Bus Road Test (1957)

Aldenham, Hertfordshire. At London Transport works at Aldenham, buses are subjected to various safety tests before being allowed to streets. Two men are seen lifting sandbags and placing them on seats to simulate the busload of passengers. Bus is then tested for stability. Two rubber buffers are placed at one side of the bus (in case it fails the test and tips over). Then the bus is tilted by a hydraulic ram (great pressure is applied) to check how stable it is. Man operating a rig is foreman Charlie Taylor who’s been working on bus maintenance since 1927. Several shots of the bus being tilted slowly to one side - it looks as if it will turn over. C/U shot of the distance between rubber buffer and bus demonstrates that bus has past stability test. At Chiswick skid patch, a huge polygon is showered with water (buses are showered too) to get slippery. Buses are then recklessly driven - lots of breaking and skidding - to check a degree of control. Scary watch. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PAT