The Motor Omnibus World.
Page 7
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Owing to the front wheels skidding, one of the " Pioneer " Scott-Stirling motorbuses collided with a L.C.C. tramcar in the Westminster Bridge Road last week. The body-work was only slightly damaged, and the motorbus was in service the following day.
At a conference of motorbus manufacturers and users, held on Monday last, it was decided that the duty of taking steps to counteract the prehent misrepresentation and excessive publicity in regard to street mishaps, as well as the various contemplated petitions to the Government, should devolve upon the London Omnibus Owners' Federation. Steps will, accordingly, be taken, without delay, to afford members of the travelling public the opportunity to enter their protest.
It is interesting to note that every member of the St. Pancras Borougn Council who supported the introduction of electric tramcars in the Hampstead and Tottenham Court Roads was unsuccessful at the polls on the 1st instant. In view of the fact that the resolution to extend the trains along these thoroughfares was only carried by the narrow majority of seven votes, when it finally came before the I..C.C. for approval, on October 3oth, this unpopular decision should be revised.
This journal has suggested to the Chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, that the Engineers and Surveyors to London Borough Councils should be invited to attend a conference with manufacturers and proprietors, at an early date, in order that various outstanding difficulties connected with road construction, repair, cleansing, and maintenance, in relation to motorbus traffic, may be adequately discussed between the parties.
Milnes-Daimler, I.imited, instituted an action in July last against Mr. S. F. Edge for alleged libel in respect of its omnibus chassis. This company was advised, in the course of the proceedings, that it would not be practicable to obtain a judgment unless it was able to prove that special damage had been sustained by the company in consequence of the publication of which complaint was made, but we are now informed that, as the company has been unable to trace pecuniary damage oaother consequence of any utterance by Mr. S. F. Edge, instructions have been given to the company's solicitors to discontinue the action, and this has been done.
A novel method of securing twin, or single, rubber tires to the rims of the road wheels has been patented by Messrs. The Atlas Engineering Company, of Levenshulme, Manchester. A V-shaped groove is machined on the surface of the rim, close to one of its edges; the inner face of the groove is vertical, whilst the outer face is inclined at an angle of about 65 degrees. The groove carries an adjustable flange, the diameter of which is varied by a sleeve nut, having right-hand and left-hand threads. In practice, the adjustable flange is removed from the rim, and the tire pressed into place; the flange is then put back and tightened.
Mr. W. 0. Spiiler, general manager of the Gearless Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, is not the Mr. Spines who was recently involved in a case in the Divorce Court, and we regret to learn of a rumour to that effect.
The Highways Committee of the London County Council has recommended that, in view of the grave consequences which might result from accidents to motor omnibuses on Waterloo Bridge, the question of the control of the traffic on the bridge requires very serious consideration, and it has been decided by the L.C.C. that a statement of the fa.:ts shall be fore ardist to the Local Government Board, and also to the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis. The mishap last week, when a steam omnibus seriously damaged the parapet of the bridge, regarded in conjunction with two other accidents near the same spot during the current year, indicate that some extra precautions are desirable, and a reduced rate of speed over this and other bridges may be found expedient. Operating companies should be agreeable to accept such a regulation, in order to allay public nervousness, no matter how remote the risk of a catastrophe. A bad side-slip, at full legal speed, might, conceivably, result in the precipitation of a fully-loaded omnibus into the river, and, in the present state of official hostility, a reasonable by-law, to apply during wet weather, might be agreed.
A Works' Extension.
Sidney Straker and Squire, Limited, has been obliged to arrange for an extension of the works of Brazil, Ho]be row, and Straker, Limited, at Fishponds, Bristol, and this issue contains an illustration (page 197) of the development in hand. The extension is the full width of the three bays, and isoft. in length, whilst there are also, in front of the extension, various small auxiliary buildings for testing and other purposes. At the back, new power shops are being laid down. The total area covered by the new buildings will be one-third of an acre, and large orders have been placed for new machine tools and other equipment. Since the date of the visit of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers to the
Bristol Works, of which a full account was given in " Tim COMMERCIAL MOTOR," of June 6th last, provision has ;wen made to work the plant in sections for night work, so that it is not necessary to run the entire shop, and the company's case-hardening plant has bcen further improved. Large orders are in hand, and it is anticipated that the works will be ready none too soon to permit attention to new orders.
Side-Slip Decisions.
The finding of Judge Selfe, at the Brompton County Court, which we commented upon a fortnight ago, has, so far as a precedent is concerned, been effectively disposed of by the decision of Mr. Justice I3igham and a special jury, on October 3ist, in the King's Bench Division. Mr. Thomas King, a soal manager, claimed damages trom the London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, in respect of personal injuries sustained through the alleged negligence of the defendants, the omnibus having side-slipped, near the Cobden Statue, Camden Town. Mr. Justice Bigham held that the defendant company was not responsible unless the plaintiff was injured in consequence of some negligence on its part or the part of its servants. The jury would have to say whether the omnibus skidded as the immediate consequence of excessive speed, because a motor omnibus ought to be driven at a less rate of speed when the roads were greasy. On the other hand, any miscalculation of distance by the driver did not constitute negligence : everybody was liable to commit an error of judgment, and it was both unreasonable and unfair to say that every error of judgment was the result ot negligence. Such incidents were due to the infirmities of human nature. His Lordship also pointed out that there had been no evidence that the omnibus was improperly constructed, and that there was no obligation upon an operating company to anticipate improvements that might be brought out in the next half century. If this omnibus had all the usual and ordinary provisions that were in general use at the present time, the defendant company could not be expected to do more. A verdict for the defendants was returned, and this is a further confirmation of the necessity for taking each separate case on its merits. An article, which supplements our Editorial comment of two weeks ago, will be found on pages 187 and i88.