ROAD LAW.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18550, 27 November 1925, Page 5

ROAD LAW.

GRIEVANCES OF MOTORISTS AGAINST ENGLISH AUTHORITIES (SPECIALLY WRITTEN FOE "THE PRESS.") By Major F. A. C. Forbes-Leith. (Author of "By Car to India."; NEW YORK. One of the most m::rke:i contrasts one notices between motoring i n America and in Great Britain, is difference in the attitude of the authorities towards the various problems created by mechanical transport on the roads. "We, at home, with our innate conservatism, still look upon the motorcar as an intrusive innovation. AVe have not advanced very far from the days when a car was obliged, by law, to be preceded by a man with a red flag. While, of course, in infest of the large cities the official mind is reconciled to the automobile, in some of the towns and country districts, and notably in ancient cities, the presence of the motor-car is resented. This psychological situation is expressed in various ways. On many of the magisterial benches, one comes across gentlemen who look upon motorists in much the same way as the old judges regarded highwaymen. In other places, they are treated as something of a joke, and I have actually heard of one court where the clerk and the presiding magistrate regularly have a wager upon the total amouut'they will collect on days on which motor cases are dealt with, by way of lines, from the unhappy offenders. All this would be very amusing, if it were not for the sense of injustice it crentes in the minds of motorists, and for its effects upon industry. No motorist would claim for a moment, that those who wilfully endanger the safety of the public, should escape unscathed. But the motoring laws are notoriously out of date, and, in the name of Justice, injustice is regularly done by severe interpretation of obsolete laws. "Here Comes a Motorist." In many branches of the law, it is accepted by judges, justices, and lawyers alike that certain Acts are "dead letters." Every day people commit offences against ancient laws, but the law is not invoked against them, because it is realised that the offence lies really in the failure of Parliament to bring the law up-to-date. It might be so with certain aspects of road law, were it not for the subconscious hostility to which I have referred. The attitude of the police and officials in certain places is: "Here comes a motorist; can we catch him in any conceivable way?' l JSot only is an improvement necessary in the sense that justices should interpret the law reasonably in the light of modern progress, but motorists have every right to ask that public authorities should adopt a postive attitude of helpfulness towards them. More and more the motor-car i.s coming into use as the best method of transport ifor commercial travellers in certain industries. Commercial travellers are of the greatest importance to industry; indeed, one might call them the "scouts of commerce." Those who impede or unnecessarily hinder the activities of these men are, in effect, making obstacles in the j?«g- of our industries which, goodness knows, require active encouragement rather than hindrance from all who profess any interest in the welfare of their country. Yet it is a fact that in many places the commercial traveller with a. car is in a continual state of anxiety owing to the ridiculous rules prevailing concerning the parking of cars. A man never knows when he stops his car for a moment to run in to see a customer, whether, on his return, he will not find a policeman, with a large notebook, waiting .to complete the particulars necessary for a prosecution. True, the commercial traveller might enquire of the police where he mijrht park his car, but it is proverbially difficult to find a policeman when you want one, and in some instances, it is even more difficult to find the- park to which he directs one, and, having found it, one is often ignorant of the fact that you are not permitted to leave your car in that particular nlace for niore than, a stipulated period. Checking Commerce. Perhaps the official mind may argue that' the traveller ought to run his car into the nearest not cost him much, they.say; but the fact must be borne in mind that commercial travellers using cars are runnine an d! stopping . them continually throughout the, day, and that if they were constantly to have reoourso to a garage,, very serious increase in their travelling expenses would be incurred. This is no unimportant matter, for all expenses incurred in getting business naturally have to be spread over the cost of the articles which are supplied. In effect, then, the out-of-date regulations which make the motor garage the only safe place for a traveller's car are a direct hindrance to industry. The subconscious hostility of the police and other authorities is not without its effect on the public at large. In some of the ancient cities to which I have referred, where the streets are narrow, .and where the motor-car is definitely regarded by the officials as an offensive intruder, the inhabitants, naturally, incline to the official view. They spread themselves all over the an-

cient and very narrow streets to bo found in such places. The motorist must crawl along, ready instantly to check his oar lest he should run down some totally indifferent inhabitant, who regards the centre of the road as being the correct place for a good citizen, to walk. The Other Side. It is high time that the police ami public authorities accepted the motorcar not as an enemy, but a,s a very Dotont ally in the cause of progress.« A helpful attitude on tho part of these powerful officials -would mean a very meat deal to the motoring public Admittedly, the motorist is not without his faults, and, in considering commerce, he must remember that the drivers of commercial vehicles are men who do not, by nature, think in a broad way. They are apt to be indifferent to the welfare of the community, and concerned only with getting through their allotted tasks. Perhaps this is understandable, but it is there, and in criticising the authorities, one must have regard to it. Of course, in some cities, the police are notably progressive and sympathetic towards motorists, but I do not think that any motorist who has travelled widely in Great Britain wifi say that, the progressive communities are in a majority. In the main, as I said at the outset, there prevails the old idea, of the motor as a. very dangerous and unnecessary innovation which ought tc* be preceded by a red flag. Until we get rid of this, motoring will always have to I*3 content with a serious disadvantage which it does not suffer in other countries, and which is laughable in the United States, where the car is now available to every man, and where it contributes, in no small way, to the abundant prosperity which the country enjoys.