DEAR
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SIR
N O MISTAKES WITH LEYLAND BUS • Allow me to congratulate you on your restraint by not splashing "Scoop!" all over page 46 of your recent PSV Special (CM 4-10 February).
You show a picture of "The Leyland Olympian assembly line at Leyland Bus' Farington Plant. The mid-engined Olympian is its core product in the double-decker market."
I suppose it is just possible that the chassis shown is a Tiger 290 coach chassis with the Cummins LTA10-290 underfloor engine. The article also seems to suggest that Leyland intend to retain the Lion — so it would not then develop a mid-engined Olympian as well.
Kevin P Fenix Malahide, County Dublin • The photograph is an in
terior view of Leyland Bus' Farington assembly plant, which builds both Olympian and Tiger chassis on the same pro duction line (hence the Tiger 290 chassis in the foreground). The caption should, however, have referred to the Olympian as a rear, rather than midengined vehicle, as in the main story. Rest assured, Mr Fenix, if you want 'scoops' in Commercial Motor we will do our best to continue to provide them, as our two stories on the Scottish Bus Group, and the new Leyland double-deck body (printed in the PSV news section in the same issue) clearly illustrates. Editor WHEN TRAINING FALLS SHORT OF CLASS 1 • Mr Sugden's experience in finding good HGV drivers (Dear Sir, CM 18-24 February) is so like our own the resemblance is uncanny.
We started our company just over six years ago with four staff and a Sherpa van. We how operate over twenty vehicles and employ some 45 staff. In January last year we moved
out of Trafford Park into our present premises and perhaps were a bit naive in thinking that we could help the unemployed in the area.
After our move we expanded our fleet and started to look for additional drivers, starting at the local job centres. Quite frankly, the people they sent along for interviews I would not trust with a secondhand pram! We then advertised in the local press and this is when we started to attract Mr Sugden's pet hate — drivers straight from training schools.
While I appreciate that the training schools have to make a profit, it is no good to the industry turning out people who, because they have a little brown book, think they can drive a 38-tonne vehicle. Can someone not tell them that there is more to being an HGV driver than sitting behind a steering wheel?
Surely it is time that the HGV test included tachograph operation, securing a load and actually dropping and picking up a trailer. It is difficult to explain to a novice driver that a vehicle handles entirely differently when loaded.
If enough of us in the industry shout loud enough, perhaps someone will listen and change the legislation and put an end to Mr Sugden, myself and others having to tell these people straight from training school that they are not Class 1 HGV drivers.
Gary. Fox Mitchell Fox Services, Wonky Readers' letters are welcomed and can be phoned in on 01-661 3302 (24-hour service). Otherwise, write to Dear Sir, Commercial Motor, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS. We reserve the right to edit letters.