TRANSPORT ACT

Hokitika Guardian, 18 August 1933, Page 8

TRANSPORT ACT

A MOTORIST'S OPINION

SPEED LIMIT CRITICISED

AUCKLAND, August 17

“When the Department of Transport was established one section of motorists regarded it as ‘just another department’ in our Gilbert and Sullivan departmental system,” says the. annual report of the president of the North Island Motor Union, Mr W. A. O’Callaghan presented to the conference today. Others were inclined to suspect that one of the primary objects of the new department would be to bolster up the railways at the expense of all road users, and recent events lead me to the conclusion that this suspicion was not at all unjustified. The fact remains that the Transport Department has placed the commercial road user to.a very heavy expense in protecting what used to be regarded as a constitutional right to run our own business in our own way provided that it, by its nature, came within the four corners of the law. It seems clear however, that while the operations of the Transport Department may not have been without compensations to oounsel engaged to protect as far as possible the rights of commercial road users, its principal achievement to date is* to benefit the’ xtailway Department at the expense of all road users. ‘‘lt is fitting that I should refer to the 40 miles an hour speed limit immediately after commenting on the activities of the Transport Department, because , the imposition of this speed limit, as far as we are able to ascertain, originated with the Transport Department. We have stated that the local authorities did not ask fer it, the police did not ask for it, and the Main, Highways did not ask for it, and we certainly did not ask for it, and our assertions have not been contradicted. Speed limits were abolished in England last year, but our Transport Department is now attempting to “modernise” New Zealand road transport by adopting speed limits regarded in England as being antiquated. Strenuous opposition to this 40 miles an hour speed limit was offered by this Union and the South Island Motor Union with the result that it is not to be applied to surfaced' roads, but it does apply to all metalled roads excepting, those specially exempted. The principal argument advanced by . the advocates of the speed limit was that if , the average speed in the country were’'redu.tedj'-.the cost of maintenance of roads would automatically He re-, i duced. The, advocates of this “Heath ißobinson”'idea are content’to close thejr eyes to the.obvious fact that to bring about a i saving of. this kind, 100 per cent enforcement of the law .would be necessarv. As this is out of the' question oiir Legislature has been induced to add just one more useless regulation to the agglomeration of ill-considered matters that Passes for legislation in this .country.”