Street Accidents in London.
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Mr. McKenna has supplied the following figures relating to omnibus and tramcar licences and accidents, in answer to a question that was put in the House of Commons by the Member for Bedford :
The Home Secretary added that 533,000,000 passengers were carried by the L.C.C. tramcars during the 12 months ending 31st March last, compared with 520,000,000 passengers by motorbuses belonging to the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., alone. How will the L.C.C. Highways Committee reconcile the above figures of performances with the extraordinary and ludicrous estimates which, at the instance, no doubt, of the Council's tramway officials, that Committee had the temerity to put forward in reply to the R.I.A. memorial ? The suggestion that more than two motorbuses are required to do the work of a single tramcar, upon the delightfully-ingenuous hypothesis that efficiency is in direct relation to seating capacity, is thoroughly exploded by the above-quoted answer. If there were any truth whatever in the oft-repeated claim that. the 78-seated tramcar is so immensely superior to the 34-seated motorbus, how is it that the L.G.O.C. vehicles alone, which can be put at approximately 1450 over the erm to which reference is made, in comparison with 1517 tramcars, only fell short in performance, measured in the number of passengers carried, by the insignificant trifle of 13,000,000 in a total of 533,000,000?
This latest answer in the House of Commons will be most useful before the Committee of the House of Lords, a fortnight or so hence, when the L.C.C. tramways-statistic theorists are trying to impose arguments which ignore every possible factor but the one of relative size. To anybody who cares to think the matter out, it must be perfectly clear that the' inefficiency of the L.C.C. tramcars, and the astounding waste of the public highway due to the unnecessary carrying round of unoccupied seats, is again demonstrated by these official statistics of work achieved—passengers carried. No set of figures could better support our oldstanding contention, that the tramcar is a gross and unnecessary obstruction in the streets of London during many hours of the day. IL is no use to the community to keep these ponderous and leviathan vehicles running up and down the streets when, as the L.C.C. official records disclose a wastage that is measured by only 13 per cent. of occupied seats, in comparison with 33 per cent, of occupied seats in motorbuses, during the slack hours of the day. We know of no case in which paper argument has crumbled .away more completely than in respect of the impudent and untrue L.C.C. supposition that more than two motorbuses are needed to do the work of a single tramcar. With regard to the accident statistics, and the apparent inferiority of the motorbus to the tramcar in respect. of safety in use, we now await the official statistics, which we feel sure will show that, in the Metropolitan Police area, the greater frequency of accidents is in thoroughfares where tramcar traffic exists. As we pointed out last week, the City of London, which has practically no tramcars, but which has the most-dense motorbus and other ordinary wheeled traffic, enjoys comparative immunity from fatal and non-fatal accidents.
The Education of the North-East.
The Royal Show at Doncaster, which is now in progress, has already proved itself to provide a. splendid opportunity for effective parading of the irresistible claims of the commercial motor. From the small agrimotor at £100 to the huge lorry at £800,, there is choice sufficient to convince the mostexacting observer of contemporary events. When, as is so often the case in respect of industrial counties, the intelligent observer is also prompted by selfinterest, the obvious economies to be derived from the adoption of mechanical transport lead to business. It is difficult to assess the strength at Doncaster, but despite growing activity on the agrimotor side, we must award high places to the van, the lorry and the char-h-bancs.
Several appropriate special articles, which are designed to add to the Royal Show interest of this issue, will be brought by us under the notice of many new readers in the counties of Northumberland, Durham, Yorks. and Lincoln. We may particularly direct attention to the arguments, pro and con., in regard to the advantages of direct ploughing by selfpropelled agrimotors, as opposed to the cable haulage of ploughs between two stationary engines. The United Kingdom is so cut up into small meadows and fields that the small hauling unit appears to us to be the superior type of plant. Many farmers agree. Reverting to the attitude of the commercial world at and around Doncaster, from Manchester to Hull, and from Newcastle to Nottingham, we may fairly state that expressions of astonishmenthave repeatedly been forthcoming at the wonderful evidences of widespread use to which the motor exhibits testify.
