• EDITOR'S COMMENT
Page 5
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HA'P'ORTH OF TAR.
• It is depressing to hear this week that cash shortages have brought research into the "great wheel-loss mystery" screeching to a halt. The Department of Trade and Industry says that the £60,000 needed to keep the researchers busy will not be forthcoming because the matter raises insufficient interest in the haulage industry. The truck and trailer manufacturers arc also said to have rejected calls from the Institute of Road Transport Engineers for sponsorship.
What has gone wrong? Where are all those safety-conscious vehicle manufacturers when the call goes out for money to promote a good cause — that might even help save lives? In hiding it seems.
It is never a good idea to stick your head in the sand and hope that a problem will disappear. It is definitely not a good idea for the haulage industry to pretend that truck wheels flying off for no apparent reason is the sort of difficulty that can be ignored. If you do not support further research on the grounds that it has not happened to you or your trucks to date, you should support it on the basis that some day, somewhere, somehow it could happen and throw you and your reputation in court.
On page 19 of this week's issue we report how Suttons of St Helens, a large, highly-professional and respected company, ended up in court after two wheels fell off one of its articulated tankers on the M62. What was cited in court by eminent transport lawyer Jonathan Lawton in Suttonsdefence? The IRTE's research paper, The Lost Wheels Mystery, of course. Good research is worth its weight in gold. The court, quite rightly, gave Suttons an absolute discharge. Without further research, and further evidence, this kind of defence may be lost.
It could be your neck on the line next time. Is the haulage industry really disinterested in the mystery? If not, write to your MP and your trade association and tell them to lobby for more research funds, now. Really, £60,000 is not a lot of money.