MOTOR REGISTRATION

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 201, 24 May 1939, Page 11

MOTOR REGISTRATION

Annual Payment Now In Progress USUAL END-OF-MONTH RUSH EXPECTED Wellington motor-vehicle owners who have not already paid their annual registration fees and renewed their driving licences for tb e ensuing year will be making their way to the Town Hall Concert Chamber during the next few days, unless they wish to be delayed by the last-minute rush at the end of the month. Full staffs, from the Post and Telegraph Department on the one side of the auditorium and from the city council on the other side, are now installed in the chamber, where steady business was reported throughout yesterday. “These are the wise people,” said Mr. H. E. Nicholls, representing the traffic department. “They are now able to get through the necessary work without delay, but I expect that toward the end of the week the crowds will thicken up. Delay can scarcely be avoided when there are half-a-dozen car-owners to every clerk. Our busy time this week will probably be on Friday evening, when we will keep open till 8 o’clock, and on Saturday, when the office will be open from 9 a.m. till noon. The office will remain here till and including June 1.” Attention was drawn to the new counter fittings which have been provided for the traffic staff this year. One long counter, divided into seven compartments, has been built of rimu and threeply, and glistening in a double coat of varnish, looks very well, compared with the rather dingy fittings hitherto used. The Traffic Department has taken advantage of the annual “rally” to the Concert Chamber to display on the extenior of tbe gallery balustrade a very striking assortment of “safety-first” posters. These draw the attention of the car-owner to his responsibilities and also remind him, incidentally, that the insurance rates have gone up with a bound. The registration fee and the charge for a driver’s licence are precisely the same as last year, but, in view of the heavy demands which have been made on insurance companies through claims for damage done by and to motorvehicles during the past year, the charge for coverage (third-party risk) has been increased for most classes fairly substantially. The following table indicates the increase in the insurance rates on motor-vehicles in general use, and the total charges for registration, insurance and number plates:—

lu addition to the above there is the 5/- fee for a driver’s licence.

Insurance Total Increase. Char w. £ s. d. £ (1. Private cars .. ..060 3 8 0 ■Business cars . .. 0 5 0 4 15 0 Taxis .. 2 10 0 12 2 0 Trucks ..080 4 6 0