NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20333, 4 September 1931, Page 8

NOTES.

•' Roadster'' invites ~ articles paragraphs of interest t'o'motoriits for this page. •'

*>• l'l ie aiiiLual Meeting .oJr^ihe • -Jjiirv A • -held onTS e ptemb&-.3oth'at ith©; Abso? •. nation's rooms. The members,'.# i#be: • council due to retire are Messrs L. M. Wilson, J. Mason, and H. C. Kennett, who are all available lor re-election.

It appears that Mr I'. W. Johnston, who has been nominated for the position of president of the South Island Motor Union, will after all be opposed, Mr J.' L., Passrapre, of the Otago .Motor Clubj,;-.having also been nominated.

The old traSitiou"fhab toJoolc at St. Christopher in thtv Church.of Sail Am-, brogio, Milan, •' would ensure a safe jormey is one which the modern motorist has little time to fulfil. Accordingly, it has been arranged that every year motorists shall meet in front of the Church of St. Christopher at Milan and have , their cars blessed by the parish priest for the ensuing ;twelve months. The ceremony took place recently when thousands, of cars paraded before a platform erected "m front of the church.

'I hcre is oue motor vehicle lor every 4.t3 persons in the United " States,' according" to-f Jigures compiled-.by -, the American Association - rpr, the calendar year 1930. This is based on' United States Census Bureau figures giving a population of 122,770,04b, and on revised figures of the f°rtyeij/hfc States and the District-of Col-' umliia showing the total vehicle registration. at the' beginning of tliis .year to have been - passenger, cars and trucks'. ■ , California stands first, with a ratio of 2.7 persons per vehicle; Alabama is last,, with 9.5, and York is -ftbout. midway between, witn 0.-U . -./

It isi^f§poil;ed.from 'Sofia.„-that Bulgarian: .ipptory authorities have lately placed .an order in Germany tor a large "number:; Of. motor-cycles.

The Dundee i Transport Department is favouring . a gi-adual change-over from tramways to buses. _

The outputof' "crude petroleum -in Russia [dufing the first four months or this year wa^s : 6,747,000 metric tons.

Britisli iigjit cars-ar© proving lurfitj popular'4n Commercijtl to, thf? -Brjtreh m; grusselji. • •..: r.-_

According to statistics prepared by the American- Automobile about £1,500,000,000 was spent last, year in recreational travel, It is said thai; pedestrians' automatic traffic" signals: in Manchester are not being used' as fully as they might be, go Constable has had the J-follo-wii# Safety First slogans attached :to them •.•. v< Weekly-thouc:ht: It better to; "brakq -than .be broken Tlease use the siennls. .-Safety Weekly thouclit for the ~ pedestrian . .l£.urne} J S.,®nd— hospital or mortuary! Please, use tlio signals. Safety first, "not jifiisC !

New York Siate is about t<i on "the installation of 600 new "button" directional signs, which when illuminated by the headlight beam will point ihe'Tvay fortnight- f drivers... -41 signs, each carrying an arrow and the name 'thp ;tqvm,- or, city , near it is'-.placed; V ."•W.djl;'l; approacheda»S;confu«ne Most «$E place by r the» sutntfier traffic began., in earnest..

A strong, protest has been made in England, agaiiist fhe ! badgeiing of doctor& over drivers /of .-, motor-cars who ar© alleged to be intoxicated, and it js said that they should refuse to go these cases.

< Yet another world-tour by .motorcvele ettded recently,;when. Lieutenant £ 8. KraTichek-Soboleff arrived at Calcutta. His Wanderings took him two years, during which time he covered no less than 43,000 miles.

"'•"'Reports show thatan a year there is produced more than .400,000,000' barrels of petrol, 60,000,000 barrels of paraffin, 400,000,000 barrels of fuel oils, 34,000,000 barrels of lubricants, and • vast quantities of other products. '

Diinng the.first nine mbnth§ of 1930 Belgium from' Great .Britain 141 complete motors-cycles, as compared with 78 .duriiig the same period of the previous year.

: Tlie- Department : of Highways in Pc-nnsylvania, U.S.A., recently destroyed in'- six .weeks no fewer than 32,225 roadside signs, . which came within the definition of illegal advertising.

i Always switch off the-engine while the tank is being filled.