop such number of times as may be directed, for the purpose of testing the stopping and starting powers of the vehicles, and in order that the conditions may approximate to those of actual service. Tests will also be made of fuel and water consumption, steering-gear, hill-climbing capacity, manceuvring generally, and any other tests which the Judges may decide to be necessary. (See also Regulations NOS. 20 to 23.)
5. ROUTES.—Each day's run shall start and finish at a dep6t to be appointed, and shall traverse the route selected. All vehicles in the same Class shall cover the same route each day.
6. COMMENCEMENT OF TRIAL.—All competing vehicles must be within the gates of the first depOt by noon on Thursday, the 5th September, 1907; provided that, any vehicle arriving at the gates not later than 8 p.m. on that date may take part in the Trials on payment of a fine of After 8 p.m. the fine will be ,,4'5 per hour or part of an hour up to 12 p.m. After this hour no vehicle will be admitted to take part in the Trials.
7. ORDER OF RUNNING.—The Trials will start at 8 o'clock on the morning of Monday, the 9th September, 1907. The vehicles will be started on their daily runs by Ciasses, and in order of receipt of entry. Entries received on the same day will be placed by ballot. • The Club reserves the right to change the order if, in its opinion, such change is necessary.
8. LOAD.—The load shall be provided by the entrant in such form as may be approved by the Judges, and shall be officially weighed: and sealed and not changed during the Trials unless the consent of the Judges be first obtained.
g. CLASSIFICATION AND FEES.—Entries will be accepted in the Clsses and at the fees shown in the follow
to. ENTRIES.--Not more than two vehicles of the same type by the same maker shall compete in any one Class. A vehicle may be entered by its manufacturer or by his authorised agent or .nominee, but entries by manufacturers shall have priority. The entries shall be made upon a prescribed form, copies of which may be obtained on and after '25th April, 1907, from the Secretary of the Club. The fees caid by a Competitor include the fees for the enrolment of himself and his driver or drivers on the Competitors' Register of the Club. The entrance fee will be returned in full if no Trials are held, but will not otherwise be returnable.
I I. SPECI FI CATION AND GUARANTEE.—Every entrant shall supply to the Club, not later than the t3th July, 1907, on a form to be provided by the Club, a complete specification of the vehicle or vehicles entered by him. Should he enter after the t3th July, the specification shall accompany the entry. If the entrant be a manufacturer or dealer in such vehicles he shall supply, not later than fourteen days prior to the start of the Trials, on a form to be provided by the Club, a signed undertaking to list and sell
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vehicles conforming n every respect to such specification for a period of six months from the commencement of the Trials; if the entrant be not the manufacturer or dealer then the undertaking shall be signed by the manufacturer or .3,,ilealer in such vehicle or vehicles.
12. ABANDONMENT OF TRIALS.—The right is reserved to abandon the Trials if the number of entries received by 12 o'clock noon on Saturday, t3th July, 1907, does not justify the holding of them.
13. WITHDRAWAL OR FAILURE OF VEHICLE.— In the event of any withdrawal of the vehicle or failure to complete the Trial, the vehicle shall be dismantled by the competitor sufficiently to satisfy the 'Observer as to the cause of the failure and to permit such examination by the Judges as they desire.
14. VEHICLE UNDER OBSERVATION.—Every vehicle shall be under official control and observation from the time at which it is presented for Trial until it is released by the Judges.
is. OBSERVERS.—Every competitor shall provide throughout the Trials one competent Observer per vehicle entered by him. Every Observer shall be subject to the approval of the Club, and the competitor shall be in every way responsible for his actions, his remuneration and expenses. The Observer shall not assist in any way in the adjustment of or repairs to any vehicle. The Observer nominated by any entrant shall not be in charge of any vehicle entered by that entrant. Proper seating accommodation must be provided for the Observer in a suitable position, and 2cwt. will be allowed for the weight of the Observer, his seat and luggage. z6. ASSISTANTS.—A vehicle shall only carry one man in addition to the Observer, except in the case of a steam vehicle, where a stoker may be required. All repairs and -other work done on the vehicles in the depots (including fuel replenishment) shall be done under the observation of Officials appointed by the Club, who will make all necessary records. (See also Regulation No. 33.) 17. PLATFORMS AND BODIES.—Platforms and bodies shall be subject to the approval of the Judges.
