OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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The Editor inVites Correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial MOWS, Letters shendel be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved. and no responsibility for views
expressed is accePted.
The Need for Safer Headlights.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL Moron.
[2397] Sir,--It is evidently the desire of the motoring community to-day to find a solution of the headlight problem.
This question I desire to revive as tiv_ result of my connection with the accident at Drub Lane, Cleckheaton, which resulted in the death of two men, I being the driver of the omnibus which was stationary at Drub Lane.
I contend that the question of headlights should certainly be dealt with in the forthcoming new legislation, and some method adopted and made compulsory to ensure greater safety.
Here is an idea of mine which, if adopted generally, would, I am sure, prove very successful. The dimming of headlights, the extinguishing of headlights and lighting of navigation or side lights are certainly alleviations to the approachinsmotorist, but we want sounder methods than these. My suggestion is that, of headlamps turned out by the makers 50 per cent, should be made to a certain pattern and this pattern of lamp be fitted on the ofE side of the vehicle. This particular lamp should be made and shaped as a quartercircle in two sections, one section to face the front and the other to face the side. All lights forward may then, on the approach of other traffic, be extinguished and that to the side turned on This section would throw a ray directly across the road, showing the kerb for the approaching driver. No other light being visible except this ray there would be no dazzle. This idea must be adopted by all or it is useless,
I am a driver in the omnibus section for the Yorkshire Woollen District Electric Tramways, of Dewsbury.—Yours faithfully,
Dewsbury, Yorks. rfs..nosn COMMON.
Insurance on Hired Vehicles.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, [2398] Sir,—As the contributor of the articles on insurance in The Commercial Motor, I am greatly interested In " L.B.R.C.'s " letter, which appeared in the issue of July 14th, and which refers to a difficulty in insuring a motor vehicle hired by a firm to carry out delivery services whilst its own vehicle was under repair.
A " comprehensive " policy does not profess to cover each and every risk which the user of a commercial vehicle runs in the course of a year, but simply a number of insurable risks which experience has shown to be most in demand. The premium for such a policy is fixed accordingly, and additional risks call for extra premiums.
It Is not to be expected that what one might fairly call a casual and rather hazardous risk would be covered for the standard premium. The average commercial motor insurance policy, moreover, does not ignore this risk, but expressly excludes it, by stating that it is not covered unless the policy is specially endorsed and an extra premium is paid.
With respect to his complaint that the insurance companies approached by his firm to undertake the inclusion of this risk in a policy of insurance declined to do so, I know that this would be the case. Strange as it -may seem, there are still insurance companies which 'regard commercial motor insurance with misgivings, and it appears to have been
" " unfortunate lot to have approached these concerns and these only. If, however, he is desirous of securing such policy or policies, and he will communicate with me addressed to the care of the Editor of The Commercial Motor, I shall be pleased to put him in touch with reliable insurance offices which, for a small additional charge, cover this risk in their policies.---Yours faithfully,
London. DIOGENES,
Brakes : Is Full Attention Given -to Design ?
The Editor, TEE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2399] Sir,—The article on the maintenance of brakes published in The Commercial Motor makes interesting reading, and I have no doubt will prove useful to many readers.
Howbyer, I fail to see why only fleet managers, engineers,, and the poor driver are blamed for not keeping their brakes in order. Not a word of complaint is laid against the door of the manufacturer for not designing brakes which \ Till hold loads on any hill. In case of accidents .which are proved to be caused by faulty brakes, the manufacturer should be the person to bear the blame, providing it is impossible to make the brake hold the' load on the same hill as the accident has occurred.
For the past six years I have been driving a 5-ton lorry of a well-known British make, of which we have four, and the time and money which have been spent on these lorry brakes mist be enormous. In the first place, the rear-wheelbrake shoes are hung on two pins inside the brake drum, and at this end no fulcrum is provided, the shoes being opened bodily by an oblong cam near the bottom. As it is impossible to oil the 'pins, our first trouble was brake shoes seizing on the pins. After a lot of trouble this was rectified by putting a reamer through the brake-shoe eyes. After a period of working between Sheffield and Manchester, which is a hilly and dangerous road, another fault developed. The brakes were taken down and relined, but as the brake shoes are hung in. inside the brake drum the correct thickness of lining to fill the drums cannot be put on, as the unworn part of the brake drum will not pass over the brake shoes when the ends are laid flat on the cams. Therefore, one t-.nnot allow for the wear which has taken place on the brake drum; consequently, the cam is partly pullcd over before the shoes touch the drums, which throws the pullon levers forward. To add to all these troubles, the adjuster is situated under a trapdoor in the lorry body, which means if you are carrying a lift van for a week or so you finish the journey on your merits. "Glory if you do it," "Death if you don't."
