RUNNING THE LORRY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1932, Page 15

RUNNING THE LORRY

THE DRIVING FACTOR

GOOD MEN SAVE COSTS

The following is taken from the "Gazette" of the Associated Equipment Co., Southall, Middlesex; the contributor is Mr. H. Scot Hall, M.I.A.E.

An expert in railway operation has stated that tho method of driving a locp/notivo ■ can make nearly 100 per ceat. difference in coal consumption. A hard driver, according to this authority, can use a full tender of coal travelling from Crcwe to London; a careful man would consumo only half that quantity in the same distance, with the same load, in the same time and under the same conditions.

It is known, of course, that the driver of a motor vehicle can, by the way in which he performs his task, materially affect the cost of operation. It may be of i'ltorest to discuss tho extent to which poor driving can increase tho cost of operation, and thus show how very much it is to the owner's advantage to secure drivers of ability, even if it. is necessary to pay them a little higher than the usual wage.

As an example, I will take the caso of a "Majestic" covering, say, 24,000 miles per annum, and endeavour to arrive at an estimate of the difference in cost of operation brought about by varying skill on the part of the man in charge.

In tho first place, it is not unworthy ofnote in this connection that the price of a complete vehicle mounted on this chassis may be £1200. The thought immediately arises: Is it not worth while to be careful in the selection of a man in whose charge a piece of machinery valued at £1200 is going to he placed?

The cost of .operating such a vehicle uider more or less normal arid average conditions will bo something near the following:—Running costs: Petrol, say. 6J m.p.g. at Is a gallon, l.Sod per mile; lubricants, 1000 miles per gqllon at, say, 4s. per gallon, 0,03 d; tires, assuming a life of 20,000 miles, I.OSd; maintenance, 1.25 d; depreciation, 1.32 d. The total is 5.55 d per mile. In a year that •would amount to £555.

The ' standing charges in connection with a vehicle of this type will be:— Licences, £.48; wages, say, £180; rent and rates, £26; insurance, £24; interest on first cost, £44; total, £322. The grand total is £877, which is approximately 8.77 d per mile.

Experienced users.of six-ton vehicles tell, nic that it is often the ease. that petrol "consumption drops to "4.5 m.p.g.. that oil can be consumed at the rate of 500 m.p.'g., that a very little lack of tare of tires, particularly in Tcspeet of keeping them inflated to the correct figure, of maintaining tho alignment of the wheels, bumping tho vehicle over high, sharp-edged kerbs, of over-speed-ing and over-loading, can reduce the expectation of life from the figure of 20,000 miles which I have just taken to half that, or, at' the most, 12,000. The maintenance figure can be increased within wide limits, and in the case of a really bad driver the depreciation correspondingly increased. But if I allow for a little exaggeration on the part of a user, possibly somewhat disgruntled as the result of reading an unfavourable, balance-sheet, and take it that, as the result of bad driving, the petrol consumption drops to 5 m.p.g., oil consumption is at the rate of 800 in.p.g., that tires only last 16,000 miles, that maintenance becomes ljd per mile, but that as the result of care in maintenance the item of depreciation romains unaffected, how does our total cost of operation stand under these conditions'?

Petrol, 2.4 d per mile; lubricants, O.OGd per mile; tires, 1.35 d per mile; maintenance, J.uOd per mile; and depreciation, 1.32 d per mile; total, 6.G3d per mile. That is equivalent to a total running cost of £603 per annum, and a total operating cost of £DBS per annum, or very nearly lOd per mile.

(The standing charges are assumed to be unaffected since the wages quoted for the driver are- the trades union rates, and it is assumed that tbc cost of insurance is not affected.) I Now look at tho possibilities of economy which offers in the case of a vehicle put in the hands of s. good and earsi'ul driver. He may be able to squeeze seven miles to the gallon from his- fuel. It is not likely that ho will get more than 1000 miles to the gallon of'oil. (I think perhaps wo would rather he did not economise in that particular item.) He might be able to get 24,000 miles out of a set of tires. It would be fairer to assume 22,000 miles. He could certainly reduce the cost of maintenance, probably to as little as Id per mile, while it is well known that in the hands of such men motor vehicles which are jqliable and of good quality in the first case (and it is of that type I am writing) seem to almost last indefinitely, and it would bo no exaggeration at any rate to claim that he could reduce the figure- for depreciation to, at the most, I.SOd per mile. The actual figures of cost in. this case would, therefore, be: For petrol, 1.72 d per mile; oil, 0.03 d per mile; tires, I.OOd per mile; maintenance, I.OOd per mile; depreciation, 1.20 d per mile; total, 4.97 d per mile. That is £497 a year. The total cost of operation is i£Bl9 per annum, and the cost per mile 8.19 d.

The above figures, which, I can assure readers, embody no exaggerations! in either • direction, show a possible economy of as much as £166 a year sis between the' employment of a good driver and a poor driver. Tho difference between an average driver and a poor one is seen to be £108, and the saving effected by employing a good driver instead of one of average ability is as much as £58 per annum, more than £1 per week. Clearly, therefore, the offer of an extra 10s per week wages as an inducement to a good driver,- or as a means of obtaining and retaining a good man, is money well invested. If that 10s can be offered judiciously in the form of a bonus on petrol, tyre and maintenance savings, then the owner has almost ensured a return on bis additional outlay without any risk at all.

To be fair to the driver, however, he must be given a reasonable chance to earn his bonus. He must be given a good vehicle to start with, and one which, in its performance, will definitely repay his care and attention.

''Very true," remarks a correspondent. "I', is useless sending the number; ho must have the part. And still you will get the wrong one unless you take tho car along, too, for a fit on tho spot."