MOTORING MATTERS

Evening Star, Issue 21836, 27 September 1934, Page 2

MOTORING MATTERS

ANNUAL MEETING OF CLUB DECISION TO ADOPT NEW NAME Matters of general interest, to motorists were dealt with by several speakr ers at the twenty-second annual meeting of the Otago Motor Club last night, and a decision was reached that, in keeping with a world-wide movement, the club would in future be known as the Automobile Association (Otago) Incorporated. The president (Mr P. W. Breen) presided over a large attendance of members. TOLL OF THE ROAD. The toll of the road was a mattoi that should interest everyone, said the Chairman, in moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet, and he wished to appeal to all motorists to take a little more notice of the number of accidents now taking place During the Great War three and aquarter million men had been killed, 'this was a largo number, but the total of those killed by accident since the end of the war was mounting. In Great Britain it was found that the average number of casualties in one week was 157, and in the last sixteen years of peace the total bad passed the four million mark. The proportion of fatalities on the road in New Zealand was nearly as largo us that in England. The club had been trying to educate the younger people to exercise care on the road with a view to minimising the number of accidents that occurred. ’How often did one hear of a dog being run over? Not very often, for a dog’s instinct warned him of danger, and he took care when amongst traffic. The Motor Association had been spending money in an endeavour to educate school children to develop the same instinct, and many kiddies would now exercise considerable care when crossing the road. Records showed that of every fifty people killed in England forty-three were pedestrians, and while the pedestrian was not always to blame when an accident occurred,* he should take better steps than ho did to look after himself. Cyclists were, to an extent involved in accidents, and they, too, should take special precautions to avoid accidents. They should paint the rear mudguards of their machines with white paint, which would enable the motorist to more easily pick out the cycle in front. There was a big scheme sponsored by Big Brother Bill, of 4YA. whereby the school children would be warned of the danger of careless travel on the roads. Another point he wished to emphasise was the necessity of reducing the noise made by motorists, especially at night. Good drivers, he considered, did not need to lean on the horn button. They could go right through the town without touching the button by driving carefully and at a reduced speed. It was unnecessary to drive up to a corner at twenty-five miles an hour, blast the horn, and expect to get through without mishap. The good driver did not blast his horn all day and all night, hut was considerate enough not to use it any more than he could possibly help. (Applause.) In connection with the club s dealings with the City Council, he stated that the council bad always met the members very courteously, and matters bad been discussed very harmoniously. He then referred to the difficulty experienced by all motorists coming down Pitt street, and not having a clear view of Frederick street, and expressed the hope that the council would shift the car stop back a matter of a few yards in the interests of all traffic. He covered several improvements the council had made at various points, thus giving consideration to the motorists. At this stage he welcomed representatives of the Highways Board and the Public Works Department to the meeting, and touched upon the improvements these bodies had effected. The club was interested in their work, as it was in the affairs of the Co-ordi-nation Board. WORK OF COMMITTEES. Mr F. J. Williams seconded the motion, and said that he trusted the information contained in the report woidd show members how the club was working steadily in their interests. As chairman of the Legislation Committee, he said that the committee was a very important one, its duty being to watch all'legislation passed and all taxation. Matters |iertainiug to taxation were considered by the committee, which transmitted its opinions to the executive.

The Chairman of the Social Committee (.Mr K W. S. H. Watts) said that the year had been an easy one for the committee. Probably the most contentious matter was the alteration made to the dub rooms in the form of new offices for the staff. The orphans’ outing had again been successful, and he wished to thank all those who had placed their cars at the disposal of the committee for the transporting of the orphans. t The Treasurer (Mr H. H. Henderson) said that the subscriptions this year were slightly in advance of those of previous years, although the membership of the club represented only a fraction of the motorists in Otago. It behoved every motorist to become a member. About £lO a week was spent in keeping the motor patrol going, but in the future the expenditure for road services would be less, and a greater number of motorists would receive benefits. The year finished with a balance of £59, while the club had assets valued at some £3,000. .Mr H. 8. Held, chairman of the Patrol Committee, said that it had been felt fo r some time that a lot of money was being expended on the patrol for the service given. The patrols were always to he found at district shows, where their services wore sometimes required. However, the new road service scheme would do away with the patrols, and if a car broke down anywhere in the district the driver would only need to get in touch with the nearest garage to receive service. This service would not be given iu towns or boroughs, where it was not difficult to find a garage. The club had arranged with forty-two garages in Otago to do the servicing work, and it was hoped that the expense to the club would not be so heavy as it had been in the past. A reciprocal arrangement with all other clubs in the South Island was being made, and probably arrangements would be made with the North Island also. Motor cyclist members who paid the full subscription of £1 Is would receive the benefit of the full service, while those paying only 10s 6d would receive only half the service. It was felt that no service could be given to cyclists paying only ss. He added that only financial members would receive the service. A booklet outlining the whole scheme was now being prepared. The Signs Committee had had a very busy year, said ( lie oha inn an (Mr G. T. Thorn), the whole of the sign ’posts in the Otago district being reviewed. In addition to the cost of £IOO on a scheme now under consideration, £247 had been spent on the signs. The new signs wore very effective, and motorists had made \cry favourable comment of the work of the committee.

