CM staff answer questions at London TMC
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• Questions and answers flew fast at the Brains Trust arranged last week by the London area of the Transport Managers' Club for their monthly meeting, at which there was a record attendance. Chairman Mr. A. Miles introduced the panel—NI members of CM staff—Brian Cottee, lain Sherriff, Tony Wilding and John Darker, and acted as question-master.
One of the first questions raised doubts about the ability of some new vehicles to pass the MoT heavy goods vehicle test, and sought the panel's views about the standards that would be applied. The questioner commented that of 102 vehicles submitted for voluntary testing at one station only two had passed without needing adjustment or repairs. Brian Cottee thought that voluntary testing showed how varied the standards seemed to be: allegedly very tough at some East Anglian stations but remarkably lenient in some others. Tony Wilding thought standards would not differ materially when the scheme started in earnest, and he emphasized that testing would be strictly according to the requirements of the Tester's Manual, which operators should study.
As to new vehicles, it was up to operators to check them thoroughly when received. If the dealer's pre-delivery check was carried out properly, vehicles should be Al, said John Darker; but both he and lain Sherriff suggested that if pre-delivery checks were in fact skimped, perhaps operators' insistence on big discounts might have something to do with it. From the floor, Mr. Len East suggested that makers or dealers should submit new vehicles for test before delivery.
The RTITB came in for some searching questions. A questioner from East Anglian Carriers asked what syllabuses had been laid down, as he had received details of a fourweekend course which did not seem to touch on fundamental transport operating. Brian Cottee answered that perhaps the Board assumed the operator was familiar with this aspect and that courses were intended to broaden managers' outlook. John Darker commented that some courses were intended to train shop stewards, which might help to persuade them that operators' problems were real, and not just invented by managers to make life difficult!
He thought courses would also deal with "linking media' because transport managers would have to know a lot about Freightliners, containerization and a host of other transport methods. lain Sherriff thought transport man agers were born rather than made; he estimated that it would be two or three years before the effects of the Board's efforts could be clearly judged. To which John Darker responded that managers were made through intensive courses of study—and he was thinking of three or four years, not three or four weeks.
Hon. sec. Jack Scrivens wanted to know what the requirements for a transport manager's licence were likely to be. The panel felt that the universal legal requirement would be for basic knowledge of factors affecting safety: safe loading, mechanical condition, control of drivers and the general legislation surrounding goods vehicle operation. There would be provision for grades, to allow for variations in professional expertise, but Brian Cottee emphasized that this was a matter for the industry. "Don't let the Government get its hands on this section-, he appealed. Although much good might come from the TML idea, there was agreement that the title of transport manager's licence was inappropriate, and that the Ministry's original intention was obviously to have a scapegoat upon whom responsibility for misdemeanours could be placed.
This led Mr. P. Jeffcock to suggest that to protect the holders a Transport Managers' Association was needed urgently. Both the panel and the audience gave support to this suggestion and several TMC members hoped that the Club itself might take steps to initiate such a body.
Other questions covered productivity pay for drivers, training levies, the prospects for the small haulier if the Transport Bill became law, and the possibility of RTITB levies producing so much interest from invested capital that further levies might become superfluous.