Speed “licence” criticised

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32461, 23 November 1970, Page 16

Speed “licence” criticised

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, Nov. 22. Concern that Parliament might see fit to go so far as to give drivers a moral 1 right to speed was expressed by a former Senior Magistrate of New Zealand, Mr F. McCarthy, yesterday.

He was supported in his view, given at a seminar of Auckland Justices of the Peace at Auckland University, by the present Senior Magistrate in Auckland, Mr J. R. Drummond, S.M. Mr McCarthy, now a law lecturer at Auckland University, said that if passed the

Transport Amendment Bill would entitle a driver to travel at 80 miles an hour on motorways without committing an offence of which he could be convicted. The bill proposes that where a speed limit of less than 55 miles an hour is exceeded by no more than 15 miles an hour or a limit of 55 miles an hour or above is exceeded by no more than 20 miles an hour, the case be treated as an infringement, punishable by on-the-spot fines under an automatic system.

Yet 99.9 per cent of drivers on New Zealand roads were not competent to drive at 80 miles an hour, he said. “It is morally giving them a licence to speed. I am concerned that Parliament saw fit to go that far.” Mr McCarthy said he was not concerned about where the revenue from the proposed fine system went but he was concerned that careful drivers, observing speed limits and minding their own business, might be killed by speedsters.

Mr Drummond said speeding was truly an offence and should be dealt with in a court of law. He said Auckland magistrates had emphasised this point. “Speeding, in our view, is an offence against public safety and should be dealt with as such.” One aspect of the instant ' fine system was that it ■ avoided a conviction but the : value of having no conviction

was a moot point, he said. Speeding was in a different category altogether from parking offences and a conviction might have deterrent value.