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The I.A.E. Presidential Address
Page 79
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TEE presidential address given to the Institution of Automobile Engineers on Tuesday last by Major C. G. ,Nevatt, covered a particularly interesting and important subject, and one which affects to a very appreciable extent those concerned with commercial vehicles. it was entitled "Legislation
and the Automobile Engineer." We cannot, owing to pressure on our space, give more than a brief summary.
Major Nevatt pointed out that we were confronted with a peculiar 'situation in which any designer about to Plan a new vehicle has to take for his guidance a set of statutory rules and orders which, in effect, compel him to produce drawings for a vehicle with stereotyped features. •
One of the past' presidents of the I.A.E., Sir Herbert Austin, K.B.E., once said that legislation always operates with a retarded spark, meaning that the law makers always follow fact and make into law practices that have been in operation for some time—in other words—they are visionless.
The h.p. tax has, he said, done a certain amount of good to heavy-vehicle construction, because of the high power-weight efficiency which has been applied proportionately to this type of vehicle, and operators to-day realize that to haul heavy loads over long distances at the cheapest rate, they must Use Britishbuilt machines.
Major Nevatt did not himself display much imagination in his comments upon the compression-ignition engine. He stared that we have taken an excellent heavy-duty engine out of its proper sphere in attempting to evade taxation, and he thinks that this is . a mistake. Surely, however, the taxation is only a minor consideration? The oil engine has other features, which,' when fully developed, will render it an ideal form of power unit. He was somewhat eadstic regarding the Metropolitan Police Regulations. He admitted that they serve a useful purpose in preventing the operation of public-service vehicles which are mechanically unsafe and in providing that the drivers should satisfy the authorities as to their ability, but, said that they became most repressive because they were applied strictly in accordance with the letter of the law, This repressive policy was proved by the fact that when provincial vehicles began to run in London, defects in the Loudon machines came to light.
.The London authorities at first stated that London buses required to he specially constructed to satisfy conditions peculiar, to London traffic, but this argument was refuted when it was found that the 'comfortable provincial buses were quite suitable for this work, whereas the London vehicles were not satisfactory when operated in the provinces. Likewise the provincial operators were able to perfect a maintenance system based upon unit overhauls, whereas the London concerns were forced to overhaul every 12 months.
Criticizing the Regulations made under the Road Traffic Act, 1980, he gave as an example the rear overhang, which is stipulated not to exceed it-24ths of the overall length of the vehicle, and now the curious position is that, to-day, it is perfectly legal, where a design is within the maximum length, to put 4 ins. or 5 ins, on the front overhang in order to bring 1 in. of the rear overhang within the limit.
Major Nevatt cannot understand why the legislator should concern himself about unladen weight for goods vehicles and laden weight for public-service vehicles. Surely it is only the total weight imposed upon the road which
matters. For instance, it has been found that the total weight which can be imposed on the road by a fourwheeled vehicle is 12 tons, 10 tons or 9 tons, according to whether it be a double-decker, single-decker or goods carrier. Again, a vehicle may carry S tons on OM axle and only 4 tons on the other, and he is sure that the road cannot decide which axle is imposing the greater load, Two special instances of short-sighted legislationmay be cited in connection with brakes. One is that there shall be two independent means for operation, and the other that one brake must operate direct without the intervention of any hydraulic, electric or pneumatic device. The weight and speed of modern vehicles render any kind of direct-acting brake practically useleau except for parking purposes.