Motoring Notes.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 4693, 14 May 1935, Page 3

Motoring Notes.

GAUGING WIDTH OF CARS. _______ i NECESSITY FOR ACCURACY. "Much needless congestion and danger are caused through the inability of drivers failing to gauge the proper width of their vehicles," says the latest safety first message of the Automobile Association (Canterbury), Inc. .

"This is made very obvious by observing the habits of drivers not only in actual driving but also in the manner in which they park or leave their vehicles in the city streets. "One of the requisites of every safe motor user is a full appreciation of the room which his vehicle will require not only in length but in width, particularly width. Much of our street congestion is attributable to a lack of understanding of width. Motorists leave their cars feet and yards out from the kerbing under the wrong impression that they are close as possible. It is often poor judgment, but sometimes it is sheer carelessness. Neither is an excuse for breaking the by-law which requires all vehicles to be brought to a standstill as close to the kerbing as possible.

"There would not be half the congestion in many thoroughfares if drivers gave a little more thought to the conservation of road space. That applies also to the business of driving, for it is noted that a large proportion of motorists, again through lack of judgment or through carelessness, hug the middle of the roadway when travelling slowly, and force other and faster traffic to cut in and become a danger on the road.

"It is a truth that a driver is entitled only to enough, of the roadway to allow him to advance in safety. He is not entitled as some suppose to half the road. In parking, too, a driver should not use more of the roadway than will permit him to leave his car in safety and without causing inconvenience to others."

PLATE NUMBERS.

SYSTEM OF ALLOCATION

The method of distribution of green and white number plates throughout New Zeaand for the new registration year was announced recently. Plates for private cars commence with plate 601, which will be issued in Christchurch, and run up to 98,800, which is the last Gisborne number. They have no initial letter, but there are 40,400 plates with the letter X before the number and running from XI to X 40,400, for- distribution in Hamilton, Thames and Auckland. Thus, if one sees a car with a green and white plate bearing the letter X one can know that it was licensed in those districts.

Those are the figures allotted to private cars. The plates without initial letters and numbers under 600 are for rental and private hire cars. However, only those numbers up to 320 are allocated in the particulars issued by the Post Office. Dealers' car plates, which bear the initial letter D, run from Dl to DI2OO. Vehicles used for road construction will have plates from El to E 1350. Vehicles owned by the Government will have plates from Govt. 1 to Govt. 1640, and trailer plates from Rl to R 3500. Motor-cycle plates are numbered from 1 to 25,200 and motor cycle dealers' plates from,. Dl to Dl9O. • The plates for buses and other public passenger vehicles which come under the same classification have four different initial letters all distributed throughout New Zealand. These 'are plates PI to P 620, Tl to TI9OO, SI to S9OO and VI to V9OO.

Commercial vehicles will carry plates LI to Y 23,300, and HI to H 16,500, some of both types of plate being allocated to each centre.

THE A.A. BADGES. ONLY ON HIRE. A case of interest to motorists was heard recently in Auckland when a claim by the Automobile Association (Auckland) against a bus driver, George Seon, for damages of £1 for wrongful detention of an Association badge and 10s for roadside service was heard before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M. Counsel for the Association, Mr. Holmden, stated that a member of the Association who resigned sold his metal badge, which was the property of the Association, to defendant. Efforts by the Association to regain the badge or to get defendant to become a member himself were unsuccessful. On a later occasion defendant was given roadside service to a motdr car by.an Association patrol. There was a badge on defendant's car and defendant stated that he was a member of the Association. Counsel added that the badge had now been returned to the Association.

The damages sought were awarded by the magistrate, who remarked that the claims were reasonable.