I wonder if you can give me any infor mation
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on possible legal charges covering the case of a road user who is killed by an unidentified vehicle? I am referring to the case of a lorry driver who was struck down by another vehicle when he was changing a flat tyre.
AWe suggest you obtain a copy of a new
pamphlet published by the Ministry of Transport and available through HMSO price is 9d 12s 1d post free). It gives the Text of an Agreement dated April 21 1969, between the Minister of Transport and the Motor Insurers' Bureau, together with some notes on its scope and purpose.
Qwas surprised recently to come
across a toll bridge in Lincolnshire and only a few days later another one in Nottingham. Are there many left? I had not previously seen any for some years.
AWe can trace 28 toll bridges, roads and tunnels in England, Scotland and Wales which are available for use by commercial vehicles. There are possibly many more which can be used by private motorists or pedestrians. Included in our figures are such wellknown ones as the Severn Bridge, the Dartford and Mersey Tunnels, the Forth Bridge and the two which you mention. Tolls for commercial vehicles range from 4d to cross the Wilford Bridge in Nottingham to 1 Os to cross the Tay Bridge in Scotland.
QWe frequently dispatch goods in
shipping containers and although they are always supposed to be either 20ft x 8ft x 8ft or 30ft x 8ft x 8ft, we find that we cannot always get the same number of packages in each one. Can you give an explanation for this?
AThe answer is that the outer dimensions are rigidly fixed to conform with ISO standards to enable them to be accurately fitted on to vehicles, rail wagons and into ships and to be handled by specialized lifting equipment. No standards have yet been set for the internal dimensions (though there has been plenty of discussion on the subject) and these vary quite widely depending on the method of construction and the materials used. There is a school of thought which argues that internal
dimensions should be standardized so that the problems which you, and many other manufacturers, are facing can be eliminated.
Several examinations of the problem have been made. One—which appeared in an ICI booklet Filling and emptying ISO containers— was reviewed in CM on November 1 1968, pages 47-48.
aDo you know of any guide to London car parks which indicates where commercial vehicles can be parked safely?
AWe do not know of any published guide.
but three companies which have facilities for commercial vehicle parking in the London area are National Car Parks Ltd., 26 Queensway London, W.2: M. L. Car Parks (Edmonton) Ltd.. 29 Valiance Road. London, El; and Associated Car Park Co. Ltd., 2 Sayer Street, London, SE17.
These companies will give you details of their car parks, capacity, hours of opening and charges.
Qhave a Bedford K .D.L. registered in December 1968 which is used to deliver bagged coal and building materials. It is plated by the manufacturer at 8 tons 1 Ocwt gross, and is running on six-stud wheels and 8.25-16 tyres.
If! put eight-stud wheels on, and stronger springs retaining the 8.25-16 tyres, could I get it replated at 12 tons gross?
AThere is no possibility of getting the vehicle re-plated for more than 10 tons. This is the maximum with 8.25-16 (14-ply) tyres on a four-wheeler.
It also should be pointed out that the plated weight does not depend only on wheels, tyres and springs. There are other factors, such as the frame and axle designs, and quite extensive work may be needed to get more than the existing 8 tons lOcwt. Only the original manufacturer can give advice on this, and we suggest you write to that firm for the complete picture.
QWe recently advised a customer that
it was dangerous and possibly illegal to operate a commercial vehicle fitted with radial-ply tyres on the front axle and crossply tyres on the rear axle. We genuinely
believed this to be correct and had taken the precaution of referring to literature issued by the tyre industry. But after considerable controversy between ourselves and the customer, and after checking with tyre manufacturers and Ministry of Transport, we have formulated the following opinions and recommendations, on which we would value your comments—
a). that a commercial vehicle may safely be fitted with a combination of radial and cross-ply tyres in any order, so long as the combination of radials and crossplies is not fitted to any one axle or bogie, and that the ratings are correct. We have had this view from the local Ministry of Transport testing station and several tyre manufacturers; b). that a private vehicle should not be fitted with radial ply tyres at the front axle and cross-plies at the rear axle, although vice versa is quite satisfactory but not wholly recommended; cl, that there is no regulation or ruling which states whether a combination of tyres as fitted by our customer (above) is, or is not legal.
We would be glad to know whether there is any legal ruling on this matter and also why commercial vehicles are allowed to operate with radials at the front and crossplies at the rear when private vehicles are not permitted in this condition,
AThe statements set out in la), lb) and Ic)
agree with our information on this subject. We can find nothing in the Construction and Use Regulations or the more recent tyre regulations which makes it an offence to mix radial and cross-ply tyres. but a commercial vehicle would fail the Ministry test if it were submitted with radial and cross-ply tyres fitted to the same axle.
The reason why commercial vehicles may have radials at one end and cross-plies at the other, while cars are limited to a combination involving radials at the rear and crossplies at the front, is chiefly because the roll characteristics of the two types of vehicle are quite different. Radial and cross-ply tyres have quite different flexing characteristics. and to fit radials at the front of a car and crossplies at the rear can cause a condition of potential instability: this is. apparently, not a factor with commercial vehicles.