Three years ago I was in a public garage in Blackpool and a char--banes of the same make as the one in question arrived with a broken brake rod. The driver was saying a few words against brake designers when I saw him. I explained to him that his compensating gear was seized, thereby throwing all the strain on one brake rod. During our conversation five other drivers of the same type of machine came up complaining of their poor brakes, and I again explained the working of the compensator, and on examining machines mine was the only one found to be working properly. Can you wonder at this when there are ten working parts to the compensator, and the only way to oil them is to lay on your back and pour oil on the top, risking whether it gets to its proper place or in your eye?
The part of the article relating to drivers braking with their foot brake amused me, as I am open to gamble that I could burn a newly lined foot brake out on one journey to Manchester with a 5-ton load on these particular machines.
Hoping you will publish this and that other drivers will give their experiences.—Yours faith fully, C.S.
Pneumatic versus Cushion Tyres.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[24001• Sir,—With reference to recent articles appearing in the Press concerning the advantages to be obtained by users of giant pneumatic tyres, we consider that certain disadvantages which exist are being overlooked, and that users are also entirely overlooking the air cushion or semi-pneumatic tyres, which are making very rapid progress at the present time. We manufacture both giant pneumatic and air cushion tyres, so our views are entirely unprejudiced.
The disadvantages of pneumatic tyres fitted to large passenger-carrying vehicles-are as follow : 1. Punctures, causing delay in journey and consequent dislocation of time schedules, and in some cases necessitating the use of another vehicle on a long-distance journey. 2. Discomfort. —A giant pneumatic tyre, owing to its very high inflation pressure, does not start to function properly until the vehicle is fully loaded: when only carrying a part load the vehicle Is subjected to wheel bounce.
3. Danger of serious accidents. –This fact cannot be ignored, and, although nunctures or bursts may be few and far between, they nay eventually have serious if not fatal results. A vehicle on giant pneumatic tyres cannot be sent out without a certain amount of misgiving on the part of the owners, particularly on long-distance or town work.
The advantages of pneumatic vres, set against the above facts, are very small. The air cushion, or semi-pneumatic tyre, has undoubtedly several points in its favour, a few of which are as follow :— 1. No risk of punctures or delay in services.
2. Comfort.—This type of tyre functions at all times, irrespective of load carried, and is quite as comfortable as the pneumatic tyre at its best. B42 3. Freedom from accidents.----This type of tyre possesses remarkable road-holding qualities, which eliminate skidding practically altogether. There is no danger of accidents from bursts or punctures —in -fact, the air cushion or semi-pneumatic tyre offers all the advantages of a pneumatic tyre without any of its disadvantages, at a much lower cost per mile.
-Mileages of over 40,000 have be mentioned as the life of giant pneumatic tyres, but this figure is exceptional ; the average mileage ■.Dvered is less than half this figure and, although mileages of over 50,000 have been covered by air cushion or semi-pneumatic tyres, the average mileage is somewhere about 24,000 to 25,000 miles.
Giant pneumatic tyres are being fitted to types of vehicle for which they are totally unsuitable, and when the danger of this cquipment is pointed out to the owner of the vehicle the usual reply is that it is the public demand which has caused the owner to fit these tyres against his better judgment. The Press have a very large influence in this matter, and although in some cases owners have explained the difference between the two types of tyre to their passengers, the majority of the public do not appreciate that a type of tyre exists which will give them all he comfort they desire without any risk of delay or accident.
We trust, therefore, that, in the interests of public safety and in fairness to the various manufacturers who have spent large sums of money evolving a tyre which gives safety and comfort to the public, you will find room in your columns for these observations, the truth of Akhich will no doubt be confirmed by most of the leading passenger-carrying vehicle owners in the British Isles.
To stampede vehicle owners into adopting equipment against their desire and judgment will result in grave danger, not only to the individual owners, but also to the whole of the trade, and will probably retard the progress of motor passengercarliying vehicles, a position which we feel sure everybody concerned wishes to avoid.—Yours faithfully, HENLEY'S TYRE AND RUBBER CO., LTD., S. J. MADDEN, Manager, Solid Tyre Department. London, E.C.2.
The Early Days.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2401] Sir,—Your article on the Railway Centenary interested me and caused me to refer to an old cutting I have by me. It is from Engineering of June 11th, 1897—not 30 years ago—and it refers to a competition that had been promoted by The Engineer, with prizes amounting to £1,100, to be distributed amongst makers of self-propelled road vehicles. There were 72 entries of machines for this competition, but only five took their places before the judges, and the results were so unsatisfactory that the prizes were withheld. The conclusions which these two important technical journals arrived at were that there was no such thing as a thoroughly satisfactory self-propelled vehicle, and that there was no motorcar industry, properly so-called, carried on at Coventry (the cradle, in this country, of the industry) for other than company-promoting purposes. EINineering added that the problem (of power propulAon on the road) had been studied in relation to tramways and had ended in failure ; but the motor tramcar was an easy problem compared with the motor carriage or omnibus, and it would be a considerable time before it attained the dignity of constituting an industry.
How interesting it would be to obtain the present-day views of the writer of that article in Engineering /—Yours, faithfully, D. PECK. Plaistow.