OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all sUbjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation. is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
Safety of Motor Coaches.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
12001] Sir,—The publicity which has recently been given to motor coach accidents and the article by the
Duke of Rutland in The Times of September 7th make it desirable that the public should be reas
sured, if that be necessary, as to the safety of the modern motor coach. In proportion to the thousands of aniles run and the millions of passengers carried annually, the number of accidents, and particularly
fatal ones, to motor coaches is very. small indeed, and compares more than favourably with the number
of accidents which have occurred to other forms of passenger transport during their period of develop. in;e nt.
Causes of Accidents.—(a) The Road : Many of the roads of the country are unsuitable for the class of traffic which they are now called upon to carry, and accidents, not only to motor coaches, but to all other types of road vehicles, are caused by excessive cam ber, weak verges, and dangerous corners_ Road authorities are, I know, doing a good deal to remedy this, but motor owners are contributing more than ton million pounds annually in taxation in order to secure better roads, and progress in road improvement should be more rapid. Much can be done at once to improve blind corners at little or no cost, and without interfering to any great extent with the picturesqueness of the land scape. Under the Highways Act of 1835, landowners can be compelled to trim hedges of trees, which
obstruct the highway, Or the -local surveyor is em
powered to do so at the expense of the landowner. The case of corners concealed by high 'walls is another' problem which should be taken in hand immediately, and I am convinced that the removal of these two causes of obstruction would have an immediate marked effect on the safety of road !travel.
So far as the driving of motor coaches on dangerous roads is .concerned, the public is amply yro tected; as, under the Roads Act of 1920, the Ministry of Transport has power to close any road if it be clear that the use of such vehicles on the road is dangerous, either to the vehicle, to the passengers, or to other traffic. On certain narrow, tortuous, and hiliy country roads, however, the use of motor coaches might, after negotiations between road authorities and motor coach organizations, be limited to vehicles with a seating capacity of twenty.
(b) The Vehicle : Accidents due to defective design of the 'vehicle or to bad workmanship in manufacture have been extremely rare. Where acci
dents are likely to occur, however, is where a private motorcar is adapted for use as a small motor coach—
a purpose for which it. was never designed or in tended—and this practice should, in the interest of the public, be discouraged. Many vehicles, more over, are insufficiently equipped with efficient lamps, with the result that the drivers are unable. to see their way clearly on a dark night. Every motor vehicle should, in my opinion, be fitted with headlamps with a forward illumination of at least forty or fifty yards.
A special committee has recently, been appointed by the Ministry of Transport to report upon what regulations it is desirable should be made to govern' the construction and use of motor coaches, and the Matter can safely be left in their hands.
'(e) The 'Driver: Motor coach drivers for the most part are highly skilled, experienced, and careful men, and there are very few accidents which are
attributable solely to their negligence or carelessness; in fact, many accidents have been averted by their skill. No matter how careful a driver is, he is always at the mercy of other drivers on the highway. The driver of a motor coach is alsooften accused of discourtesy when not pulling into the side immediately another vehicle overtakes him, but this is more often than not due to carefulness on his part in not leaving the crown of the road until he comes to some part of the road where he can, with safety to his passengers, draw in.
The Remedies.—What can be done to reduce the number of road accidents? I suggest the following :—(a) The strengthening and widening of the roads and the improvement of road surfaces ; (b) the improvement of blind corners by the trimming of , hedges and trees and the lowering of high wails; (c) the more effective lighting of vehicles: and (d) the stricter observation of the "Safety First " rule by all road users.—Yours faithfully, F. G. BrtisT6w, General Secretary,
The Commercial Motor Users Association, (Inc.), 50, Pall Mall, S.W.I, Sept. 12th.
Assembled or Made Under One Roof.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[2002] Sir,—Many of us are regretting that there will be no commercial vehicle exhibition this year, as we thereby lose the opportunity for watching developments in specialized manufacture.
It has been increasingly evident each year since the war that methods in England are inevitably drifting in the same direction as they have already gone -in the United States.
Specialization in components has, in the writer's. opinion, tended to the all-round, improvement of the
nglish commercial vehicle, and will, in all probability, greatly develop in the near future.
Although we have advanced very far in this direction during the past few years, there is still a tendency in the English industry to be rather ashamed of stating that components. are manufactured by outside concerns, whilst. the• vehicles consisting mainly of standard components are spoken of contemptuously as "assembled."
Perusal of the advertisements of American vehicles show that the American manufacturer speaks of the — engine, the — axles, the — transmission and gearbox, regarding them as good selling points—in my opinion, rightly so.
We have now reached the stage where many manufacturers of axles, gearboxes and other components exhibit in the gallery, but we have not reached the stage where the chassis exhibitors on the ground floor boast of fitting the — rear axle or — gearbox.
It passes my comprehension why the average buyer should think a vehicle better because all parts are manufactured under one roof (if indeed he does think so any longer), but it is, in my opinion, certain that such uneconomic methods of manufacture will have to give way in the near future to the
"assembled vehacle, where each component is made by a specialist. Whether the assembled. vehicles will continue to be imported in ever-increasing numbers 'will largely depend upon the foresight of the English manufacturer.—Yours faithfully, R. P. BRADLEY, A.M.I.A.E., Sales Manager, BONALLACS AND SONS.
Cable treet, London, EA..