NEWS IN BRIEF Fanners On .Licensing: The Scottish Nat1ona: Farmers'
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Union is seeking, the views Of its areas and branches on the goods vehicle licensing SySteill in order to submit evidence to the Geddes Committee. On Monday the Angus area in Forfar agreed that the retention of the farmers' goods licence should be pressed for and that A licences should he granted more easily to allow new competition in the transport industry. There was anxiety that the closing of rail lines and the tendency for road transport take-overs to create large groupings might affect farmers' transport. Hi-dish Railways have asked for farmers' views on a proposal to run fast freights betwecn main livestock centres. New Cummins Parts Factory: A factory for the production of Cummins PT fuel-system and other diesel-engine components is to he built at Darlington by the Cummins Engine Co. Ltd. Production will start in 1965, and the factory will he adjacent to the engine-manufacturing plant of ChryslerCummins Ltd., of which we gave details in our August 9 issue.
Comment on E.E.C. Licences: Since bilateral agreements between member states for road goods transport in the F.E.C. will continue in parallel with the proposed Community licence quotas. the Economic and Social Committee has suggested that the procedures for the issuing of bilateral authorizations
should be made similarly uniform. The E.S.C. has nevertheless suggested that such unification of procedures should not alter the conditions which each state's own nationals must fulfil to obtain licences, and that in certain cases carriers ought to be required to make a monthly return of their transport operations to give a clearer indication of the actual work being done. It is further suggested that ihe-licenees should be issued in the name of the carrier and not specify particular vehicles, to permit operating flexibility.
T.R.T.A. on Vehicle Tests: While it has no objection in principle to the testing scheme for vehicles,. the -Traders Road Transport Association says there are some doubts about the introduction of an annual testing scheme for vehicles which are already subject at any rine to spot checks on the -road. The vehicles committee of the T,R.T.A. is now examining the implications of the proposals that .goods vel-i.c!cs over 30 cwt. unladen should he tested annually, The committee has also been examining. the problem of diesel fuel waxing and t.says that, following correspondence with the major suppliers, fuel should be available which has been treated to give greater protection against this occurrence. The T.R.T.A. is also drawing the attention ol members to simple safeguards wh'ch they can take themselves.
Second Mersey Twine! Project Opposed: The road transport section of the Liverpool Chamber of Comm:nice has disapproved of the proposal to build a second two-lane tunnel under the River Mersey, as it was considered that all the present and future restrictive regulations on commercial vehicles and tankers would apply equally to the new tunnel, which would not be the case if a bridge was built; in any case, it maintains, the proposed tunnel would obviously be inadequate and serious congestion inevitable iii the event of a bNakdown. It has also been agreed that steps should be taken to ascertain on what authority, if any. roads should be closed •to certain vehicles (e.g., artics) on the grounds solely of unsuitability of weather conditions, This follows reports that several county authorities are considering a ban on artics on icy roads. Vehicle. Exhibition in Belfast: T. B. E. Thompson (Belfast) Ltd. is staging a fourday show of commercial vehicles at its Ravenhill Road premises. The show includes comerehensive range of Leyland group products, and closes on Saturday at 9 p.m.