CONVERSION OF CARS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 44, 1 December 1938, Page 6

CONVERSION OF CARS.

PREVALENCE OF OFFENCE.

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Nov. 30,

Alarm at the number of cases of conversion of motor-cars was expressed hy Mr A. Grayson (the chairman) at the conference of the North Island Motor Union at Wellington to-day. There were two reasons for his concern, said Mr Grayson. The first was the extraordinary number of cases involving serious accidents where vehicles were driven by what he chose to call car thieves.

This was considered to have a definite bearing on road safety, and it seemed that all the concentrated attention on the drunken driver was just a little out of focus in that the conversion of motor vehicles was quite as serious. During the year ended December 31, 1937, which was the latest complete year for which figures were available, there were 786 cases of unlawful conversion. There were no statistics available concerning the value ot the property involved; but, assuming that the average value of a motor-car was £250, the value of cars converted was in excess of £150,000.

It was several years since this offence reached a very disconcerting stage, and after intense efforts 1 over a prolonged period the Government had been persuaded in 1935 to increase the penalties for the conversion of vehicles. The statistics, however, showed that the penalties had not been imposed in a manner which had proved effective as a deterrent. One outstanding feature of the position was that of 546 charges heard in 1937 approximately half of the defendants concerned had been under 18 years of age. The Minister for Transport and others concerned could very well give serious consideration to how this most unsatisfactory position could be corrected: in relation to road safety. The position was urgently in need of attention as anyone who was guilty of the offence of wrongful conversion was driving in a state of mental stress which, in many cases, had led to desperate acts of driving. The psychological hearing no doubt accounted for the very serious nature of many accidents in which car converters were involved. It was extraordinary to note that most of these cases were described as conversions for the reason that the wrongdoer so often pleaded that lie did not mean permanently to deprive the owner of possession. Mr Grayson said he could recall only one case where a person was convicted of the theft of a motor-car as distinct from the conversion of a car.