ROAD TRANSPORT MATTERS IN PARLIAMENT.
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Increased Maintenance Grants for Classified Roads. Regulations Regarding Petrol Pumps. Road Surface Experiments. Opposition to London Traffic Bills.
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent.
MEM Chancellor of the Exchequer made the following
statement in tile House of Coalitions :—" The Government has from time to time received representations from associations of local authorities to the effect that the existing classification grants towards Class 1 and Class II roads and bridges were inadequate, and that the cost of the maintenance of these through lines of communication by road was unduly onerous upon the ratepayers of the areas through which they passed. In a preliminary review of the allocation of' the Road Fund revenue for the coming financial yeer 1929-30 I have borne these representations in mind, and have decided, in consultation with my right hon. friend the Minister of Transport, to increase the classification grants as from April 1st next fore the existing level of 50 per cent. to 60 per cent, in the case of Class I roads and bridges an from the existing level of 33i• per cent, to 50 per cent. in the case of Class II roads and bridges. Under the provisions of the Local Government Bill, classification grants to London and county boroughs will be discontinued from April 1st, 1930, and will be merged in the general block grant In order that these botoughs may continue to share in the concession which it is now proposed to make, an amendment will be put down at once to the Bill providing that the loss on account of grants shall -he calculated as though the increased percentages had been operative during the standard year 1928-29."
I hear that the concession Will represent a sum of £2,264,000.
Over Two Million Road Vehicles.
AF BRIE official summary of the most recent return s under the .Census of Mechanically Propelled Road Vehicles in Great Britain shows that the number of road vehicles for which licences were current at any time during the quarter ended September 30th, 1928, was 2,052,453, compared with 1,899,650 during the corresponding period of 1927.
The principal classes compare as follow:— 1928. 1927.
Cara taxed on horse-power ... 884,645 786,610 Motorcycles . ... 712583 681,410 Goods vehicles ... :.. 305,744 282,905 Motor hackneys. ... 95,412 , 95,526 The return includes details of the numbers of vehicles of different classes licensed in each registration area and an analysis of the principal classes according to the various taxation scales.
It is officially stated that the number of motor vehicle licences issued during 1927 was 818,885 annual, 2,662,380 quarterly and 317,480 for part of the year.
Petrol Pump Regulations.
MITE following statement was made by Mr. H. Williams, 1 Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, at the request of Sir Henry Jackson, regarding the proposed regu latious on the subject of petrol pumps:— .
"The. preparation of the eegulations has been a long and difficult task, and at every stage my officers lave been in close touch with the interests concerned. A draft of the regulations was printed and put on sale in April, 1928, in order that those interested, might have the frailest opportunity of making representations.
"Due time was given for the receipt and consideration of criticisms, and, on November 15th, a conference. was held at the Board of Trade with representatives of the local authorities, the oil companies, the pump manufacturers, the garage Proprietors, the Automobile Association and the Royal Automobile Club. At this conference an amended draft of the regulations was examined point by point, and while, in the nature of the case, on certain matters of detail there was' some divergence o1 view, I think it may be said that the result was genetally recognized as Providing a set of regulations Which should be ger etally effeCtive and satisfactory. One or two questions of detail were dealt with subsequently in discussiOns with the parties specially interested.
B28 "The final revision of the draft regulations is nearly completed. It is hoped to make them shortly, to provide that they shall come into force on April 1st, and as from that date no pump can be installed which is not of a pattern certified by the Board of Trade.
"As allegations have been freely made that the regulations admit of certain types of pump which are liable to he inaccurate, I think I should explain that in the case of measuring instruments it is t'ae etatutory duty of the Board of Trade to be satisfied that the patterns used are 'not such as to facilitate the perpetration of fraud.' The work of examining patterns is carried out by the expert staff of the Board. These officers arrive at their conclusions by reference to technieal considerations, and it is not their business to say whether one certified pattern is or is not superior to
another. No pun))) is perfect, and one pattern may be nearer to perfection than another ; the Department's business is to satisfy itself that the design reaches a certain reasonable standard of reliability, and in issuing certificates, as in drafting the new regulations, his is the end that has been kept in view."
Road Surface Experiments.
IN the report issued by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research for 1927-3, it is stated that a considerably increased programme of research on road problems has been undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Transport by the National Physical Laboratory. The small scale apparatus designed for experiments on skidding has been used on various road surfaces during the year, and a full scale apparatus has now been designed and constructed by means of which teets can be made under various conditions of speed, load and braking force on the wheel.
The investigation of the effects of wheel dimensions on road destruction has been continued by means of a special trailer which can be fitted with different sized wheels. Measurements have been made of the horizontal and vertical vibrations of the ground, due to the passage of the trailer at various speeds over road hollows, whilst the drawbar pull and spring deflection of the trailer have also been Measured. A horizontal vibration recorder was developed in the engineering department for this work.
An extensive scheme of research on concrete roads is also • in progress.
THE more important features of the work of the Research Association of British Rubber Manufacturers relate to investigations carried out into.tests for pneumatic tyres, the study of the properties of various forms of cellular rubber and the initiation of a programme of resettrch into the properties of ebonite.
The object of the first investigation is the production of a specification of the quality of a tyre which will not hamper technical progress and initiative by imposing conditions in regard to the nature of the materials used or the methods of construction employed.
The factors which determine the quality of a pneumatic tyre, it is stated, are far from simple, and laboratory tests must be compared with the results of actual service under varied conditions before their value can be definitely established. Substantial progress has been made, however, towards devising a simple specification which, when put into operation, should provide the necessary data for the developsnout of improved tests and the correlation of tyre characteristics with road performance.
Opposition to London Traffic Bills. Tian Parliamentary Labour Party states that it has appointed three members of the executive committee to confer with three associates of the London Labour division on the steps to be taken for opposing the private Dille "handing over the L.C.C. tramways to the traffic combine."