Overdrive

Arguably the most recognised, respected and awarded road and transport engineer in Australia, Dr. Max Lay, has written another book: “The Harnessing of Power: How the 19thCentury Transport Innovators Transformed the way the world Operates”.

Why write the book?

At the end of the 20th century Max was asked to write a presentation for an international roads conference in Paris on “Roads in the 20th century”. In the hotel before the talk, he thought about how he should introduce his presentation because the big break throughs for many things to do with transport, happened in the 19th century. The 20th century was more a time where these inventions flourished to their full extent.

I asked Max if this was a “Road to Damascus” experience, an epiphany but he said he didn’t meet St Paul or anyone else!

What does an engineer bring to history? Max believes that you don’t understand something unless you know the history.

He said that he did not write this book as a historian with a background in economics, social sciences or politics,but wrote it as an engineer. For him, an engineer brings to the debatean understanding of the cause and effect of a situation with humans as part ofthe process. The engineer, however, particularly looks at the physical things that made something possible.

Not even the inventors understood what impact their inventions would have.

The incredible thing that Max discovered while writing the book was how little the inventors realised just what their inventions would lead to and how they would be used.

Max noted that Karl Benz didn’t think that people should drive cars more than 20 mph and he didn’t think anyone would be killed by a car because they would never travel fast enough. Gottlieb Daimler thought that engines were better for boats and aeroplanes but he originally built the few cars to keep the business going.

How the watch helped transport

One of the examples of the technology that was behind the ultimate inventions of thecar andthe train was the watch. A couple of hundred years before these vehicles came into being,people had invented incredible mechanisms with cogs and things whizzing around faster than the eye can see. Much of this technology hadmade it possible to produce the valves on steam engines and many people who had worked with watches (such as Carl Benz) transplanted it 100 times bigger into vehicles.

Transport and watches work together to establish the concept of a universal time. It the past time was recognised on the circumstances of every particular location. The stagecoach’s arrival was not timed to the minute. But with trains travelling at a much faster pace there was a need for a schedule across many regions. It was around this time that the concept of Greenwich Mean Time was established.

It didn’t all happen instantaneously. Developments were not always instantaneous and were not always achieved uniformly across the world. Max’s book went way back in history to look at some of our earlier freight vehicles.

Oxen were used before horses under a simple engineering principle of a better power-to-weight ratio but another great advantage was that they had broad shoulders on which it was easy to fita harness. Harnessing a horse was harder. The Celts had mastered the effective use of horses before Roman times but in some European communities did not manage to develop a way to easily ride and control horses until the 1700s.

Effective use of iron also changed our use of horses significantly. With the ability to manufacture stirrups for horses they then became much more effective in battle because the rider then needed only one hand to control horse and so could hold a weapon in the other.

Bob Holden started racing in the late 50s. I asked him if he raced against Bob Jane who had just died. He hadn't race against him much but he did reminisce on an incredibly varied career as an Aussie Battler who over came great adversity.

He raced against Bruce McLaren who took an interest in Bob's performance.

I have spoken about his win in the Bathurst 500 in a MIni at length on another occasion and mention it briefly here.

Bob is 85 years old and still racing.

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program where we take a diverse look at cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

And in this program, we look at news stories with David Campbell including:

1. Hyundai Motor and H2 Energy to bring the world’s first fleet of fuel cell electric trucks into commercial operation

2. Stackable 'cars of the future' unveiled in Scotland

3. PEUGEOT e-LEGEND CONCEPT - #Unboring the future

4. Renault-nissan-mitsubishi And Google Join Forces On Next-generation Infotainment

5. Hyundai Santa Fe, Kona and NEXO honoured with prestigious 2018 IDEA design awards

We hear about the partnership between the Ford Driving Skills for Life Program and the Amy Gillet Foundation to fill in a huge gap in our driver training and licensing procedures. How to deal with vulnerable road users such as cyclists

We have some personal reflections from Anita Curnow an executive with the Victorian road authority Vic Roads about here career as a transport engineer.

A Minute of Motoring on the latest Nissan Navara ute

And Brian Smith and Errol Smith take a joyful look at some quirky news stories about motoring and transport.

1. PEUGEOT e-LEGEND CONCEPT is presented at the 2018 Paris Motor Show.

2. Grupo Antolin CEO Pascual sees interiors as the front door to the future

Originally broadcast 29 September 2018.

The Amy Gillett Foundation was established in 2005 following the tragic death of competitive Australian cyclists Amy Gillett, who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Germany while training with the Australian women’s cycling team.

