Grandchild rights
Page 74
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Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive But to be young was very heaven
AS far as one is likely to be able to tell from the new Road Traffic (Drivers' Ages and Hours of Work) Act when the Stationery Office makes it available, or from the possibly equally tortuous official explanation, the person who stands to come off best is the young driver, not yet 18 years old, who has been driving vehicles up to 10 tons gross weight since his last birthday.
It may take him some time Ito appreciate his good fortune, especially if he looks to the Department of the Environment for what civil servants are fond of calling a child's guide, The permutations among metric and imperial measures, laden and unladen weights, EEC requirements and earlier Road Traffic Acts, and rules for new drivers and what will surely become I known as grandchild rights, might have been deliberately contrived to ensure the maximum confusion. Each age group has to make a separate assessment of the consequences.
Until the Act came into force, our 17-year-old was entitled, like any other holder of an ordinary licence, to drive vans or small lorries with an unladen weight that did not exceed 3 tons. He has exercised this right, but even if he had not done so he would still be able to drive. vehicles with a permissible maximum weight (which would include the weight of any trailer) up to 3.5 metric tons, or tonnes.
He would have had to wait until he was 18 before the Emit went up to 7.5 tonnes — putting him back approximately to where he was previously with the limit of 3 tons unladen — and until he was 21 before he could drive heavier lorries under what the Department describes as the "goods vehicle drivers' vocational licensing scheme."
As it is, he can improve upon this basic situation. His possession of a driving licence before January last entitles him to remain at the 3-ton level even though he is only 17, except that the permissible maximum weight must not exceed 10 tonnes ; so that he has a 2 tonnes advantage over other drivers up to the age of 21 who obtained their first licence after the end of 1975— and of drivers beyond 21 until they pass an hgv driving test.
The confirmed permission to stay at 3 tons becomes in the official wording an "additional entitlement." If the driver requires a new licence, he will have to apply for a supplementary document from the Swansea centre. It will be given for the asking, and he will not have to pay for it.
Six months
By 1977, however, he will not be able to continue as before unless he holds an hgv licence. He is still in luck, and can claim a licence of a sort without passing the hgv test if he can satisfy the Licensing Authority that, during any 12 consecutive months between January 1, 1975, and April 15, 1976, he had at least six months' experience of driving vehicles weighing more than 75 tonnes.
Application forms for the claimed licences will be available from traffic area offices after Thursday of next week (April 15). The licence will come into class 3, but will cover only those vehicles which do not exceed 10 tonnes.
It may seem odd that, at least for a year or two, a driver in his teens— possibly as young as 17 at the commencement — with no approved qualifications or training, although with a certain amount of experience, will be entitled to drive a wider range of vehicles than certain other drivers, whatever their age. The inversion of the generally accepted order of things is an indication of the kind of difficulty which Government craftsmen are finding in translating EEC into British law.
The intention is clearly that, during the period needed to allow the new legislation to take root in alien soil, there should be the least disturbance to arrangements already established. The minimum driving ages prescribed by the EEC are 18 years for vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes, and 21 years for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. Drivers who have exceeded these limits can hardly be put out of a job and must be allowed their previous scope. Consequently, when an incentive scheme based on standard times is introduced, Inspection or road testing must be more thorough than ever, and there is a good case for incorporating a bonus element according to the standard of the job.
Another difficulty with incentive schemes is that jobs in a haulier's workshop rarely follow the 1, 2, 3 sequence in the workshop manual. The age and condition of components varies enormously, with rusted bolts, stripped threads, or chaffed hoses cropping up just when the job seems to be going well.
You can try to make allowances for these eventualities, but this tends to introduce an extra fiddle element. But even if you don't operate an incentive scheme, the need to keep vehicles on the road for as much of the time as possible is likely to lead to short-cuts —especially when the traffic office desperately needs one more vehicle for the night shift.
All this means that the engineer and his administrative staff must keep a constant watch for dangerous short-cuts — especially around hoses, coolant pipes and fasteners.
Loose hose clip
Take the case of the engine that seized with the result that the crank was scarred, the pistons were scuffed and the liners scrap ; in other words, a mighty expensive rebuild. The engine had overheated, and had lost its coolant ; at first a strong tailwind was blamed, because all the components and hoses seemed in good condition.
However, when the engine had been rebuilt, and was being filled with water, a leak was noticed. In fact, a fine spray was striking the chassis