OPINIONS and QUERIES
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PNEUMATIC TYRES FOR HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES.
The Editor, TEE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[4372] Sir,—As the new Minister of Transport is demonstrating that he is willing to accept the full responsibilities of his office, this is probably a suitable time to suggest that, unlike his predecessors, he might devote one day to consideration of horse-drawn vehicles, instead of every day to evolving new penalties and regulations for the purpose of restricting the use of mechanically propelled vehicles.
Following upon tests which have proved that the fitting of pneumatic tyres to horse-drawn carts and lorries eases the strain on the horse, it is noticeable that there is a steady increase in the number of vehicles so fitted. Certainly a sufficient number of contractors and traders has voluntarily adopted this course to suggest to the Ministry that the question of compulsory adoption merits consideration.
It may be said that if the fitting of pneumatic tyres be to the advantage and relief of the horse, it is a matter for the R.S.P.C.A. to agitate accordingly. Whilst I agree that that Society will be lacking in spirit if it does not do so, particularly in view of the increasing number of traffic signals, which multiply the occasions when the horse must overcome the inertia of the heavily loaded vehicle, there are other aspects of the matter which make it suitable for your columns.
Those who are responsible for carrying on tramway undertakings are aware that the portion of street lying between the tram rails receives the heaviest usage, by reason of the fact that, whenever possible, horse drivers, out of consideration for their animals, use the tramway rails as tracks for their own vehicles.
It is manifestly unfair that the tramway undertaking should be under obligation to maintain that part of the street, but it is doubly unfair that, by allowing horsedrawn vehicles to use wheels and tyres more suitable for the period of the Roman occupation than for to-day, this particular type of traffic concentrates there, increasing the cost of maintenance much above the average for the remainder of the street.
A more important aspect is that even the most modern tramcar, with powerful motors and braking systems, is persistently obstructed by the slow-moving traffia which clings to the tracks, and which would have no reason for doing so if fitted with pneumatic tyres. In view of the mass of cramping legislation affecting mechanically propelled vehicles, it is difficult to see why this little attention should not be paid to the horse f330 drawn vehicles ; but, perhaps, in including Section 59 in the Road Traffic Act, Parliament forgot that the railway companies were the largest operators of horsedrawn traffic in the country!
R. A. SCRYMGEOUR, Councillor, Chairman, Dundee Corporation Dundee. Transport Committee.
A LONG-DISTANCE PARCELS SERVICE.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[4373] Sir,—As a reader of The Commercial Motor, I would be pleased if you could send me parcels rates for the following weights :-14 lb., 15 lb. to 28 lb., 29 lb. to 56 lb., 57 lb. to 84 lb., 85 lb. to 112 lb., and upwards, for, say, 100 miles around Nottingham, London to the South Coast also from Nottingham to South Wales.
I have been asked by a large firm in this city to quote parcel rates. I am, naturally, anxious to secure their business, and trust you can help me in my difficulty.
Nottingham. PARCELS.
[It is really impossible to give you a positive answer to your inquiry without knowing a little more about your business, aoout the type of vehicle which you propose to employ on the work, and as to the prospects of business iv each and every one of the various directions which you mention. The following suggestions therefore are largely hypothetical and based on the assumption that you use a 3-ton van, that it averages 800 miles pei weex, and that your average loading throughout the 800 miles is one-third to one-half capacity. Under the foregoirg conditions, I suggest that, as a preliminary, you base your prices on the following schedule:—For mileages up to 20: 14 lb., -5d.; 15 lb. to 28 lb., td.; 29 lb. to 56 lb., 10d. ; 56 lb. to 1 cwt., 1s. 2d.; thereafter, is. aer cwt. For mileages in excess of 20 add id. per 10 miles per parcel up to 28 lb. and Id. per 10 miles per parcel up to 1 cwt., and above that Id. per cwt. pei additional 10 miles. It will be more satisfactory for you and for me if you will write to me again and let me kno, more precisely what it is that you have in mind.—S.T.R.]
