Racing Demons
Page 91
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I F they behave on the road as they have on the test ground, some of the entrants to the Lorry Driver of the Year Competition this year should not be allowed even to push perambulators. I have watched vehicles being reversed at maximum engine revolutions and knocking down pylons with complete abandon.
One competitor entered the kerbside parking test with foot hard down in bottom gear and hit a barrier on the first forward run. He then reversed like a lunatic and came to rest with both near-side wheels on the kerb. To extricate him from his predicament a marshal removed the forward barrier, but, even then, the accelerator-happy competitor still& it as his vehicle leapt away. Racing to the next test, he again collided with a barrier.
Those who specified penalties in seconds, instead of marks, are probably responsible for this kind of driving. I hope they will redeem themselves before the final competition at Bramcote on Sunday by calling a briefing conference of all contestants and making it clear that drivers are not taking part in a race. Otherwise I hesitate to think what the effect may be on Mr. G. R. H. Nugent, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, who will present the prizes.
Splendid Isolation
I HEAR a strong rumour that before long, vehicles carrying I food will be required by law to have a bulkhead behind the driver. This will enable the butcher who takes his family out in his van on a Sunday afternoon to have a little peace.
Was it Non-U ?
ADDRESS1NG the Trades Union Congress at Blackpool on Monday, Sir Thomas Williamson, president, laid down a code of conduct for trade unionists. He expected them to honour agreements and to use established machinery to make new ones. Strikes should be called "only when all other methods of negotiation have been exhausted."
Is this to be construed as a stricture on the Transport and General Workers Union for calling the recent strike of busmen? All methods of negotiation had not been exhausted in that case, because the Union refused to take part in the arbitration proceedings of the itdustrial Disputes Tribunal They were, however, pleased to accept the Tribunal's generous award.
Up to the Minute
PERKINS' publicity staff have been working overtime, producing special eight-page newspapers for various exhibitions and conferences. A particularly good example has been distributed at the Works and Highways Superintendents' conference, which opened in Brighton on Wednesday and closes today.
Those pondering the wisdom of converting to oil for municipal work are told that they can safely use a multiplier of 2.39 in calculating the mileage per gallon of an oiler as compared with a petrol-engined vehicle. The average of nine samples gives 4.77 m.p.g. for petrol vehicles and 11.27 m.p.g. for oilers. In the circumstances, it is hardly surprising that 26 out of 28 London boroughs are using Perkinsengined cleansing vehicles.
Self-Defence
UNTIL the other day, when I met my old friend Basil Miller, regional transport officer of the Southern Gas Board at Portsmouth, I was unaware of the vital difference between a monologue and a catalogue. "A monologue," he told me earnestly, "is one woman talking, and is not to be confused with a catalogue, which is two women talking."
Perhaps that is why he has remained a bachelor and shares his life with his three cats and three horses. He can never, complain that he does not haie the last word in his own household.
Come the Revolution
I AM indebted to ClIr. W. L. Jackson, of Pontypool Urban I District Council, for the information that increases in bus fares are a Conservative Government measure to empty the purses of the workers. How political can a simple bus ride become? I refrain from comment on the people's elected representative.