ERRING MOTORISTS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 133, 9 June 1930, Page 11

ERRING MOTORISTS

NOT REGISTERED YET

POLICE BECOMING ACTIVE

Those motorists (and it is estimated that in Wellington alone there are about throe thousand) who have so far neglected -to re-register their vehicles for the current year, are due to be brought up to scratch in the near future, as the police propose taking action against them. Already a largesheaf of informations has been issued charging motorists with failing to license thedr cars, and a number of these ar-e to bo dealt with in the Magistrate's Court to-morrow afternoon. A large number of other summonses are about to bo served, so that the neglectful motorists will bo well and profitably advised to spend a few minutes in filling in the necessary particulars and obtaining their new number plates.

Apart froim the statutory obligation, which, if it be ignored, will, surely lighten the erring motorist's pocket, there is an aspect of the offence of failing to -re-register that is not generally realised, although it affects every person in the community. • Unless the car is registered it is not insured so far as the compulsory third party policy is concerned, as it is now necessary to take ouj tlio third party cover at the time of pairing the annual licence fee. Henc-e, there arc about three thousand cars being used in Wellington which arc unlicensed and yet may be the cause of a serious accident or death; and if one of these cars was involved in an accident an innocent third party might be imlueky when it came to claiming daJOiages from the owner of the unlicensed car.

All motor vehicles should have been registered by Ist June; but in Wellington there were considerably over three thousand which did not have the new number plates. Tho police are now about to do their share to make the motorist rectify tho omission, and doubtless tho officials in charge of the registration office will in the next few days be kept busy dealing with a belated rush. The thought that for every day tho car is unlicensed the owner is HaMo to a fine not exceeding £20 is, after all, not a very pleasant one.