18. SUNDAY.—No repairs, adjustments, or other work of any description will be permitted on Sundays.
19. STORES.—Each competitor shall supply all labour, fuel, and stores required for his vehicle during the Trials.
20. FUEL CONSUMPTION.—The amount of fuel or electrical energy used by each vehicle during the Trials will be recorded, A record will be taken of the time occupied in taking out a set of discharged batteries and replacing them by a set of charged ones, but no account will be taken of the time occupied in re-charging. The electrical energy used by each eehicle shall be the amount of electrical energy used in charging the batteries.
21. WATER.—The quantity of water used by each vehicle during the Trials will be recorded. Water will be provided at the depots, and the time occupied in replenishing elsewhere will be taken into consideration in making the awards.
22. MANCEUVRING, &c.—Manceuvring, adhesion (loaded and light), brake power, etc., will be noted from time to time by the Observers for the information of the Judges.
Awards.
23. BASIS OF AWARDS.—The Awards will be determined by the Judges, who will take into consideration the selling price and the performance of the vehicle in regard to : Accessibility.
Adequacy of platform area and convenience for loading.
Adhesion (loaded and light). Brakes.
Condition after Trial.
Cost of Carriage per net ton mile (including cost of fuel, lubricants, etc.).
Cleanliness of vehicle in service and absence of oil and grease leakages.
No allowance will be made for any wear which may have taken place previous to the Trials.
24. MEDALS.—The CLUB will make awards of Medals on the recommendations of the Judges, and additional money awards from a prize fund, but reserves the right to divide any award, and to withhold any or all of the awards if, in the opinion of the judges, the performance of the vehicle or vehicles is not sufficiently meritorious.
25. DIPLOMAS.—Diplomas may be awarded by the CLUB to those vehicles which, in the opinion of the Judges, are deserving of them, and which have not been successful in obtaining medals under the preceding Regulation.
26. ARMY COUNCIL'S DIPLOMA.—The diploma offered by the Army Council will be awarded to the vehicle which is considered by the War Office Committee on Mechanical Transport to be, either as a whole, or in some details of its engines, or other parts, most meritorious from a military point of view, and therefore likely to be of service, even though indirectly, to the Army. (Subject to arrangement.) 27. CERTIFICATES.—A certificate will be given in respect of the performance of every vehicle, whether it completes the Trials or not, and the Cum reserves the right to publish any certificate. Ease of manipulation. Finish and Workmanship. Freedom from nuisance to public, e.g., smoke. General appearance.
Manceuvring.
Quiet running.
Repairs and replacements.
Springing.
Steering gear.
Arrangements at Depots.
28. TIME TO BE NOTED.—The time spent each day in replenishing, lubricating, adjusting, repairing, and getting up steam, will be recorded on the certificates. The vehicle must be properly washed as often as required, but the time so occupied will not be noted on the certificate. A maximum period of one hour each day, which may be spent at the entrants' discretion before and/or at the conclusion of each day's run, will be allowed in the depot for replenishing, lubricating, adjusting, repairing, and getting up steam. Any time in excess of one hour so occupied will be added to the running time of the following run.
29. FAILURE TO START.—Any vehicle not ready to start by 12 o'clock noon on any day may, at the discretion of the Judges, be prevented from taking any further part in the Competition or receiving any award. If allowed to continue in the Trials under observation, it shall resume running at such time as the Judges may direct.
