The Occasional Carriage of Pas" sengers in Goods Vehicles.
Page 36
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!THE effect of the Road 'Traffic Act in prevent-L lag the use of motor lorries for the conveyance of passengers, even in special circumstances, is particularly hard on village sports clubs, also on associations and schools which, in the past, have conveyed boys to camps on the motor lorries that were tarrying the camp equipment. This has been pointed out in a strong letter addressed by the Boy Scouts Association to the editor of The Times.
The Minister of Transport recently stated in Parliament that his object is to prevent the use of goods-carrying vehicles for conveying passengers, the ground being that they are not safe enough. It is difficult to understand why the Ministry could not so arrange matters that for an occasional use, such as that indicated above, vehicle owners could apply to the Traffic Commissioners for a short-period licence to carry passengers. The machinery is available by which vehicles could be passed for fitness a few days before the occasion, and the Commissioners could, if they thought fit, restrict the speed to the limit applying when goods are carried. To suggest that goods vehicles are so much more dangerous than passenger vehicles that their occasional use, even after examination by a certifying officer, must be prohibited, is unreasonable. If it were true, it would mean that all goods vehicles are a menace to the safety of the highways.