POLICE TRAPS FOR MOTORS

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 179, 17 April 1923, Page 6

POLICE TRAPS FOR MOTORS

AUTOMOBILE CLUB WANTS OFFENDERS STOPPED

Police traps from the motorists’ point of view were discussed by the; committee of the Wellington Automobile Club at its monthly meeting yesterday. For sometime past ' the club has stationed officials to check the times of passing cars in Petone and Lower Hutt on race days in coniunefion with the borough inspectors. The secretary's action in having a check made in Petone on the race days last week, was approved, but some questions arose as to whether this check was now necessary. Several members expressed the opinions that the wholesale laying of informations for exceeding the speed limit had b£en abandoned by the local authorities, and it was finally resolved not a have a check made on the next race days, and compare the number of prosecutions. On the question of police traps generally it" was decided to send a remit to the New Zealand Automobile Union urging that an endeavour be made to have a clause inserted in the Government’s Motor Bill, providing that when a speed trap is set on a road all persons whom it is intended to prosecute must be stopped at the time and informed of their offence. It was contended that the practice adopted around Wellington, where offenders are not stopped and only their car numbers taken for issue of summonses. gives the drivers no chance of securing evidence should they hold that they have been wrongly charged, and does not result in poi'eons travvelling at a dangerous speed being stopped on the spot and the nuisance ended there and then.