30. EXAMINATION.--At the conclusion of the Trials every competitor shall open out his vehicle as far as is necessary to enable the Judges to carry out their examination, and he shall provide all the labour, tools, etc,, necessary for that purpose.
Stops.
31. STOPS.—No penalties will be incurred for stops made with the consent of the Observer for legal requirements, traffic, lighting lamps, fitting non-skids, or for convenience of Observer or driver, or for the compulsory stops which may be required. All other stops, including tire repairs, will count against the vehicle as involuntary stops. In the event of any adjustments or repairs being made during a compulsory or voluntary stop, the stop will be counted as an involuntary one.
Regulations for Drivers.
32. DRIVERS.—A vehicle shall be driven by the same person throughout a day's run, unless that person be incapacitated, when his place may be taken by a substitute, on notice being given to the Observer.
33. NOTICE OF REPAIRS.—The driver must not, under penalty of disqualification, make any repairs or replacements without the consent of the Observer.
34. SPEED ALLOWED.—No speed above the legal limit will be allowed.
35. OVERTAKING.—The rules of the road must be strictly observed in order that no accidents may occur in overtaking.
36. ROAD REGULATIONS.—Any competitor who in the Trials crosses in front of another, shuts in or obstructs another by any means, so that the latter is prevented from advancing, may be disqualified, unless the obstruction was unavoidable, or the competitor who was obstructed was himself in fault; the fact that the obstruction was unintentional, or that it did not affect the results of the Trials, shall in no case be admitted as a valid excuse.
37. CONVICTION MAY INVOLVE DISQUALIFICATION.—A competitor who may be successfully prosecuted at law for excessive speed may, if the CLUB is satisfied that the vehicle has been driven at an unreasonable speed, be disqualified.
38. SPEED IN CONTROLS.—The speed within towns and villages and all controls shalt be reduced, and in no case shall a vehicle be driven to the danger or inconvenience of other users of the highway. Infringement of this Regulation shall subject the competitor to disqualification.
39. CLUB CAN DISQUALIFY.—The Cum shall have power to disqualify a vehicle for travelling in any place at a speed which it may consider excessive.
40. CONTROLS.—Every town and village through which the route may pass shall be a control, and unless otherwise stated in the Route directions, shall be deemed to commence at the first house of such town or village adjacent to the route, and to end at the last house thereof.
41. OFFICIAL NUMBER.—A competitor who shall endeavour to conceal his official Trial number shall be disqualified.
Disqualification and Publication.
42. NOTICE AND METHOD OF PROCEDURE.— A vehicle may be disqualified by notice in writing, signed by an official of the Trials, and served on the driver or the person who is in charge of the vehicle. Such notice of disqualification shall set out the act or thing on which disqualification is alleged to rest, provided (a) that disqualification or suspension of a driver shall not of itself be disqualification or suspension of a vehicle, and (la) that, if the act or thing alleged as a ground for disqualification be dis
puted, the vehicle may continue in the competition, and the question of disqualification shall be postponed, and shall he determined by the CLUB, which shall give all parties concerned an opportunity of being heard, and calling evidence.
43. AGREEMENT BY COMPETITOR.—The competitor who enters a vehicle thereby agrees—(s) That on notice of disqualification being served and becoming effective, he will withdraw the disqualified vehicle from the Trials, and Immediately remove the official number therefrom. (2) That he, and his servants and representatives, shall have no claim on the Cum in respect of non-publication of the records of a. disqualified vehicle or in respect of publication of disqualification of himself or of a vehicle. (3) That he will accept the official records of the CLUB, and authorises the CtriB to publish them in such manner as the CLUB may think fit. (4) That the decision of the CLUB upon any question of disqualification shall be final, and the CLUB is authorised to publish its decision.
44. LOSS OF AWARD.—If a competitor is disqualified he shall lose all right to any award, notice, or record.
4s. PROTESTS—Protests must be made in accordance with Open Competition Rules Nos. 91 to 99 as follows :— 91.—Any competitor considering himself aggrieved by any matter connected with a competition or by the conduct of any Promoter or Official may make formal protest as provided by these Rules.
