Magistrates Court “ANTI-RADAR DEVICE” SET AT WRONG SPEED

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29101, 13 January 1960, Page 15

Magistrates Court “ANTI-RADAR DEVICE” SET AT WRONG SPEED

Arthur Norrie McCarthy, who had built an “anti-radar device” into his car to prevent his exceeding 30 miles an hour, was rather unlucky to be caught by the microwave detector, Traffic Officer B. Watson told the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, during the hearing of traffic charges. “How does this device work,” asked Mr N. M. Izard, S.M. “Well, he has a knob on his dashboard,” replied Traffic Officer Watson. “When he pulls this out, it operates a stop under the accelerator pedal and stops it being depressed, so that the vehicle cannot travel at more than 30 mile an hour.” Unfortunately, McCarthy had been travelling in the country and had had the device set for the 50 miles an hour limit, and had forgotten to alter its setting when he returned to the city, said Traffic Officer Watson.

“A pity he forgot,” said the Magistrate imposing conviction and a fine of £2. OVERLOADING CHARGE “The traffic officer says that I have a heavy motor vehicle, but I only have a half-ton truck,” said Edward Smith, conducting his own defence on a charge of operating a heavy motor vehicle without heavy traffic registration. Traffic Officer E. Lapslie said that he stopped Smith in Antigua street on October 19. "His truck was loaded with ashes, the total weight when tested, exceeding two tons,” Traffic Officer Lapslie said. “I spent some time explaining to Smith what to do to obtain heavy traffic registration, and that the actual load on the truck affected its classification, but he persisted in his opinion that he did not need it as his truck weighed only half a ton unladen.” Chief Patrol Officer J. Erown quoted from the Transport Act to show that a vehicle was classed as a heavy motor vehicle if, with the addition of the load carried, it exceeded two tons in weight. The Magistrate convicted Smith and he was fined £4. “THINKING OF HIS EXAM” Pleading guilty to a charge of failing to give way to the right in October last year, Brian Vincent Morris, a student, told the Magistrate that he had been about to sit an examination, and his mind was on that rather than on his driving. When the Magistrate was told that Morris was liable for the expenses of two witnesses in addition to the usual Court costs, the Magistrate said he would impose no fine. EXCEEDED SPEED LIMIT For exceeding 30 miles an hour, the following were convicted and fined £2:— Janet M. Carter, Bryan Selwyn Cations, Howard Cockson-Smith (no safety helmet, £2), Maxwell David Cooke, Ivan William Frisken, Nicholas Fulton, Blossom Hands, George Edward Horne, Raymond Humphries, Tiete Lubbers, Stuart McCartney, Sergi Matason, Eric Albert Mickle, Kathleen Sutherland, Ramond Alfred Willoughby. For exceeding 30 miles an hour, the following were convicted and fined £3:—

Raymond Ayers, Alan Edward Black, Neil John Dickie, John Ernest Flutey, James Henry Gardiner, Owen Eugene McSherry, Richard Patrick Murphy, Colin William Parlane, Norman Robertson, Brian Douglas Robinson, Robert Spence, Richard Thompson, Trevor Hayward Thomson (no warrant of fitness, £1), Martin van der Tillart. For exceeding 30 miles an hour the following were convicted and fined £4; — Wille Kenith Brian Bakes, Lionel Trevor Trevallion. Also for exceeding 30 miles an hour, Warren Noel Houghton was convicted and fined £5 (no safety helmet, £2) and Lawrence Howard Lee, £l. OTHER TRAFFIC CHARGES In other traffic charges, convictions were entered and fines imposed as follows: — Unlicensed motor vehicle: Cyril Douglas Wilkinson, £5 (licence used on vehicle for which not issued, £5). Parked on offside of another vehicle: Murray Frederick Hartman, £5. Stopped on pedestrian crossing: Louis Percy Hopkins, £2. Parked over time limit: Patrick Valentine Murphy, £l. No warrant of fitness: Frank Blundell Wright, 10s. TOOK BICYCLE After taking a bicycle from Cathedral square to get home to Riccarton on Monday evening, Andrew Ahpene, aged 17, found the light did not work, so wheeled the bicycle along the footpath. Stopped and questioned by a constable, Ahpene admitted having taken the bicycle without authority. “You'll have to do better than that,” the Magistrate told Ahpene. “It's very annoying when your bicycle is taken. How would you feel if ydu were the owner?"

Ahpene, who pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking the bicycle, was convicted and fined £5. BREACH OF PROBATION

Probation was a privilege, and something which had to be strictly observed, the Magistrate told Brian Lawrence Terris, aged 21, a workman, who pleaded guilty to a breach of probation in that he left Palmerston North, where he had been placed on probation for three years, without the approval of the Probation Officer. Terris was convicted and fined £lO. The Court was told that since being placed on three years’ probation on October 6 last, Terris had repeatedly been warned about the need for reporting regularly to the Probation Officer, but had chosen to ignore the warnings. Since coming to Christchurch on January 8, Terris had come under the notice of the C. 1.8. When convicting and fining Terris, the Magistrate advised him to get work and stay at it. THEFT CHARGE Eric Claude Smiley, aged 40, charged with the theft of a sixvolt car battery, valued at £6, the property of Maurice Clive Hornsby, on January 10, was remanded to January 18. Bail was allowed at £5O, with a similar surety, Smiley to report daily to the police. FALSE PRETENCES ALLEGED A 45-year-old man whose name was suppressed was remanded to appear at Wellington on January 28 when he faced a charge of defrauding a Wellington firm of £5 on June 15 last by means of a valueless cheque. When the man applied for bail. Sergeant E. S. Tuck asked that a surety be required, as there were a number of other matters with which the accused would be charged in Wellington. The Magistrate allowed bail in the sum of £5O, with a similar surety, and ordered the accused to report daily to the police.