The foundation has become the leading cycling Safety organisation in Australia

They have just partners with the Ford Driving Skills for Life program.

The foundation's CEO is Phoebe Dunn

In September 2018 students in post graduate and undergraduate courses at Monash University in Melbourne organised a Transportation Engineering Student Leadership Summit.

It was done under the auspices of the Australian and New Zealand chapter of the Institute of Transport Engineers ITE.

The summit is a scaled version of the model that Student Chapters of the ITE initiated in North America in 2012.

It is a chance for students to learn about the profession; and network with their peers and older professionals. But they were also given a project, in this case to look at the Box Hill town centre which is struggling to make the most of its identity and has a large bus depot and train station that are uncomfortably separated by some distance.

By developing their ideas, the groups of students got to work in one of a number of teams and to present their results to a large audience .

The summit started with a keynote speech from Anita Curnow who is the Executive Director of Access and operations at VicRoads, the road authority for the state of Victoria.

Students commented that Anita’s presentation was enlightening and encouraging. It was personable, not partronising.

Anita graduated as a Civil Engineer in the early 90s and she tossed up between a career in hydraulics or traffic engineering. I caught up with Anita at morning tea and asked her why she went into transportation.

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program that dabbles in the world of cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

And in this program, we look at news stories with David Campbell including:

1. SUV sales power ahead despite minor market decline

2. Users now able to buy Subaru’s online with dealers still involved

3. Apple developing headlights that highlight road hazards

4. New cars on the market

5. Toyota Invests $500 million in Uber

6. Global trade war prompts Volvo to put brakes on its IPO

We have a brief chat about three new models on the market Mazda CX-9 Large SUV, the Mazda MX-5 and the VW Polo

We have some feedback and comments from listeners

And Brian Smith and Errol Smith take a upbeat; look at some quirky news stories about motoring and transport.

You can find more information at drivenmedia.com.au or you can podcast previous programs on itunes.

So let’s start the program with the news

Originally broadcast 15 September 2018.

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program that takes an expansive look at the world of cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

And in this program, we look at news stories with David Campbell including:

1. Royal couple's electric Jaguar E-type Zero coupe will go into production

2. Fewer than 1 in 3 new car shoppers agree with proposed EPA rollback

3. Explainer: What is WLTP and why should you care?

4. VW spends big to make its vehicles digital devices on wheels

5. Uber riders with low ratings to be banned

6. Emergency vehicle slow down law questioned

We have a chat with the General Manager of RAM Australia. We went to the launch of their latest big ute a few months back, now we have driven it in the country side.

And Brian Smith and take a carefree look at some quirky news stories about motoring and transport.

You can find more information at drivenmedia.com.au or you can podcast previous programs on itunes.

So let’s start the program with the news

First broadcast on 8 September 2018

The acronym CAV, Connected and Autonomous vehicles, broadly covers the technology that will create enormous impacts in countries all over the world. It will change how and when we travel but will also generate jobs and enhance wealth creation opportunities.

Private industry is pushing hard and governments can’t totally control it but it is critical that governments facilitate the process if a country is to gain the most benefits, not just corporate profits but also long-term community benefits.

In the UK they set up a separate organisation Meridian Mobility UK Limited to enhance the interaction between governments and industry. Meridian’s Chief Executive officer is Daniel Ruiz. Daniel brings a calm, thoughtful confidence to a world that is frantically pushing technological developments. We caught up with him at an Intelligent Transport Systems Summit.

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program that take an expansive look at the world of cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

And in this program, we look at news stories with David Campbell including:

1. Ford issues latest motor industry Brexit warning

2. Survey: Consumers Value Real-World AV Testing. Just Not Where They Live

3. China’s Largest Electric Bus Operator & Blockchain Firm Partner in $24 Billion Deal

4. James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Is Going Back Into Production

5. Elon Musk drops attempt to take Tesla private

6. Kroger supermarkets jump into self-driving car grocery delivery in Arizona

We talk to the Chief Executive Office of Meridian Mobility UK, a private company with government backing what brings together government, academia, innovators and developers of autonomous vehicles and other intelligent mobility solutions. Does Australia need the same

And Brian Smith and take a carefree look at some quirky news stories about motoring and transport.

You can find more information at drivenmedia.com.au or you can podcast previous programs on itunes.

So let’s start the program with the news

Originally broadcast 1 September 2018.

The Chinese, like the Japanese before them, have taken some things from the British car industry to help them build their own industry.

Now SAIC has the brand name MG and is building cars that are more a reflection of the modern world than the tradition that started in 1923 in Britain.

Motoring journalists Paul Murrell and David Brown discuss the implications of this move.