Mr J. L. Passmore, chairman of the Membership Committee, said that there had been a slight increase in the number of members, compared with previous years, but not so great ns he would have liked to see. The school patrol system had been an undoubted success, and there had not been any accidents at the schools where this was practised. The system started in Dunedin, and bad now; spread throughout New Zealand, while it was reported that Victoria had adopted it. Through the courtesy of the Broadcasting Board there were to be talks to children on ‘ Safety First.’ The scheme arranged provided for the electing of captains at each school, it being their duty to get ten followers each to listen-in to the talks. These would be members of the Safety First Brigade, and they would be entertained once a year. This scheme would be a big advance in the safety first camjiaigu. Speaking of the need of pedestrians giving some indication of their presence on country roads, he suggested that in this loutitry the people should be asked to <ie a white handkerchief round their necks or to carry one in their hands. In America, he had discovered, it was necessary to carry either a white handkerchief or a rod light on country roads, and if a person without either were knocked down he ivoukl have no claim on the motorist. The Chairman of the Sports Committee (Mr W. J. MTnnes) spoke of the sporting activities of the chib, and urged as many as possible to enter for the coming reliability trials. On behalf of the Camp Committee, Mr P. W. Curtis, chairman, said that the, camp at Tahuna Park was giving excellent service, and the records showed that visitors appreciated what the club was doing for them. The committee had in view an area of ground adjoining the park, and it was hoped that use would be made of this in time. He paid a tribute to the camp caretaker (Mr J. H. Sutton), who was a most efficient and competent official. PERSONAL INSURANCE. A member stated that for three years he had paid his insurance premiums, but had discovered that he was not insured because he was over sixty-five years of age. Did members know that they were not insured if they were over that age? he asked. .The Chairman explained that the position was that the Underwriters’ Association would not take out policies on drivers of that age—they would not accept the risk. The member’s car was insured, and also the third party risk was covered. STOPPING ON MAIN STREETS. The Chairman of the General Committee of the City Council (CT J. L. M'lndoe) congratulated the club on what it had accomplished during the year. He also spoke of the advisability of cyclists’ rear mudguards being painted white. There was a need for persons crossing the streets in town to exercise care, and he hoped that before long the council would define places where people should cross by drawing white lines. Ho impressed upon motorists the necessity of making as little noise as possible, especially in the vicinity of the hospital. The speaker referred to the number of cars left in George and Princes streets on Saturday mornings. They were narrow streets, and passing traffic often experienced some difficulty in proceeding along these streets, while shopkeepers were sometimes greatly inconvenienced by having ears standing outside their premises. He would urge that if members of the club found it absolutely necessary to stop their cars they should do so in side streets, and keep the main streets clear. If the practice of stopping on the main street continued to cause a nuisance the council would be forced to take action. PETROL TAX ALLOCATION. The Chairman of the Works Committee of the council (Cr J. J- Marlow) said he wished to compliment the executive on the very courteous manner in which it had always approached his committee. Apart from the rates, a lair amount of money was received from the petrol tax, and when that was to be spent on the main highways it must be done in such a manner as to benefit the motorists. His committee was always ready to consider all reasonable requests from the club. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Members appreciated all the City Council had done for the club, said the Chairman, particularly the removal of the large “ pimples ” from the street corners. Regarding the stopping of cars on the main streets, lie said that if members did park there on Saturday mornings they wore deserving of no consideration at all. Mr Thorn said that motorists should park as close to the kerb as possible, and not some 2ft away from it. thus obstructing the traffic. Forty-seven new members were elected. OFFICE-BEARERS. The following office-bearers were elected- —Patron, Sir James Allen;, president Mr F. J. Williams; vice-presi-dents, Messrs E. W. G. H. Watts and E. J. Anderson; treasurer, Mr J. L. Passmore; committee Messrs A. J. Allen, C. H, Bingham, W. H. Brent, A. j! Campbell, W. Hudson, H. L. Sprosen, C. \V. Sundstrum, G. T. Thorn, T. Y. Turner; auditors, Messrs W T . B. Brown and Co. CHANGE OF NAME. Mr Breen said, in connection with the suggestion to change the name of the club, that some might" object for sentimental reasons, but the suggestion was made in uniformity with a worldwide scheme whereby all clubs should he known as automobile associations. Everyone would know what the initials A.A.' stood for, and the committee had unanimously agreed that the name should be changed to come into line with the world policy. It would bo n progressive move if the club did so. He "moved that the name of the cl ub be changed to Automobile Association (Otago) Incorporated. The motion was carried. SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR COUNTRY MEMBERS. Mr A. 0. Davies moved that as from August 31, 1935, the subscription payable’by members who resided more than twenty miles from the G.P.0., Dunedin, and did not own a motor car lie 10s fid, reducible to 10s on payment within three calendar months of the due date. The motion was carried. IMPROVING THE ROADS. Mr G. A. Albertson, engineer of the Main Highways Board, said that lie had met most of the associations in New Zealand, and they had been very helpful to him in his work. However, it waS not always possible to make the improvements they suggested, and it thev paused for a moment they would see* that those matters that were important to them must be important to the engineer, who would not “ let the grass grow under his feet ’ if he saw a chance "f attending to them. The funds of the board for this'year had iieon increased by well over £500,000, but the difficulty confronting the board was to sort out Hie works most in need of attention, end to make a start ns soon as possible in the season.; [This

