What of the Return?

30th April 1954, Page 106

30th April 1954

Page 106

Page 106, 30th April 1954 — What of the Return?

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WE read a great deal in your line journal about the " denationalization of long-distance road haulage, but what is going to happen to the transport workers as a result of their return to work under private enterprise? I am on trunking work and night after night I see drivers asleep at their vehicles at every bend of the road, with just a glimmer of a tail lamp showing. If not there, they are nodding in cafes and as black as the ace of spades. Only two or -three weeks ago, a haulage concern sent a 20-miler a journey of about 115 miles. He left at 2 a.m., delivered his load, re-loaded and I saw him at midnight on his way back. He had been on duty for nearly 22 hours by that time and was still two or three hours from home. Let us hope that we are not returning to the "good old days," and nights. T. BOYLE, Wigan. B.R.S., Wigan Group.

[There are always some people who encourage breaking of the law, but the proportion in the haulage industry is small and the penalties for such offences, if they are discovered by the authorities concerned, are severe. Road transport before nationalization was not in the state which our correspondent seems to imply; for years it had been well organized and there were few complaints regarding the service it was affording to its customers. Examples such as that given were seldom found and were strongly discouraged by the Road Haulage Association and the majority of the concerns engaged in road haulage. Incidentally, it seems curious that this driver should observe lorries parked at night at, or close to, bends in the road. It is agreed, however, that many tail lamps on such vehicles have been unsatisfactory. This latter matter will soon be rectified by the coming regulations.—ED.]

Are Tubeless Tyres Satisfactory ?

NAY first motor vehicle was purchased in 1899 and 1 have been driving ever since without an accident, which is very gratifying. During that long period I have experimented a great deal, in fact I have made a hobby of trying almost everything. Two tubeless tyres in which I took an interest were the Fleuss and the Boothroyd. Reverting to the merits of the tubeless tyre, I consider that these are few, the chief being a little saving in the cost of rubber. From the point of view of satisfying their buyers, in the early days they did not appear to be successful, because of the anxiety on the part of the users as to what would happen if any formidable puncturing materials were on the road. In my case punctures did happen on several occasions, much to my embarrassment, consequently 1 have always been afraid of tyres that might not be easy to repair satisfactorily. In my view, the only way in which this can be achieved is by having a separate container for the air. In other words, an inner tube, such as is in general use today. With regard to the production of certain commercial vehicle tyres of the tubeless type; with due respect, I FI2

think this enterprise is a mistake. Although they have been on the market for some little time I have never yet seen one or had requests for such products.

I may be mistaken but, personally, I cannot see a future for tubeless tyres, particularly for use in conjunction with heavy vehicles.

Llandrindod Wells. Tom NORTON.

Are Insurance Companies Inhuman ?

IT has for long been my opinion that the function of I insurance companies was to relieve all parties concerned from worry and stress in the event of an accident. It seems, however, that I was wrong. It appears to me that they want to keep their cake and eat it.

Here is an example of a personal experience. The wheel came off a motor vehicle after it had travelled many miles, the result was that the latter was seriously damaged. As we were the last people to work on this vehicle, we were taken to the county court and damages of £150 and costs awarded against us. We did not even get the salvage, but the owner of the vehicle was paid in full.

The advice I give is to watch carefully what insurance company you are dealing with and obtain a contingency cover if you can. A number of companies is not keen on this type of cover, although the premium is not high, being about £6 plus 8s. per IMO of wages paid.

It seems morally wrong to me that an insurance company will undertake to cover a vehicle and, after paying out their client, wish to reimburse themselves from some other person who may ill afford it Rotherham. G.C.R.

[This correspondent is presumed to be concerned with a repair business which does not appear itself to be covered by the insurance which he recommends to others. Companies in the business of insurance are not concerned with it purely from the humanitarian aspect, they, like other business concerns, like to make a profit and it is claimed by many that this is now difficult. It is unfortunate that this accident occurred and it would be interesting to know if the repairer took the trouble to have the vehicle examined by an expert witness. If this had been done and the repairer was not, in the expert's opinion, at fault, the case might have taken another course.----ED.]

Speed Limit with Provisional Licence ?

WAS very interested in the excellent suggestions for road safety made by " Carrier " in your issue of April 9. I feel, however, that the list would be even more valuable if it included the suggestion that motorcyclists holding provisional licences should not be allowed to exceed 30 m.p.h., whether in built-up areasor elsewhere.

CHAS. E. GOSTLING, Pope and Co. (Insurance), Ltd. Abingdon-on-Thames.

What of the Return?

Page 106

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