Sockburn Testing Station Opened

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31235, 6 December 1966, Page 20

Sockburn Testing Station Opened

A new warrant of fitness showed only that the car was in good condition at the time the warrant was issued. It did not say it would still be in a safe condition the next day: that was up to the owner, the Minister of Transport (Mr McAlpine) said yesterday. He was speaking at the opening of the new £40,000 vehicletesting station in the Main South road, Sockburn. The station has been established and will be run by the Waimairi and Paparua County Councils and the Riccarton Borough Council. Guests were welcomed to the ceremony by the chairman of the joint committee responsible for the establishment of the new station, (Mr J. U. Barclay). The establishment of the station was an example of local body co-op-eration with the assistance of the Transport Department, he said. It would be the aim of the three councils to provide a high standard of service to the community, and two lanes had been set aside for the testing of cars, while the third was leased by the Transport Department which would use it for testing heavy commercial vehicles.

The joint committee anticipated that the station would quickly become self-support-ing and would be run without any charge against the rates of the three councils. The motor vehicle was a product of modern science and technology and required correct maintenance if it was to be safe, said the member of Parliament for Riccarton (Mr M. A. Connelly). The new station thus provided a protection for the people who would use it. He paid tribute to the work Mr McAlpine, who is retiring had done during his term of office. Mr McAlpine congratulated the local bodies on their joint effort in building the station, and said the Christchurch City Council had also played its part in making it possible for the station to be established. Several garages in outlying areas would for a period, retain the right to issue warrants, he said. He had been pleased to see that the United States had enacted legislation to stipulate safety standards for cars Mr McAlpine said. This regulation would also apply to foreign cars sold in the United States, and thus would affect car-makers the world over. “I am very pleased to see this—when you see as many

wrecks as I do, you realise how important built-in safety features are.” After Mr McAlpine had unlocked the doors of the new station and declared the build ing officially open, the guests inspected the inside of the building and saw the first cars and trucks being tested for their warrants of fitness From now on the new testing station will be open each weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The entrance is at 129 Main South road, and the exit is on to Blenheim road.