Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-09
AUTO TRUCK NEEDS
COMPETENT DRIVER
Industry and Common Sense
Are Prime Req
uisites.

The question of the right kind of men
to handle motor trucks is a very i'm
portant one, and should receive the con-
sideration its Importance deserves. The
selection of freight automobile drivers
should be in the hands of a person not
only familiar with the construction and
the business in which the machines and
their drivers are to be used as well.
Inquiry has brought out the astonish-
Ing fact the most important quality
making for good truck driver is an
dustriousness. coupled with common
sense, rather than years Of experience
with automobile mechanism. In fact.
men who have had vast experience with
truck driver say the best type OF
driver comes from the ranks Of the
former horse vehicle drivers
Drivers Learn Easily.
The reason for this is easily discern
ible. When. a certain company decides
to substitute a motor service for a
horse service it is much easier to educate
the horse drivers to operate the motor
trucks and to familiarize them with an
automobiles mechanism than to teach
chauffeurs the delivery business, for,
surprising as it might seem, the de-
livery business requires long and care
full training, and a good man must have
a high degree Of responsibility to be
worth his wages. Then, again, chauffeurs
are, as a rule, not such Woodworking
men as truck drivers must be in order
to be efficient, and professional
chauffeur would not be likely to- regard
it as an advancement to be put on a
motor truck.
On the other hand. former horse
driver improves himself, however slight
", when he advances to the ranks of q
f Il as well as moral s for man and
motor can do great deal more work In
a shorter time than man and beast, and
the truck driver can, therefore, be re-
prOportionateiy. But not
horse driver would make a better motor
truck operator than professional
chauffeur it is most important that the
former should be fully conversant with
a motor trucks mechanism, for it
stands to reason that 1t would be very
out a truck and il he meets with an ac
cident or slight misadjustment twenty
miles away from the garage to tele-
phone for mechanic merely to have
him go over the spark plugs or to To-
cate short. circuit in the ignition wfr-
ing.
The driver of, a freight automobile
should know at what speed he may
safely operate his truck over various
kinds of roads He should also know
the different kinds OF fabrication. OF
keeping the cooling system we'll filled
with water, and SO forth.
Education Important.
An extremely important point of the
education, which is half mechanical and
half of delivery business nature. Is the
proper method of loading a truck. The
driver should be informed how much
weight should be loaded on various por-
tons of the body and how this should
be done to permit of rapid and efficient
unloading and delivery Whatever in
formation is necessary to bring out the
points upon which depends the high
or low cost of truck operation should
be impaired to the driver. He ought to
be taught to avoid tire abuse, to proper
~ use and not strain his brakes, to use
the motor as brake in coasting down
hill. to use the top gear whenever pos.
sibIe and to apply every known process
to get as much work as possible out Of
the given quantity of fuel. Aside from
selecting a truck as perfectly as possible
adapted to the specific requirements OF
the owners business the question OF the
right driver is by far the most i'm
portant.