DOUBLE BASS WHEELER MUST GIVE WARNING OF APPROACH

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28222, 9 March 1957, Page 11

DOUBLE BASS WHEELER MUST GIVE WARNING OF APPROACH

(Rec. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, March ’ 8. A double bass player’s biggest problem is getting his instrument from one place to another. A philosophy and economics student, Toby Jessel, thought he had solved the difficulty by fixing a wheel and pushing his bass through Oxford streets until a policeman came up to him and said: “That’s a vehicle. You must push it along the road.’’ The “News Chronicle” reported today that Jessel, whose college is Balliol, plays in several orchestras in the Oxford district. He considered the policeman’s request a simple one until he moved on to the road. Once there he discovered that he would have to fix headlights and rear lights to the bass, plus

the regulation green light to identify university transport. So he wrote to the Chief Constable of Oxford seeking a ruling. The Chief Constable, according to the “News Chronicle,’’ sent a sergeant with a tape measure. The instrument was measured. It was 3ft iin wide, and that was half an inch under the regulation minimum width for a vehicle. “But it was more than 6ft high, which put it back in the Road Traffic Act again. I got around that one by pointing out that I push it at an angle to the ground, so that its overall height when moving is under 6ft,’’ Jessel said. An Oxford police inspector had the last word. He said that Jessel had been advised that while he did not need lights for night bass-wheeling, it might be helpful if he gave adequate warning of his approach by carrying a torch.