92.—Every protest shall be in writing, and must he signed by a competitor engaged in the competition, or by his autho• used agent, and must be lodged with the Secretary of the Meeting within the time prescribed by these Rules ; the person.. protesting shall, at the time ha makes the protests, deposit in the hands of the person to whom the protest is made the sum of Lb. If. .the protest be derided against the depositor, his deposit shall be forfeited to the CLUB unless the Clerks of the Course who heard the case, or the Stewards of the CLuB on appeal, shall certify that there was good and reasonable-ground for the protest or the appeal. 93.—A11 protests shall be adjudicated upon by the Clerks of the .Course. All patties. concerned shall be given an opportunity of being heard, and shall be hound by the clect sion .given, subject only to appeal to the Stewards of the CLUB as herein provided.
94.—In the event of a protest being lodged against a successful competitor, the prize shall be withheld until the protest has been dealt with. If the protest is upheld; the prize shall he awarded to the competitor who. is next in order. 95,—If a protest concerning a vehicle which has won or -taken part. in a competition be upheld, such vehicle shall be regarded as not having taken part in the competition, and the other vehicles shall he placed accordingly.
96.—(i.) A protest against a vehicle as to classification and validity of entry (otherwise than as provided by Rule 38) must be made before the start of the competition.
(ii.) A protest against the distance of a course officially designated must be made before the start of a competition. (iii.) A protest against any decision of the Clerk of the Scales must be made forthwith after such decision.
(iv.) A protest against a vehicle, on the ground of any act on the part of its driver or his assistant, or of it not having run the proper course, or of the competition having been run on a wrong course, or of any other matter occurring during the competition, or before weighing in, must be made within a quarter of an hour after the conclusion of the heat or competition, unless for special reasons the Clerks of the Course are satisfied that it could not have been made within that time.
(v.) A protest on the ground- (a) That the vehicle which ran was not the vehicle which it was represented to be at the time of entry ; or (1?) That the vehicle has run at a Meeting for which a permit has not been granted, may be received within fourteen days of the conclusion of a meeting.
(vi.) A protest on the ground that there is an error or inaccuracy in the results of a competition as published, or that the results so published disclose or afford ground for thinking that some error or inaccuracy has occurred, which the party protesting could not have known until such publication, may be received within fourteen days, including the date of publication, from the day upon which the results are published in "The Royal Automobile Club Journal' and "Motor -Union Gazette."
(vii.) In any other case a protest must be made within twenty-four hours of the competition being run, exclusive of Sunday, save in the case of any fraud, or wilful misstatement, when there shall he no limit to the time for protesting, provided the Clerks of the Course are satisfied there has been no unnecessary delay on the part of the person protesting.
97.—A protest may also be made without deposit by a Steward of the CLUB, or by an Official of a Meeting in his official capacity.
98.—A protest cannot be withdrawn without leave of the Clerks of the Course.
99.—All costs and expenses in relation to determining a protest or conducting an inquiry, and any reasonable compensation for outlay incurred, shall be paid by such person, or persons, and in such proportions, as the Clerks of the Course shall direct.
General Conditions.
46. OPEN COMPETITION ROLES TO GOVERN TRIALS.—Every competitor shall be considered to be acquainted with the Open Competition Rules and these Regulations, and Ii)' entering or by driving undertakes to abide without dispute by all the conditions therein contained affecting the Trials and by any Regulations which may be hereafter issued, and by the results to which such Rules and Regulations may lead.
47. CLUB'S DECISION FINAL.--In the event of any point arising under, or which is not covered by, the Open Competition Rules and these Regulations, the CLUB shall have power to decide upon the same, and its decision shall be final, and shall ipso facto become a Regulation of the Trials.
