High Operating Speeds Will Necessitate Better Vehicle Maintenance
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QI.J5TAINED high speeds on the new motorways will increase the importance of strict maintenance and frequent examination of parts, the excessive wear or failure of which could be dangerous. In some cases, vehicles may run over long distances at higher speeds than their designers intended, and be loaded by as much as 25 to 50 per cent. above the makers' rated capacity.
These comments were made by Mr. G. R. Atkinson,. Ministry of 'Transport senior vehicle examiner of the West Midland Area, during the discussion of his talk on examinations and prohibitions at a meeting of the Road Haulage Association's Coventry, Rugby and North Warwicks Sub-area in Nuneaton last lioweek, Earlier in the discussion, Mr. Atkinson said that he scrutinized a number of GB9 forms every day and it was evident that many dangerous defects were the direct result of carelessness.
The five counties in the Area were covered by 19 examiners and last year there were 8,058 prohibitions. There were 254 "very serious accidents," compared with 146 in the previous year, and it was probable that faults in the mechanical condition of the vehicles were to some 'extent to blame for many of these.
"We consider," said Mr, Atkinson, " that maintenance should be on a dayto-day basis to keep the vehicles in a safe condition. Small adjustments when required can obviate the necessity for big repairs later on and represent a worthwhile economy.
" An examiner normally takes about 30 minutes when inspecting a vehicle at the road side. Most of us could organize an examination system on similar lines, with the advantage that you could employ a pit," An examiner, claimed Mr. Atkinson. did not get credit for prohibiting a vehicle; he would prefer to pass it as roadworthy.
Reference was repeatedly made by Mr. Atkinson in his talk, and in reply to questions, to the dangers inherent in giving the driver responsibility for the mechanical condition of his vehicle during long intervals between maintenance checks by qualified mechanics. ' "Effects," said Mr. Atkinson, " grow on the average driver, and may go unnoticed. Drivers' reports are excellent. but the driver does not possess the knowledge of a trained fitter."
Asked whether a GB9 form could be endorsed by an examiner to show that a vehicle had been passed as roadworthy. Mr. Atkinson said that this could not be approved. A valid certificate of roadworthiness could be given only after a complete workshop examination. Certificates issued by an examiner might be exploited by some hauliers as an inducement to purchase when the vehicle sva:, offered for sale.
Dealing with methods of evaluating excessive wear, Mr. Atkinson said that allowable wear could not be given as a dimension. The amount of wear that was dangerous in the case of one type of mechanism could be tolerated in another. A part was more liable to fatigue failure if the location bolts were loose.
Prohibitions, said Mr. Atkinson, were a thing of the past in the case of the larger bus companies, who were also concerned with reducing costs to a minimum. Asked which types of vehicle were most frequently in poor condition, Mr. Atkinson said that tipping vehicles were often badly maintained, fractured chassis frames being common. Light vans were also frequent defaulters, often because they were driven by youngsters earning a low wage.