BIRD'S EYE VIEW
Page 63
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By The Hawk
Polish Co-operation The news that Mr. T. G. Gibb has chosen "the carriage of goods by road in Europe" as his subject for the Henry Spurrier Memorial Lecture will perhaps lead some people to wonder just how widely he will interpret in Europe ". The answer, I can assure them, is "very widely ". For example, B.R.S. headquarters are justifiably jubilant about the generous response from Poland to a request for some specific information; wiseacres had said that they'd get no worth-while response from behind the curtain.
But it's not surprising really. The Polish international road transport association (I can't resist the translation: Zrzesenie Miedzynarodowych Przewoznikow Drogowych w Polsce) is a member of TRU, and, in fact, the next section It meeting of IRU will be in Poland—in Warsaw in the spring of 1965.
New Artic. School I must say that I was very
pleased to hear that York Trailers have started a school for artic. drivers. The intention is not to turn out experts, but to produce a safe-to-carry-on-alone type who will soon polish himself into a competent artic. handler.
Under the York scheme the would-be artic. driver is to have the freedom of the wide-open spaces of a local aerodrome to give him a chance to get accustomed to the vehicle. This done, he then graduates to car park manceuvres. Following a short course on the correct use of fifth wheels and couplings, landing gear and braking systems, the pupil—if successful—is given a certificate of competence.
Though this is not the first school of its kind it is one of the very few operated by makers. An eminently sensible scheme, I'd say, and one that may well prove especially valuable when the h.g.v. licence comes back.
'Sunshade' Protection We seldom seem to have an Indian summer in Britain, but that's just what we're having this year. The drivers employed by the Mono Concrete Co. Ltd. will be happier than most driving through long hours of piercing sunshine in the October days ahead.
Why? The tops of their cabs have been painted white to provide " sunshade " protection from the sun's rays. The idea is that the snowball-white cab roofs reflect the beams of sunlight instead of allowing them to penetrate the driver's compartment. I'm told the scheme works very well—and that drivers report that they're much more comfortable on sunny days.
The Mono directors, proudly colour-conscious, have also had their lorries repainted Bluebird blue. This they tell me is the new Wettern house colour, one of the standard colours approved by the British Colour Council. Personally I'm all for colour—and for comfort.
Security on Show " ' Are you looking for a
driver, Guy?"
"This was the start of a larceny. The man who made the inquiry was on to a good thing. The transport manager took a quick look at the man's driving licence, saw he had no endorsements, checked no further and hired him. No references were checked, no P.45 was asked for, nothing was queried,
"The driver was given a heavy lorry containing some .£1,500 worth of goods and told to get on with the job. Nothing more was seen or heard of the driver, but the lorry was found the next day, minus its contents and quite close to the loser's premises."
This was the case history that appeared on the back of a leaflet, freely distributed by the Metropolitan Police on their stand at The Commercial Motor Show. The leaflet called "Beat the Lorry Thieves" listed a number of valuable tips directed to this end. Another leaflet being distributed gave the venues of the five guarded lorry parking sites in the London area and notes on the facilities available. Many photographs relating to the security of vehicles and loads were also shown on the police stand.
I must say I think the initiative of the Metropolitan Police in this venture is much to be admired. The outlay on the stand (the first they've had at this Show) and staff must have amounted to no mean figure—bearing in mind the high-ranking police officers often to be seen on duty,
Those Joneses Keeping up with the Joneses is currently a very appropriate ambition at the Marshal') Tyre Company. In a recent internal national competition for salesmen they held both first and second prizewinners were named—that's right—Jones. First prize was a long week-end in Paris—all expenses paid. The winner, Mr. G. R. Jones, from Weybridge, Surrey took his wife for their first ever trip abroad on their first ever aeroplane. Placed second, Mr. J. C. Jones (from Stockport) thought that he had won for himself and his wife a long week-end in Southend—but their prize included a " surprise " day trip to Rotterdam.
With a name like Jones it seems you can't go wrong. 821