That was the year...
Page 13

If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
CM vvas launched in 1905; for our centenary year we're bringing you stories from years gone by. I his week we're back in 1920 and 1970.
A year after its foundation the League of Nations held its first meeting and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles; DH Lawrence published Women in Love, to a storm of controversy. Nurses and doctors welcomed the arrival of Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aid.a sterile-packaged individual bandage using tape to hold an absorbent pad in place over a minor cut.
First of many
Just for a change CM was campaigning against the rising price of fuel. The AA sent a petition to the Prime Minister against the exorbitant cost of diesel, and CM readers were urged to support this, by cutting out a copy of the petition to collect signatures from all their colleagues.
Always with the taxes
The government proposed a new vehicle tax to pay for road maintenance; hauliers claimed that they should be exempt. CM also noted that the Department of Transport should not find it necessary to restrict local speed limits to less than 12 mph.
A rivet-free world
Mercedes-Dairnler launched 3.5 and 5.0-tonne chassis to great acclaim, leading to concern about foreign competition. CM commented that the most notable features were the absence of rivets, which had been replaced with bolts, and the US-style immediate bevel gear and final drive by internal gears.
Everyday essentials
Voices were starting to call for two things commonplace today: a Traffic Authority and the rear-view mirror. The year took off with the first of Boeing's "jumbo jets", the 747, capable of carrying more than 400 passengers across the Atlantic.The Beatles split up and the world mourned the death of rock legend Jirni Hendrix who died at the age of 27 after overdoing the wine-and-sleeping-pill cocktails. The first New York marathon was run/walked/staggered and Brazil won the World Cup after beating Italy 4-1.
Congestion blues
Tackling congestion was top of the transport agenda. Lord Chesham called on the new government to set a target of building 3,000 miles of motorway by 1980:"Let the Transport Minister see the harsh reality of traffic congestion in Britain before he gets bogged down in the detail of office. Let him contrast wasteful time-consuming delays in moving goods in Britain with the movement of goods to and from the ports of our main European competitors."
HGV training
Just for a change the industry was facing interference from the Continent, where the European Commission was calling for practical and theory tests leading to a training certificate for all HGV drivers.
Hijacks down, thefts up
The number of truck hijacking in the capital fell to five from 12 in the previous year, although there was an increase in the number of vehicle thefts. CM planned a "Hands off our Freight" week for operators in a bid to highlight the problem among police forces.