Good Progress by Jack Committee : R.R.L. Report on Motorway Dazzle
Page 47
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BY OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT REMINDED that there had been a further reduction in rural bus and railway services since last summer, Mr. Ernest Marples, Minister of Transport, was asked by Col. T. Beamish (Cons., Lewes) last week when the Jack Committee would make its report.
Mr. Marples told him that the committee was "making good progress." Memoranda had been received from 90 interested persons and organizations, the committee had met six times, heard oral evidence from 10 bodies representing bus users and was to hear operators and others.
The committee, he said, hoped to report during the autumn, but there had been no decision about whether the report would be published.
Asked to give official publicity to penalties under the Construction and Use Regulations to operators who allowed their vehicles to emit smoke, Mr. Marples said that he was sure owners and drivers in general were aware of the rules in this respect.
Technical officers took every opportunity to point out that adequate maintenance, correct adjustment of engines, and care in driving could prevent the emission of exhaust smoke, added Mr. Marples. He undertook to consider what further action he could take to give increased publicity to the matter.
Level crossings, the Minister told another questioner, are to be progressively replaced. Where they cause serious delay to traffic, their elimination is an important factor in the selection of schemes for road improvements.
Solution of Dazzle
The Road Research Laboratory have reported to Mr. Marples on how to avoid dazzle on Ml. The decision is in-iportant because it will set a precedent for other motorways. The experimental length of anti-dazzle screening apparently gives satisfactory results, and now Mr. Marples is looking into safety, amenity and costs.
He had also asked the Landscape Advisory Committee to look into the possibilities of hedging, but the problem of what to do until the hedge grows remained.
Dr. Alan Glyn (Cons., Clapham) asked the Minister to make it compulsory for a vehicle bought on hire purchase to be registered in the name of the hirepurchase company until all payments were discharged. This was to protect a third party buying the vehicle without knowledge of the hire-purchase debt.
In answer, Mr. Marples said that there were no powers under which he could require this without new legislation. He was urged to take legal advice,. and the Opposition promised co-operation. Mr. Marples undertook to consult the police on what would be needed.
New regulations concerning the inspection of old vehicles are being drafted. They will be ready in a matter of weeks.
Since the Minister began discussions with the manufacturers of direction indi
cators, new recommendations have been agreed by a working party of the Economic Commission for Europe. Most European countries are expected to adopt them, and the discussions are being con
tinued on this basis. .
Asking about log books, Mr. J. Parker (Lab., Dagenham) suggested that in many cases, two sets of log books were prepared. One was for official returns and one contained the facts, be stated.
Mr. John Hay, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, was asked to ensure that the books which showed hours worked were really returned. Mr. Hay promised to examine details of cases brought to his notice.
• In a memorandum to the Ministers of Health and Transport, the County Councils' Association have asked for a countrywide ban on smoking on the lower decks of double-deck buses. The Association also want to do away with the necessity to prove need for a ban every time a licence is applied for. Mr. Derek Walker-Smith, Minister of Health, promised consideration.
BIG RISE IN H.P. DEALS 'THERE was a big upsurge of hire1 purchase business in new and used commercial vehicles last month, The number of deals concluded-20,573—was 3,594 higher Than in February and 5,045 greater than in March, 1959.