FIXTURES.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18348, 3 April 1925, Page 4

FIXTURES.

"Eoadstcr" invites articles and paragraphs of interest to motorista for this page.

Side Car Reliability Trial—April lSth

CORRESPONDENCE. (To "Roadster. ; ') Sir, —The present taxation of light cars, coining us it does in so many disguises, hits hard at the small car owner. A glaring instance of this is the case of one car paying this year £l7 10s. Opinion is freely expressed in my district that a tyre-tax would search out those using the roads most, particularly the commercial or business vehicles which one finds on the road every day and all days. These escape very lightly and must now be quic'Jy congratulating themselves.—Yours, etc., MT. SOMERS.

Although there arc several streets iu Christchurch which contain motor garages ami service stations, thv mostfavoured street in this connexion nppoara to be Gloucester street. At present there arc six such concerns in that thoroughfV.ro and a building for a .*cveuth is now in course of erection and should shortly be ready for occupation. As further evidence of; the propress of the motor industry in Christchurch, tho Dominion Motors, Lul.,aro constructing si new building in Armagh street, which, when completed, will give the company a frontage to both tho btreot mentioned and Gloucester street.

Standing at the intersection of Manchester :md Worcester streets yesterday afternoon, ".Roadster" saw no fewer than 11 motor-cars standing still or proceeding along the road without the new identification plates. J)uring the same period two "push" bicycles went prist which "were not carrying the led reflectors required by tho city bylaws.

Applications for motor-drivers' licenses, the forms in respect of which have been on issue since Tuesday, are coming into the City Motor "Inspector's office. City Council Chambers, at a satisfactory rate. Up to noon yesterday 'K)9 applications had been received, which -works out at over 200 a day, and the officials dealing with them are hav,ing a very busy time attending to the applicants. If the same rate is maintained daily, there should bo aboufl 1000 applications lodged at the office within a week. Altogether between 8000 .and ttOOO applications are expected to ho mode iu Christchurch, before the requirements of tho Motor Vehicles Act are. fulfilled in this respect. At any time after a reasonable period has elapsed, a check of traffic might be taken with a view to instituting legal proceedings against motor drivers not in possession of a license. It is, therefore, in the interests of such drivers themselves to obtain their licenses ns soon as .possible instead of allowing themselves to give way to procr,:isti nation, which,, according to the experiences of tho City Council's treasury department, is by no means unknown in Christchurch.

The requirements of the heavy traffic regulations are- occasioning a good deal of enquiry Among those affected by them, and in consequence it seeing not unlikely that a conference of local authorities will be railed together in the near future to discuss the matter with a, view to arriving at some sort of unanimity so far as No. 16 Heavy Traffic District is concerned'. The old regulations provided that the maximum fee was fixed by the 'Government, it being left to the local bodies to fix the final fee. but under the new regular tions the fee is fixed by the Government, «nd in the event of it not issuing a license a local body is liable of offence. The licenses are, of course, anplicablo to the whole T>ominion. J.n aTt.there are 23 local bodies in No. 16 district. The questions which the conference will deal with, should it take place, are with respect to identification marks, weights, «.nd other similar matters.

Although licenses to drive are issued under the new conditions by the local bodies in whose districts the cars are garaged, the City Council Motor Department continues to recoivc applications for such licenses at the rate of several a day, thereby putting the officials and the applicants to a good deal of unnecessary inconvenience. The position is that in addition to the licenses issued in respect of the citv district the Motor Department only is'sues other licenses covering the Mt. Herbert County and Borough of Sumner, an arrangement having been come to that such should be the case. In all cases licenses must be applied for to the local body controlling the district concerned.