FITNESS WARRANTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 30, 4 August 1943, Page 3

FITNESS WARRANTS

PLEA FOR ANNUAL ISSUE

A plea for warrants of fitness to be issued annually instead of twice a year was made in the House of Representatives yesterday by Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (Independent, Riccarton) when the estimates of the Transport Department were under consideration. -Mr. Kyle said that the petrol and tyre restrictions were so severe that motorists got little running out of the vehicles, and it was putting owners to inconvenience to ask them to obtain fresh certificates of fitness every six months.

The Minister of Works (Mr. Semple), who was formerly Minister of Transport, said he had been responsible for rules concerning tha inspection of vehicles. The first inspections made disclosed a shocking state of affairs, and to revert to the position that then existed would increase the death-roll on the roads. Private motor-cars were limited today in respect to mileage and some relaxation in respect to warrants of fitness might be worth consideration, but not as far as trucks or taxicabs were concerned. If consideration were extended to private cars it would have to be understood that it would only apply to the "war period. Trucks and taxicabs should, be constantly inspected. Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (National, Waitomo) said that if private cars were being used to such a limited extent as revealed by the Minister then the licensing fees should be reduced accordingly. The Minister of Transport (Mr. O'Brien) said he had been advised that it was still essential to have vehicles inspected once every six months. This was especially the case where trucks and taxicabs were concerned. Some case could be made out for private cars that only used one or two gallons of petrol a month, but there would be difficulties in the. way. of checking up on the'cars' to see. which ones should be examined annually and which should undergo the usual half-yearly test.