48. INTERPRETATION OF REGULATIONS.—The interpretation of these Regulations, and of any to be here after issued, shall rest entirely with the CLun, which may at its discretion waive, alter, add to, or omit from, any or all of them from time to time.
If any dispute shall arise in connection with these Regulations, or with any to be hereafter issued, or with the Trial, the decision of the CLUB shall be final and binding, except in so far as is otherwise provided under the Open Competition Rules for the time being of the Cum.
NOTE.--The attention of competitors is particularly directed to the following (among others) of the Open Competition Rules of the Royal Automobile Club, which bear upon these Trials :—Nos. 5, 7, 10, 57, 32, 36, 40, as follows :—
5.—Every competitor shall be presumed to be acquaintel
with and shall submit to and be bound by these Rules and any Regulations issued by a Promoter in regard to any competition promoted by him; provided that any such Regulations shall be supplementary to and shall, except in the case of Regulations issued by the CLUB, in no way supersede these Rules unless with the consent of the CLUB, notice of which consent shall appear upon the Regulations to which it refers; provided also that all words herein defined shall in all such Regulations be deemed to bear the same meanings as herein expressed unless the contrary is specifically declared in the supplementary Regulations.
7.—The entrant shall be responsible for all acts or omissions on the part of his driver, but both shall be equally responsible for any infraction of these Rules.
10.—No advertisement or trade sign shall be carried on or be distributed from any vehicle during any competition, except with the special consent of the Cum first obtained.
17.—No vehicle having its exhaust so .directed as to raise dust from the road surface shall be eligible to compete in any competition on the highway. 32.—No competitor shall be eligible to enter a vehicle for or drive a vehicle in any competition unless the name of such competitor is duly entered upon the Competitors' Register of the CLUB, which Register shall be open for inspection at the offices of the CLUB at all reasonable times. The CLUB may refuse to enter the name of any person on the Competitors' Register without assigning any reason. The competitor shall
be given a certificate of his entry in the Register, which he shall produce on the demand of an Official at any Meeting.
W.—Entries shall be made in writing, on the proper form, which shall state inter (Ilia the name and address of the entrant and his Register Number. Any entry which is not accompanied by the necessary fee, or does not comply with the particulars required, or which is received too late, shall be null and void, and no Promoter shall accept an entry form unaccompanied by the entrance fee.
40.--Any entry containing any false statement may be declared null and void, and the entrant may be deemed guilty of misbehaviour under Rule 100.
49. ENTRANT RESPONSIBLE.—It is one of the conditions upon which entries are accepted by the Cr.un that the CLUB shall not be responsible for any damage that may be done to or by the vehicle entered, or its appurtenances, either during the Trials or while the vehicle is under the charge of the Cum, either by fire, accident, or otherwise, nor for the theft of the vehicle, or any of its accessories or appurtenances. The vehicles, and their accessories and appurtenances, shall at all times be at the risk in all respects of the entrants, who shall be deemed by entering to indemnify the CLUB against all legal proceedings, costs, and penalties whatsoever, relating to or arising out of the Trials.
5o. DAMAGE.—Any damage caused by any entrant or his driver, representative, servant, or vehicle at any time, and whether before, during, or after the Competition, shall be paid for by such entrant. The CLUB is hereby irrevocably authorised as Agent for any such entrant to settle and agree the amount of any such damage, and, if it thinks fit, to pay the -amount thereof, and any such entrant shall on demand repay to the CLUB any sum which may be disbursed by the CLun in respect of any such damage.
Sr. ADVERTISEMENTS.—Every competitor agrees by entering that any advertisements he may publish in connection with the Trials, or which may be published on his behalf, shall be true and accurate. He further agrees not to publish any advertisements (beyond the fact that his vehicle is competing in the Trials) until the issue of the Judges' awards by the CLUB, 52. NO CLAIMS AGAINST CLUB.—A competitor by entering or by driving waives any right of action against the CLUB for any damages sustained by him in consequence