NEW MOTOR REGULATIONS.

" Boadster" invites articles and paragraphs of interest to motorists for this page.

GOVERNMENT TARES OVER REGISTRATION.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF OWNERS

The new law regarding the registra- i tion of motor vehicles and the payment j of the annual tax in the form of a j license fee, came into force., officially. Yesterday. .Since January ist motorists J throughout New Zealand are called upon j to contribute to the new Government j tax and register under the Motor j Vehicles Act. Drivers of motor vehicles j are still under the obligation, however, j to obtain drivers' certificates from local j authorities on payment of the annual j fee of os. The period allowed for regis- j tration is one month from the com- i menccment of the operation of the regu- ; iations. This means that in the case of ; motor vehicles in use on January Ist. ; 192-j, application for registration and j license must be made before February . Ist. In regard to new vehicles coining [ 1 into U3C subsequently, it will be neccs- : sary to apply for registration and 1 license before they take to the road, j Applications will be accepted at any j post office under the charge of a post- ' master, and as a means of facilitating j as much as possible the work of the I main registration office at the G.1'.0., j motor owners are advised to present ; their forms at the nearest branch post j office. The Act prescribes that there | shall be a registrar of motor vehicles, < whose office shall be at Wellington, and | deputy-registrars in each province, but ( it is not proposed to make these new J and separate appointments, as by utilising the postmasters a £ood deal of expense can be saved. The Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department will act as registrar, and the chief postmasters in each province arc deputyregistrars. Filling in the Form. The forms which motor owners are required to fill in for the registration of their cars arc likely to cause some headscratching. As with the income-tax return, the information required is very detailed, and owners are asked to give some data upon which many are blissfully ignorant. For instance, one of the requirements of the new Act is that applicants for registration shall fill in a form giving certain technical particulars regarding their cars. This should in a way be of some educative value to the motorist, for he will find himself obliged to scan the chassis and the motor for the number applied by the manufacturer. Probably not moTo than a few dozen owners know where to find those numbers, and some interesting searches arc likely to ensue. New Type of Plates. The new registration numbers will bo of a distinctive and uniform type, but the first issues will not bo those for permanent use, as supplies of the proper plates will not be to hand probably until February. Thcso are being obtained from the "United States, and "will be of tho same type as those used in California, the sign being an enamel one, with the number in white raised from a black background. An order has been placed by the Government for a consignment of many thousands of these signs, and temporary numbering devices will be used until the Btandard plates come to hand. The registration plates will be of three kinds. They will all, of course, bear a number, but distinguishing letters will be employed according to the class of vehicle. The sign in most general use will be that for motor-cars and lorries. The numbering in this case will be from one upwards, and will be preceded by the letters N.Z. There will be something distinctive for cars on trial by motor dealers; the device in these cases will be the letter N over Z, followed by the letter D and tho registration number. The plate for attachment to motorcycles will differ as a matter of convenience in fixing it to the machine. Tho marking will be the same, but the rear number will bo upright, while the front wheel number will be horizontal. In addition to the fees chargeable for registration and annual license, owners will be required to pay a small sum for tho number plate. The charge will be, probably, five shillings for a pair of plates. • Annual Registration. It will be tho owner's duty to see that bis motor vehicle is rc-licenscd at the beginning of each year, and on payment of his fees he will receive a new number plate. This system -will provide a visible check upon registration from year to year, for the colour of the sign will be changed as soon as a new year is entered upon. This will provide a clearer indication to the police as to whether an owner is up to date in the payment of his license fee than the marking on the plato of tho year for which he is licensed. The practice in California is to stamp tho year of issue on the plate, but this cannot be made very conspicuous, and the changing of the colour scheme from year to year will provide a much more distinctive brand for inspection purposes. In 1925, for instance, the number might be painted white on a black ground, and the scheme might bo reversed for the following year.