1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184 
GLASS BOWL
Page 144
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
SELDOM do the resolutions on' the agenda for the annual conference of the Road Haulage Association tell us much about the issues that are mainly filling the minds of hauliers. Of the 17 items set down for discussion at the forthcoming conference in Blackpool, five are concerned with vehicles, six with roads, two with drivers and other employees,. two with undesirable practices and two with terminal problems. None of the points put forward is negligible, but they scarcely add up to a complete picture of the trials and aspirations of the road haulage industry at the present time.
The resolutions might almost be taken as an oblique commentary on the subjects that so often find themselves the centre of debate at conferences organized by trade unions, who seem more often than no on these occasions to be occupied with everybody's problems but their own. By comparison the hauliers, especially this year, may appear content to cultivate their garden and let the rest of the world go by.
This would not be an unreasonable attitude. For 10 years or more hauliers have felt the world was too much with them. They have been the chosen prey of one of the main political parties and their hopes and fears have fluctuated with each change of Government—indeed, with the approach of each general election. At last there seems a good chance of a few years of freedom from politics. Hauliers may prefer to relax, to keep clear of controversy, and, when they meet inconference, confine themselves to talking shop.
Too cloistered an existence may not be good for hauliers, even if the direct 'political threat has receded. It may be assumed in any case that their interests and anxieties are not confined within the range of the resolutions down for
discussion at the conference. If there is one topic to which most hauliers have been giving thought recently, it is probably the determination of their rightful place in the transport system as a whole. There is likely to be little opportunity for considering this at Blackpool.
Quick Peep into the Future It is true that an hour or so has been set aside for an inquiry into the future of road haulage, from which a number of interesting and even revolutionary ideas may
emerge. The time available is scarcely enough for an adequate development of the subject, especially as it would be difficult to avoid enlarging upon it by talking about other forms of transport whose future is bound up with that of road haulage. Even a cursory survey ought to show that an entirely new situation lies ahead, and that in order to meet it hauliers may have to revise their ideas and their policy drastically.
The image built up in the public mind of the haulier as a sturdy individualist fighting the inhuman state machine has done good service and may be needed again if the danger of nationalization recurs. But itcan surely be put away in the cupboard for a while. Hauliers must now pass to the next stage and show themselves capable of handling the new responsibilities and opportunities that are there for them to grasp.
Although they must long ago have realized that they are on the way out, the railways have fought and are fighting a skilful rearguard action which may go on deceiving their opponents and the public for some time. Every means of propaganda has been pressed into service to sustain the argument that the troubles of the railways are the fault c60 either of the authorities who have come in too late and too grudgingly with their support or of the public who, when it comes to transport, do not know what is good for them.
On certain fronts the railways even seem to be making advances. What may .be their last stand is being made on the question of ro,ad safety, and road congestion. Recent legislation provides ample evidence of a drive to hamper and restrict road vehicles and traffic of all kinds.
The ultimate result of the rivalry between road and rail
is scarcely in doubt. Restrictive measures against road transport can only strengthen the demand for more-and. better roads. The Government must spend far more money to this end before the public will begin to be satisfied. • An estimate given by Dr. J. Clayton in the September issue of the American Economic Report shows that road investment per head of population will be six times as much this year in the United States as in Britain, and that the figure is also greater for many other countries, including West Germany and France.
Parallel Expansion Whatever manceuvres' the Government make, perhaps behind a smokescreen_ thrown up by the railways, they cannot escape indefinitely the need and the compulsion to accelerate the road programme._ When this happens there will almost inevitably be an expansion of the road haulage industry, and people in the industry should already begin to adjust their ideas to meet the coming situation. In a sense it is already -with them. The increasing desire of the public for their services is shown by the extent to which unlicensed operators are tempted to come into the business.
One of the resolutions at the Blackpool conference deplores the flagrant and persistent breaches of the law governing licensing, drivers' hours and maximum loads. It is right that these offences should be punished, but the Government may also regard them as evidence of the need to slacken the licensing rein and to allow more vehicles into the road haulage industry. This is an eventual development about which hauliers might well begin 'to think at once. For many of them it will mean a drastic change in their approach to the problems of their industry.
There are many hauliers who regard as a personal attack any suggestion to relax the licensing system. They would appear to be afflicted with a mild form of agoraphobia or fear of the wide open spaces. Snugly embedded within the licensing system drawn up according to the wisdom of the ancients in 1933, they have ceased to look for ways and means of expansion. They are active enough within the limits prescribed by their licence. They are the dominant species in the goldfish bowl where they have chosen to live. Were the bowl to be shattered, however, they might well find themselves out of their element.
At all costs they should be careful to retain their powers of adaptation. It is inability to do this that has doomed the railways to oblivion and it would be the height of irony if hauliers were to follow the same course. There are many of them who have shown great ingenuity in adapting themselves to the difficult situation* that has' faced them for most of the time since the war. These operators, at least, need have no fear that they will not grasp the opportunities that may soon be opening before them.