_Fire Protection on Passengercarrying Vehicles.
Page 47
Page 48
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
WHEN considering the whole subject of the protection of a passenger vehicle from fire, or means and methods by which the safety of the occupants can be secured in the event of a conflagration, it is essential to look upon the matter with a very broad mind and not to allow extremely isolated instances of disaster to influence us too greatly.
At the moment of writing no official opinions have been expressed regarding the fatal coach fire which took' place on Saturday week, and, th.ereforerit would-notberight to come' to any hastyconclusions.
It would appear, however, that the cause of the actual fire was the direct result of a mechanical failure in the vehicle, as an inspection of the chassis shows that the bracket supporting the centre bearing of the propeller shaft had broken, with the consequence that the splined end of the shaft withdrew from the gearbox and whipped around, smashing the petrol tank and silencer, which were at opposite sides of the chassis. How the actual ignition occurred we cannot yet say, but it is .obvious that by the opening of the silencer the exhaust would be free and would probably be emitted in a flaming condition.
The chassis was apparently not a standard product of the maker whose insignia appeared on the radiator, hut was one built up from components, the bracket which failed not being part of the original design_ but necessitated through the addition of a section of propeller shaft required to lengthen the original shaft so that the vehicle could be given a longer wheelbase. • .
There is no reason, why a two-piece propeller shaft.with a centre bearing should be any less safe than a single shaft—as a matter of fact, as a general rule, it May be considered to constitute better design, as it reduces the risk of shaft whip, which is so apt to occur when the shaft is of considerable length.'. It must always be remembered, however, that this part of a• chassis -revolves at engine speed when the • vehicle is in top gear, _and.may.yun even faster if the vehicle be coasting down ,a_hill, andahe slightest " tbrew " or lack of balance in it will
set up considerable centrifugal force which, naturally, has to be borne by whatever supports the centre bearing.
As We have pointed, out elsewhere, straps of suitable strength situated at points where failure might possibly occur would constitute an important factor in the prevention of damage being done by a shaft which had become loose.
We do not, however, propose here to go more fully into the question of how vehicle design can affect its safety, but it may be mentioned that the situation of the fuel tank is bound to exercise an important influence in this direction. If the tank in the vehicle to which we have made particular reference had been placed, say, immediately behind the rear axle, the trouble which was apparently caused by the freeing of the shaft could not have 'occurred, and in this position it would be sufficiently far removed from the back of the body to obviate any great danger of damage due to the rear of the body being involved in an accident. Apparently, the only objection to this position is the long pipe line which is necessitated.
Encouraging Hire-purchase.
NO one can dispute the fact that the facilities for hire-purchase have exercised a very beneficial influence upon the commercial-motor industry as a whole. They have enabled potential users to put into immediate operation vehicles which they might not have been able to purchase for years—if at an—and, in innumerable instances, have permitted such vehicles to be bought out of profits instead of out of hard-earned savings or capital.
It is satisfactory, therefore, to find that the Government is giving some measure of encouragement to the hire trader, in that a decision has been recently come to by the Inland Revenue to the effect that in future it will not treat a hire-purchase contract as an actual sale on instalments, but as a hiring of an article or articles not involving payment of income tax at the time when the agreement is signed, the tax being spread over the period of hiring. This means the trader has not to pay a tax on a problematical profit.
It may be mentioned that this decision has been arrived at after 25 years of negotiation, and is the direct result of the energetic efforts of the Hire Traders' Protection Association.
The extent of the business involved can be judged from the fact that there are 30,000 traders engaged in 80 distinct classes of business who use this valuable method of sales promotion, necessitating seine 5,000,000 agreements per annum.
Our Readers' Views on the Promotion of Safety in Passenger Travel.
THE great increase in the number of buses
and coaches on the road and the even more important rise in the numbers of people who make use of these conveyances render the matter of the safety of this form of transit a factor of vital interest. There are bound to be occasional accidents through collisions, mechanical failures, errors of judgment, fire, etc., but• every attention must be given to reducing such accidents to the lowest number possible.
No doubt many of our readers who have been intimately connected with the various branches of road transport for many years will have decided views as to those particular features in the design of a vehicle, both as regards its chassis and body, which assist in the promotion of safety. It is quite probable that some have valuable ideas of 'their own which could well be embodied in design.
We propose, therefore, to offer monetary prizes for the best three contributions on the subject of improving the safety of the passenger vehicle, the term " safety " covering fire risks, brake failures, the rapid freeing of passengers with the vehicle upright or on its side, the prevention of running backwards by the use of some form of sprag device, and so forth, but it is not essential that a contribution should cover the whole subject and, providing that the Ideas be good, it does not matter how crudely they are expressed.
We purposely wish to encourage those engaged in the movement, however humble their positions may be. Apart from the possibility of winning a prize, there are no doubt many who would like to let us have their ideas on this vital subject in the hope that the risk to life may be further reduced.
Further particulars of this prize scheme are included in the news pages of this issue.