year the board was some two or three months ahead of time with its work. Motorists generally would see a big difference in the roads in the coming year. He had heard a lot of complaint about, the Kilning Hill, and had gone out there that day to see what all the fuss was about. He saw the road under its worst conditions, and had formed the opinion then that it was probably 1 per cent, defective. A big difficulty faced an engineer when he laid down a bituminous surface, and ho could easily miss the thickness of the material necessary when taking his soundings. Otago had some very bad roads, he admitted, but it was a wonder that the Kilmog was not worse than it really was. The board had a check on defective bridges in New Zealand, these numbering some 500. One hundred and eighty-five were cn the programme for this year, these being m addition to those already in hand. The South Island was getting a big share of dustless roads.

PICTON TO BLUFF HIGHWAY. “ Vvc are making every effort to ensure that Otago gets a fair share cf the extra funds available this year, said the district Public Works engineer (Mr I'. M. Ball). He went on to say that the department was advancing with the times, and it was hoped to improve the surfaces of the roads by mechanical aid. The rough topography of the ground outside Dunedin had been overcome, and with the extra money at the department’s disposal he hoped it would not be long before there was a main highway with a dustless surface from Picton to Bluff. Bridges were to ho widened. He mentioned some of the work already under way, including the Bnlclutha bridge, which was to be opened in March.

DIRECT ROUTE TO WEST COAST. The Chairman said that the Otago Expansion League had been very helpful to the club, and in many ways the aims of both organisations were the same.

After returning thanks for assistance received from the club, the chairman of the league (Mr Marlow) stated that the league’s greatest aim was to open up a direct route to the West Coast. On all the occasions when the league had approached the Government to open the Haast Pass road the club had been behind it. The opening of the road would mean big opportunities for the transportation of stock, products, and timber, and it would be an immense improvement for Otago and for New Zealand. He thanked the club for its help in an endeavour to improve the province. “ We are still hopeful that with the change of tide and the return of prosperity we will be able to do something for the province,” said the secretary of the league (Mr W. B. Steel). The league had a mutual interest with the club in matters of transport, and tourist traffic was certainly a greater asset than industries. In the attractions of •the province there was something to sell to the traveller; it could be sold to-day, and it was still there to be sold to-morrow. He hoped yet to see a mighty inrush of tourists to see a land of so many scenic attractions.

A comprehensive vote of thanks closed the meeting. During the evening songs were rendered by Messrs A. M‘Donald and .1. T. Leech, Mr P- Oliver being the accompanist.