MOTOR VEHICLE TESTS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 154, 27 March 1937, Page II (Supplement)

MOTOR VEHICLE TESTS

Half-yearly Check of Post Office Cars For 10 years the Post and Telegraph Department, which runs a larger number of motor-vehicles than any other establishment in New Zealand, has conducted a system of close inspection of their mechanical fitness every six months. This survey is in addition to the day to day observations of drivers aud garage foremen. The half-yearly examination is made by a travelling inspector who is able in six months to make road tests of every post office vehicle in use throughout New Zealand. Taking out the car or van the inspector drives it under service conditions and his specialised knowledge enables him to pick up incipient faults which may not have developed to the point of requiring immediate workshop attention. Engine wear is gradual and there are often indications of faults long before the vehicle needs repair. The inspector also overhauls the chassis, tires, brakes and fittings. If there are faults involving road safety the inspector is authorised to immediately take the vehicle out of service. Many of the minor faults are such that the vehicle can be sent into the workshops at the most convenient opportunity, although on the principle that "the stitch in time saves nine” there is not much delay over that process. The system has worked so well that regular drivers look forward to the inspector’s visit and get his advice regarding the best method of adjustment on their ears and vans, and sometimes driving hints. Under the recentlyamended law, all motor-vehicles have to be submitted for a test of mechanical fitness every six months, and it has been the experience of the post office that this system is well worth ■while if only for the early discovery of faults which, although small at the time, may ultimately create serious trouble, if neglected, and also render the vehicle unsafe from a road usage point of view.