OBSTRUCTING TRAMS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19970, 3 July 1930, Page 7

OBSTRUCTING TRAMS.

CAB LEFT ON LIME. The need to more motor-cars away from tramway tracks after an accident was emphasised at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when James Norton was charged with allowing a motor-car to foul tne tramway track on May 21st last, so as to impede a tramcar. Mr J. D. Hutchison stated that the Tramway Board laid the intormation in order to bring before the puohc the need to remove cars from the tramway tracks aftar an accident had occurred. There was no wish to impose a penalty on this particular defendant, but the puhlio needed to be warned about the matter. The defendant, said Mr Hutchison, had been driving a taxi, when a collision occurred at the corner of Derby street and Papanui road. His car had been only slightly damaged, and was capable of being driven away under its own power. There was some dispute with the other party concerned in the collision, and defendant had left his car on the tram tracks while he went to get a police or traffic officer to note the position of the cars after the collision. The tramway motorman asked that defendant's car be moved, but defendant had said that it must wait until a traffic inspector arrived. The motorman had told defendant that if he needed a witness as to the position of the car, he would be willing to act. The tramcar was delayed about quarter of an hour, and the passengers had to get out and walk to Bealey avenue, where they transferred to an Opawa car.

Mr Hutchison suggested that in such cases marks might be scratched on the road, and the car put back later, allowing tramcars to pass. Percy Batty, tramway motorman, said that be had been delayed quarter of an hour, and that fortunately he would have had a 10 minutes' wait at the railway station, so that on the return trip he was only about two minutes late. He had offered to act as witness concerning the position of the car. Defendant had been away when the tramcar came. Defendant stated that immediately after the collision occurred, as proceedings seemed likely, he went to ring up a traffic officer, but being unable to do so, rang the police. 'lhe total delay had been 14 or 15 minutes, and the policeman arrived about four minutes after he returned from telephoning. When the motorman asked him he was willing to move the car, but the opposition party was not. ■ If I had been allowed to,' concluded the defendant, "I would have shifted the car, but I wasn't, so I was a loser either way." The Magistrate said that it was clear that defendant should have moved his car from the tramway tracks He had had, in the motorman. as good an independent witness concerning the position of the car as he would have had in a policeman or traffic officer. There had been no need to pay any heed to the other driver. Defendant waa convicted and ordered to pay costs.