The first-published Show Report, to which we give publicity on pages 395 to 408, presents an illustrated account of the principal stands and their contents, and it goes far to convey an adequate impression of the convincing array of vehicles and tractors which must impel visitors to pay heed to the great. cornmercial-nmtor movement. It will be observed the our reproductions from photographs concern original views in the Showyard. By special arrangement, a few hundred advance copies of this issue, complete with 36 pages of text and illustrations, reached Doncaster on Tuesday afternoon, and thus maintained our reputation for expeditious compilation.
The Transport of Petrol Supplies.
At the instance of the R.A.C., as will be known to the bulk of our readers, an important committee, which is meeting weekly, is taking evidence from a variety of sources in order to arrive at a decision as to the best course by which the storage and transport of petroleum spirit may be put on a bagis in keeping with present-day requirements. We do not enter into any detail, at the present time, because the deliberations of the committee have, very properly, to be treated as confidential. On the other hand, we are at liberty to revert to matters concerning the large-scale transport of motor spirit by road, seeing that the topic is one with which we have dealt on several occasions during the past five years. As the law stands at the moment, there is no defined legal control of petroleum spirit in transit by road-vehicle. One well-known authority on the subject has ventured the opinion that anybody might carry large quantities of petrol without let or hindrance by the powers that be, so long as the vehicle did not break down or stop ; in either of the two events named, said he, " the vehicle immediately becomes an unlicensed storehouse, and its owner or driver liable to all kinds of pains and penalties." That situation, amusing in itself, and quite consonant with thousands of situations under the law of this country, must not be allowed to continue.
Nowadays, with a growing demand for uninterrupted supplies of motor spirit, from omnibus companies, carriers, and other owners of fleets of motorvans, anomalies must be eliminated.
A Home-Office committee, some two years ago, tentatively reported against the transport of petroleum spirit by self-propelled road tank-wagon. That recommendation, however, we are glad to say, remains in abeyance, and we hope that the Commercial Motor Users Association, as one of the bodies which is represented upon the committee now sitting, will exert its influence to secure a reversal. Subject to constructional precautions, there is no reason why 1000 or more gallons of petroleum spirit should not pass along the highway in a tank as safely as in tins.
The Motorvan on the Road.
The response to the proposals of the 0.M.U.A. for the organization of night-shelter accommodation has, we understand, been most gratifying, Catering for the requirements of the motorvan on the road promises to become a regular feature in the business undertakings of many traders. The garage proprietor, who has hitherto found it pay him to provide for the demands which arise from touring motorcars, is already well on the alert, and looking out for stronglyfloored and commodious premises, with plenty of headroom for the loaded vans to enter, and with other necessary characteristics to suit the new-comers. The use of the motorvan on the road, for longdistance, end-to-end and cross-country trips, is a development of the last few years only, and one to which recent labour troubles have given unforeseen encouragement by reason of dislocations of transport which have proved to be capable of relief by the motorvan alone. Arising out of suggestions which were put forward by the Editor of this journal, the Commercial Motor Users Association has appointed a special committee to provide for the programme that is involved by the careful institution of recognized shelter or storage accommodation for both petrol and steam vehicles in all parts of the country. So far, thanks to the considerable resources which are at the disposal of the Association, and with the hearty co-operation of the general Press of the country, county and borough Head Constables, and Clerks to municipal and urban corporations, definite arrangements and terms have been settled, subject to completion of inspection, for the listing of upwards. of 100 depots, and this news will be of interest to all who are concerned in the execution of transport work which takes their vehicles or tractors away overnight from one of their own store-houses. It only remains for us to add that the duty of working up and carrying through this scheme for the extension of suitable night-shelter accommodation is largely in the care of owners who are directly affected' by the results which it is hoped will follow.