NOTES.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19675, 19 July 1929, Page 6

NOTES.

It will shortly be an offence for motorists to leave their ears in Colombo street between Armagh street and the Square and between the Square and St. Asaph street, except to set down or pick up a passenger. A regulation to this effect is now being prepared by the City Solicitor. "Traffic congestion'-' is a phrase susceptible to as many different meanings as there are different motorists. A rather general one that seems to fit most conditions of congestion is that which describes it as the situation which exists when a motorist cannot travel at the speed he desires. In motordom, it's the first 25 hours that are the hardest when one gets a new car. That is how long it takes to travel those 500 breaking-in miles at 20 miles an hour. However, the owner has; the consoling thought that what time is lost in these 25 hours can be more than made up at the other end of the car's life.

Contrary to the impression the motorists may have that the authorities usually are bent on checking speed, the British Government recently refused applications for ten-mile speed limits made by several local authorities. In rejecting the requests, the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee expressed the opinion that in the County of London and the Metropolitan police area such limits "serve no useful purpose." The committee makes the point that "speed limits may in themselves be dangerous." The ground for this view was that a limit of 10 miles an hour may tend to become the minimum speed, irrespective of traffic conditions.

Concrete evidence of the automobile industry's growth arc visible on all sides. Some ©f the less visible evidences, though, are equally impressive. For instance, during 1921 the average personnel of one company was 46,000. Last year it reached 208,800.

In the six months ending last December there were 105,050 prosecutions against motorists in England and Wales. Of these 9910 were for exceeding the speed limit. Fines amounting to £97,603 were imposed for 88,549 motoring offences.

Width of the highway for safe and expeditious movements of traffic is more and more concerning the road builder. Engineers are of the opinion that a minimum of 20 feet should be maintained for a two-lane highway. It is held further that in built-up sections the roadway should be 36 feet wide at least to permit parallel parking and 50 feet where diagonal and right-angle parking is allowed.

Owners of truck fleets in China find that the payment of a monthly bonus to drivers who keep their trucks out of the shop has proved a successful way of reducing repairs. Eager to earn extra money, the truck driver handles his vehicle with greater care and makes necessary minor repairs himself, instead of taking it to the shop. This system of keeping down truck repairs to a minimum was suggested to truck owners by an age-old Chinese custom practised in the medical profession. Since time immemorial, the Chinese business man has been accustomed to pay his family physician a certain sum for keeping him well. Payments stop when he falls iIL

The estimated output of motor cars in Italy last year was 67,000 as against about 60,000 in 1927, but whereas more than half were exported in 1927, the proportion was considerably less than half in 1928, numbering 28,280 against 33,312, a decline of 15 per cent. Sales to Germany increased to 4397 from 2889, and to France 4048 from 2908, but those to Great Britain fell to 1639 from 5312. Last year produced no new models, except the Fiat 525, priced at £.480 to £,500, according to type of body, but this model recently has been withdrawn. Generally speaking, there were no price changes.

Increasing importance of motor vehicle transportation in Ireland is evidenced by the steady growing demand for increased highway facilities in all parts of the Free State. This demand for better roads is being met as rapidly as possible, with construction and repair work being hastened throughout the country. The Free State Government looks upon the highway system as a primary form of improvement for prosperity.

More than 1000 motor coaches carrying approximately 15,000 passengers, leave seven terminals in New York City daily for all parts of the United States and Canada. In 1928 a total of 2,600,000 passengers were carried on 92,000 buses over 750,000 miles of routes. There are 23,000 companies operating motor buses in the metropolis.