MOTOR TRAFFIC

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 215, 5 June 1919, Page 6

MOTOR TRAFFIC

PATROL OFFICER APPOINTED

I'■■'.' ANNUAL REGISTRATION I--:';, .-SUGGESTED ' . . '-.'. Gradually the Wellington City Council . Is realising that motor traffic, which is '-: mcroasinfi. in our streota by leaps and bounds, demands more attention than given it in the past. Motoi .:.. control in' Wellington has-been more or less'of a loose end in the Emprie City, . but tha City Council has beon led to fee ■ that the state of things which has existed in the past cannot continuo in the future, and advantage is being taken of existing legislation to take hold of tho trnffio with'a firmer hand, making every ! owner or driver of a car or lorry realise [''. that his is responsible work, which has i its obligations to tho public. Tho coivnI'■■. oil. on.the recommendation of tho motor '■' inspector (Mr. L, S. Drake) recently conI sented to the appointment of Mr. F. W. i ,31'Courtie (a motor expert) ns tho ! connoil's patrol officer, and. attired in a ' neat uniform, Mr, M'Oourtio is already !■'' attending to his now duties. Thoso dn- ! ties are manifold. For examplo'ho will J"; take note of the "spocd-hog," talto the I number of the offending car, and either i; warn the offender personally or take aci tion. : The patrol officer will nlso een [■■ ' that the car and hxi numbers stb right, kx'that taxis plying for biro are fitted for ?.. such '.work, : that'tho sinnd* .173 isft !. clean, and that no prevchtaMft/offrnKs I are committed by car-drivers. The cilra i -supervision will extend to tho city trafI fie generally. At present the City. (Joun- \:'. cil subsidises the Police Department, and !"•' in return pointerae-a are on dnty at \ Winder's Corner, the "Albert" Cwmov I.: ond Stewart Dnwson'e Corner, dircctin? !.'. the traffic, as far as tho right-of-way is ! concerned, but further than that the i police did nothing save in case of an nc-. : cident, Mr. Drake's idea is that every I' police constable in the country should ;■•■ be a traffic inspector, and fciko acticn i where there is legitimate canso tn do .: .'SO.-'' '

The Growth of Motor Traction. The growth of motor traction in the ' etreets of Wellington is marvellous, and ! the importance of adequntoly controlling I the endless swift-nioviug procossion oi ; petrol-driven machines is very apparent, i On that account the- City Council has }' arrived at.- the conclusion that it will | have to re-model its somewhat slipshod !■ methods. The appointment of a patrol • officer was only one step. Another .is v that Mr. Drake ha.s now a very, com- ■ plete card system of the owners, and drivors of all motor-ears, lorries, wagons, ' find cycles. . Not only that,, but in the !' case of, the drivers there ,is a list, giving

■ all particulars of the person, any ! charges which have.been brought against i him, and what the result was, >Q that | there is a complete, record, so far as hiß ■■ , work in Wellington is concerned,.of each ! driver oii the register. There are also kept complete lists of i the cars, lorries, wagons, and cycle*, and i their numbers, in order that any car may ; be identified in case of necessity. It has '• been discovered by the motor inspector this year that the law of correct nuiii- ! • bors is not being strictly adhered to. ; There .was one case in which tlie patrol

officor observed a motor-car travelling at I 'jin excessive rate of speed. Ho had time \. id note the, number, but found on turn- ; ing up tho register that.it was the num- | Tjer of a motor cycle. Another car was ■ discovered bearing the number of • a motor cycle which , had been lying dis- >.. mantled in a repair shop for some eight months. This form of evading tho law , is to bo'checked as far'as possible, and one of the daily duties of the patrol of-. f..;. ficer will be to examine and check car numbers. Again, cars are sold and re- | sold over and over again without any attempt on the part of new owners to ,' . register. For tlie future all new owners "■/ must register themselves as tho owner of the car immediately on taking nossesBion of each car. and those disposing of ■, their cars.should notify the office of the motor inspector, so as to assist in keep- ; ing a cleau register—which is in the , common interest of the community gen-. ! orally. '■

I ; Annual Registration Advocated. I The motor inspector (Mr. Drake) is a, strong supporter of the annual registrn- ! :tion c of all'motor vehicles, on -English lines.. Hero the registration feo is 10s. ; - (laid, down by statute), and it is for all

/time."-At Home the registration fee is j, M, and after,that there is an annual ,; tax' according to the horse-power of the- ; car. The amount raised by such taxai tibn was paid into a Central Uond Board, ;" lvhicli released the money in proportion j. to-tho. amount received from each dis- ! trict to the prcper authorities, solely for ; expenditure on the roads. The result of this was good roads—roads of a land • ' that all the world talked of. The- condition: of the roads leading out of Welling-' t.on/was simply disgraceful, and e* on on business grounds alono it was wonderful that something was not done to improve j them, as it must mean an annual loss of :.: (thousands of pounds from people in the ' country with cars,' who, wero the roads i good, would come to town much more | '. ofteii than they at present dared to do. | . For that reason Mr. Drako advocated an

| . annual registration fee, tho latter to he I used for the improvement and iiiainlenj: once of roads. Were thai approved, his I idea was that the local authority should ! issuo the number plates tq car owners, r end that a different coloured background j could bo used each year, so that the ! police and inspectors could tell at a j glance if a car had been registered that I year. The proposal was that at the end j of each year a car owner would hand in ; liis number-plates and receive new ones i "of the right colour." These were a few ;,:; of the things that were needed for the' ; 'bettor control and regulation of n.otor j .traffic.