Then as Now... Tradesmen's vans

nwallace

The Highway Engineer 1935 wrote:

Tradesmen's vans are one of the greatest sources of danger on any road. They are often driven by an irresponsible youth, who is familiar with the local road system. Drivers of these vehicles dart in and out of other traffic, shoot out of side streets and leave their vans anywhere and everywhere. Associate member J W Naylor called for a new law whereby every tradesman's van would be built so that it could not exceed 20mph.
He added that any person in charge of a public vehicle should be prohibited from smoking. All drivers, he went on, should be compelled to drive behind a windscreen or wear a pair of goggles.

The Times, Tuesday, May 10, 1932 wrote:

Death On The Roads Overcrowding Of Main Routes, Heavy Traffic For The Railways GEOFFREY R. S. WATKINS, Captain, Roval Navy

.... with a large proportion of drivers possessing admittedly little or no experience or sense of responsibility. One has only to look at the average driver of a tradesman's van for confirmation of this statement....

Headhuunter

And back then am I right in thinking there was no driving test or licensing? So anyone could jump behind the wheel when they were old enough and just set off driving. My Grandpa (born 1906, died in 2002 or 2003) never did a driving test in his life but drove everywhere. Having said that I don't think he ever had an accident.

beegee

NW, what set of circumstances led you to find those great quotes. Researching family tree ? Bored ?

nwallace

Posted on the SABRE forum. (Road Geeks)

shm_uk

So, we have exactly the same problem now as existed back in the 1930's

That's progress for you ...