CARRYING NON-PAYING PASSENGERS ON A GOODS VEHICLE.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[43741 Sir,—A friend and I are arguing on a point of law on which we cannot agree, and I would like The Commercial Motor to settle the matter for us. A lorry or motorvan which is taxed and insured (third
party) to carry goods is owned by a mutual acquaintance, who was debating whether to take his friends out for a pleasure ride—they being non-paying passengers.
He decided eventually not to take the risk of breaking the law, i.e., of carrying passengers on a vehicle taxed and insured to carry only merchandise—and the chance of receiving a summons.
The point in question is this: In the event of the owner or driver being summoned in these circum;..La aces, would he be fined, or his licence suspended for :12 months (or both punishments) under the Road Traffic Act, 1930?
If there be no definite law or prOcedure followed in these cases, can you state what you consider would be the result? ARGUER. London, N.7.
[The questiz,n raised by you requires to be considered from the points of view of taxation, the registration of motor vehicles, and the liability under the Road Traffic Act to be insured against third-party risks. From the point of view of taxation it is an offence to use a motor vehicle, which has been licensed as a goods vehicle, for the purpose of carving friends who do not pay fares, if the licence duty calculated upon the horse-power basis is greater than the duty whic has been paid on the unladen weight. As to registration of motor vehicles, it is necessary to notify the licensing authority with which the vehicle is registered if the vehicle be used for a purpose other than that for which it has hien registeted, and to have the particulars on the licence altered. With regard to the thirdparty insurance, it is not necessary that the policy should cover liability to persons carried on the vehicle except where such persons are carried for hire or reward, or in pursuance of a contract of employment. This latter point applies to cares such as where a haulage contractcr conveys the materials necessary for a caterer to supply a banquet, and at the same time conveys the waiters who are employed by the caterer. Where, however, the insurance company has been informed that a vehicle will be used only for the conveyance of goods, or for purposes in connection with the business of the owner, and the vehicle be used by the owner for the conveyance of persons for purposes not connected with his business, the insuranee company is entitled to repudiate liability for any claim which may arise out of any accident which occurs while the vehicle is being so used. In the case mentioned in your letter, namely, where a motor vehicle is insured as a vehicle which is used for carrying goods, and is used by the owner for carrying his friends for a pleasure ride, his insurance company is entitled to repudiate liability for any claim which arises out of an accident wine the vehicle is being so used, and from this it , follows that while the vehicle is being so used there is not in force such a policy as complies with the requirements of the Road Traffic Act, and the owner is liable to be lined and to have his licence suspended for 12 months.—En.] CONTRACTING FOR MULTIPLE DELIVERIES AT SHORT RADIUS.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[4375] Sir,—I have to quote for a contract for 12 vehicles which I propose shall be of the 2-ton class. Multiple deliveries will be the work involved in a radius of 15 miles.
Will you he so good as to supply me with your ideas of costs and probable profit? Quotation to be at per ton. Each vehicle handling approximately four tons per day, 5/ days per week, say 450 miles per week.
I have been most interested in your problems for the haulier, but observe that the cost of running, as shown in your articles, would be for only a single vehicle, and that with more than one the cost would be lower.
Tunbridge Wells.. MULTIPLE.
I presume you wish to suggest that your operating costs will be reduced for a fleet of vehicles all of the same size, partly because the cost of maintenance can be cut down, because you will be able to get better terms of insurance and garage, also because you will be in a position to obtain your supplies, including new vehicles, at less than market prices. On that basis I estimate that your actual cost of operation will ite £4 10s. per week per vehicle, standing charges, and 2-.1d. per mile running cost. The total operating cost per week of a 450-mile week will thus be £8 15s. In calculating your establishment costs you must make allowance for the fact that you may have to keep a spare vehicle, and I think you ought to allow 15s. per week per vehicle on that account, making a total cost to you of £9 10s. per week per vehicle. I imagine that you are not likely to be content with less than £12 per week contract price.=S.T.R.]