Transport should make its voice heard
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• Goods vehicles are big, noisy, smelly and an obvious and unpopular element in the urban environment. Being audibly and visually intrusive, householders and pedestrians find them hampering and overbearing.
So said Mr John A Harvey, director of planning and development and a board member of SPD Ltd, the Unilever transport operating subsidiary, speaking at the recent annual dinner of the Norwich Traffic Club.
Continuing, Mr Harvey said that while the transport industry had become accustomed to restraint through legislation affecting technical, safety and operating matters it was now seen as as an environ mental menace threatening the quality of life. Unfortunately, many of the measures already taken, and plans being considered under the 1968 Transport Act and Local Government Acts which gave far reaching power on the part of authority to impose restrictions, had resulted in increasingoperating costs in an already hard hit industry. In some cases, too, the "cure" was worse than the "disease" and congestion was actually increased.
In fact, said Mr Harvey, the transport industry was doing a magnificent job; if anything was wrong it was lack of effectiveness in public relations.
The fragmented nature of the industry, with its multiplicity of firms together with the competitive element of sections within the industry, meant that it was extremely difficult to put forward any kind of a united front. And yet, said Mr Harvey, if the industry was to seek a responsible role and make certain its voice was heard it had to come together at some point so that it could involve itself in dialogue with government and local authorities and seek to influence events.
The bill On the matter of costs Mr Harvey said that society must be educated to accept the need to pay for social amenity services. If society wanted noise, smell, vibration and visual intrusions removed then carrier's customers and ultimately the public would have to pay the bill.
A second speaker, Mr Dennis E. Varney, manager Shell-Mex and BP Ltd road transport division, urged members to watch the horizon as we moved towards the Common Market. The implications of initiative in transport matters coming from Brussels rather than Whitehall had to be closely watched. Heavier vehicles, shorter driving hours, restrictions on Sunday driving, licensing plans and financial requirements were all going to affect us and a difficult time lay ahead.