No Compromise on Radius
Page 54
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HAULIERS and those who think with them will not have been amused at what your contributor " Serviteur " had to say in your issue dated January 25. What is a 40-mile radius anyway for those with a centre of operation on the coast, such as at Southampton, C:ardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle-on-Tyne?
What all A licensees have the right to expect, and . every right to insist on, is complete emancipation. Should this, at the moment, be economically unsound, they have a moral claim to the 60-mile radius for which the Tory Party, a little over six months ago, trooped into Division, 100 per cent. This demonstration undoubtedly won them many wavering votes and to give less than a 60-mile radius now would, therefore, be a betrayal of trust.
Why should the Tory Party be expected to consider only a radius that can be offered as a compromise to the Socialists, and why should it be taken for granted that the present leaders of the T.U.C. and its rank and file will always see eye-to-eye in this battle of dog eating dog?
" Serviteur " argues in favour of the Road Haulage Executive retaining the right to grant (or refuse) permits. Let us examine this. The Road Haulage Executive has never disguised its intention to grab at any class of work that may be going and that is to its liking. It has worked against the independent haulier at every level and has squeezed him into a corner where the plums are few. It has even engaged in the carrying of the Christmas Mail, work that has been the peculiar perquisite of the humblest carrier.
It is not possible for the man in the street to believe that the Tory Party, under its present leader, is afraid to honour its pledge or that. it "cannot care less."
I would also like to deal with the lop-sided argument against the licensing of R.H.E. vehicles, but.! fear that space does not permit this indulgence.
London, S.W.11. E. H. B. PALMER.
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PROMOTING ROAD SAFETY
AS a driver with some 30 years' experience, ranging from steam wagons to 80-ton vehicles, I would like to offer some suggestions towards ensuring safety on ttie road. In my view there is no mystery as to how to reduce the number of accidents, fatal or otherwise, and the following simple points, some of which would require legal. enforcement, would certainly help in this matter:—
(a) Make it an offence for any bus to stop more than 1 ft. from the kerb.
(b) Bus drivers should not be allowed to stop out of the near-side lane of traffic to pick up passengers.
(c) It should be an offence for any vehicle to park within 25 yds. of any bus stop. Buses frequently have to pull up close behind parked vehicles and then have to swing out into the second lane of traffic; on a greasy road this might cause disastrous results.
(d) Notices should be displayed in every bus warning passengers to cross the road at the rear of the vehicle.
(e) Many cyclists. pull out of traffic lanes without giving appropriate hand signals. As a driver I have often . found that when .a cyclist is approaching .a stationary vehicle it is hard to know whether he intends
020 to stop behind it or suddenly swerve out to pass. In fact, the motor driver has to think for everybody on a cycle.
believe Coventry to be the worst city in this connection. Also, that city offends in respect of bus stops; I know of one which is right on a bend, another in the narrowest part of a dual carriageway, although a few yards further on there is ample room for two vehicles to pass a bus.
(f) It should be an offence for any vehicle to park on a bend. During the summer months it is quite usual for this to be done with cars while the occupants have their picnic luncheons.
(g) In daylight, drivers often switch ttkeir headlights on and off. I assume that this is some sort of signal, but in many cases the action can be misunderstood.
(h) The responsibility for an accident in which a vehicle runs into the back of another, particularly in the dark, should be clarified. I believe the Highway Code advises that a vehicle should be driven at a speed which will permit it to be stopped within the range of its lights. What is the position if a vehicle slides along an icy road into another?
I have known of many drivers being killed while attending to the tail lights of their vehicles, and there have not always been prosecutions.
I think it can be said in all fairnesi that the driver of a heavy goods vehicle is usually a resourceful type of man who takes pride in its mechanical condition. As a driver for British Road Services, I would like to pay tribute to the Engineers' Department for its efforts to keep B.R.S. vehicles in excellent condition. This is the first step towards avoiding death on the road.
Hounslow. W. F. YORATH.
PROTECTING WHEELS AND TYRES
MANY operators will disagree with R. M. Rowley's "1. statement, in your January 25 issue, that "whatever pattern wheel, it will still require regular attention by • descaling and cleaning, followed by a coat or two of paint."
it is well known among the larger operators that the application to rims, not of " paint." but of a proper antiadhesive, before tyres are fitted, is the answer to the great waste of rusted rims and tyre adhesion. It preserves the rims and beads as new, and enables the tyres to be almost pushed off without the need for damaging force. Tyre injury by the sledge-hammer, wedging and so on should now be a matter of the past.
Moreover, the presence of this insulation between the rubber and the metal is claimed to reduce heat transference from the brake drums.
Enlightened operators may have noticed that the excellent advice on tyre maintenance given to users in most " tyre instructions" is usually restricted to afterfitting care, no mention being made of the " key " precaution of anti-adhesive rim treatment, or, indeed, of the wasteful consequences of its omission. Unfoitunately, too, there is nothing to show, once tyres are fitted, whether or not this job has been carried out, thus tyres that are wastefully -fitted look no different from those' protected.
London; E.14.