MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 October 1939, Page 5

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

TO-DAY’S GREYMOUTH CASES. Mr. G. G. Chisholm, S.M., presided at to-day’s sitting of the Magistrate’s Court at Greymouth. Senior-Sergeant G. Bonisch represented the police. For riding a bicycle at night without a light, John Neil Mundy was fined 10/-, with 10/- costs. Charles Fisher, Walter Henry Blunt, and Herbert Vincent Mathias were each fined 10/-, with 12/- costs, for allowing stock to wander on the Grey-mouth-Westp.ort coast road. On a similar charge, Ann Caroline McLagan was fined 5/-, with 12/- costs. For allowing stock to wander at Camerons, Frederick William Russ was fined 10/-, with 12/- costs. Clifford Gilbert. Smith, for riding a motor-cycle, not being the holder of a motor-vehicle driver’s license, was fined 10/-, with 10/- costs. Thomas McKenzie, for having no driver’s license, was fined 10/-, with 12/- costs. For riding an unlicensed motor-cycle, defendant was fined 10/-, with 10/- costs, and for affixing false number-plates to the cycle he was fined 30/-, with 10/- costs. Leslie Rhodes pleaded guilty to a charge of exceeding the speed limit in the Brunnerton restricted area.

The Grey County Traffic Inspector (Mr. A. E. Sloss) said that he followed defendant, for about three-quarters of a mile in the 30 m.p.h. area, and checked his speed at 50 m.p.h. When stopped, defendant said ho had no idea that he was travelling at such a pace.

Defendant said that he had no idea that he was travelling at the pace stated. He had not noticed the sign indicating that it was a restricted area. Defendant was fined £l. with 10/costs.

Pleading guilty to all the charges, Wallace Bruce was fined 10/-, with 10/- costs, for riding a motor-cycle without being the holder of a, driver’s license; £l, with 10/- costs, for riding an unlicensed motor-cycle, and 10/-, with 10/- costs, for having no warrant of fitness.

Arthur Johns was fined 10/-, with 12/- costs, for driving a motor-cycle without being the holder of a driver’s license.

Pleading guilty to charges of (1) having no vehicle authority and (2) carrying on a goods service otherwise than in conformity with the terms of his license, Isaac Kitchen was fined 10/-. with 10/- costs on each charge. James Barren pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving a motor-car without due care and attention.

Traffic Inspector Sloss said that he was returning to Greymouth, on the Reefton-Greymouth highway, and when near Nelson Creek he was following two lorries and defendant, who pulled out and passed the lorries on an S bend.

Defendant said that he could see the whole of the road about seven chains ahead. He had not intended to pass the first lorry, but it pulled over to let him pass. He had the car in second gear and under perfect control. The S.M. said that lie found it hard to visualise the position. There was a conflict of evidence, and he was not so convinced that he thought it safe to convict. The information, therefore, would be dismissed. GRESSON STREET COLLISION. Arising out of a collision in Gresson Street, on October 19, James Stanley Langford was charged with driving a motor-car without due care and attention. Defendant, who was represented by Mr. J. W. Hannan, pleaded not guilty. Clifford Deans, a cable jointer employed by the Post and Telegraph Department, said that at 3.30 p.m. on October 19. he was driving a lorry out of the yard in Gresson Street, through a gap in a rake of trucks on a line parallel with the street. As he did so. he saw defendant approaching from the right, about 40 feet away. He (witness) stopped immediately, but defendant continued straight on and collided with him. He estimated defendant’s speed at 25 m.p.h. To Mr. Hannan: My car was 10 feet 6 inches from the railway line when the collision occurred.

Constable R. B. Wooding gave evidence regarding the positions of the vehicles after the accident. To Mr. Hannan: Unless one knew the locality one would not think there was a road coming in from the left. Defendant said he was proceeding 11 feet out from the line of trucks, and had no idea that there was a road leading .from the left, the trucks being high-sided steel trucks. He was the length of one truck away when he saw the lorry coining out, and the collision occurred almost immediately. He had no time to do anything to avoid the accident. His speed would be about 20 miles per hour. The S.M. said he thought the cause of the accident was the fact that defendant was really travelling too quickly, under the circumstances. There was a fairly wide gap in the trucks and there was no suggestion that the P. and T. lorry was coming out at anything but a very slow pace. There was plenty of room on his right, and if defendant had been travelling at a more reasonable pace he could have swung over. He would be convicted and fined £l, with 10/- costs and 4/witness’s expenses. Douglas Partridge Wilson (Mr. E. P. E. Taylor) pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving in a dangerous manner, on the Greymouth-Westport coastal road.

Transport Department Traffic Inspector D. D. Burdett said that ,at 5 p.m. on September 14 he was sittingin bis car at Barrytown when defendant passed him, proceeding towards Greymouth. His pace was such that he (witness) turned round and pursued him. He caught him up after a mile and followed him for two and ahalf to three miles, during which time his speed was between 40 and 50 m.p.h. on a narrow, winding road. In one case he went round a bend six feet out from the correct side. To Mr. Taylor: The only way he could have slopped defendant was to follow him. He had not. blown his siren for a start, as he wanted a good case. His main allegation against defendant was that he did not slow down sufficiently on blind corners. Defendant said that he was a surveyor employed by Gold Aimes ol New Zealand Ltd., and over the last six years had driven between 5000 and 6000 miles a year on the Barrytown road, without an accident. On the dav in question, bo had always had the car under perfect control, and round rhe bend referred to by the Inspector had followed the ordinary line of traffic, owing to road works on the inside of the road. Tin- S.M. said that, he was not prepared Io convict on the evidence. He thought it was possible that defendant was a fast driver and was taking risks on the .corners, but in the only case where it was alleged ho took the corner on the wrong side, it was becauseof road works. Th® Inspector said

that there was slightly varying distances between the cars, and in those circumstances' it was unsafe to check the speed round corners. Under the circumstances, he- would give defendant the benefit of the doubt, and dismiss the information. Alice Myra. Maloney (Mr. W. Douglas Taylor) pleaded not guilty to committing a breach of her goods service license. Inspector Burdett said that as a result of a complaint received he had interviewed the husband of defendant. The complaint was that he had conveyed dredge buckets from the Dispatch Foundry to the Argo dredge, which was a breach of the license, which did not include the Greymouth-Blackball route. Maloney had admitted carrying the buckets. To Mr. Taylor: Maloney had told witness that he had rung up the secretary of the Transport Association fcr a temporary license, but could not contact him. Mr. Taylor suggested that there was no merit, in the prosecution, as on the day in question Malone?/’ was working for the Argo Company. The dredge had had a. breakdown, and it was necessary to get the buckets urgently. The dredgemaster had asked him to go to Greymouth for the buckets, and owing to- the hurry, Maloney had left his- wife to get the permit. William Michael James Maloney, husband of defendant, gave evidence on the lines of counsel’s statement and produced a letter from the Argo dredgemaster confirming that he had gone" for the buckets tn oblige the dredge company. John McCallum Eadie, secretary of the West C-cast Transport Association, said that permits were not issued by the P. and T. Department unless They were approved try the Association. It was possible that, under the eirenm-l stances. Maloney would have been given a permit, provided that other onerators were not available to do the job. Tc. the Inspector: Another operator ■ complained and I passed the complaint on to you. The S.M. said that it was not a case lof "pirating,” but it was more than a .: technical case. Defendant evidently took it for granted that she had no- ; thing more to do than to ring for a > license but. apparently, there was no • guarantee that she would have got.it, i Defendant would be fined 10/-, with I 10/- costs.