Get Your Warrants of Fitness

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 145, 22 June 1939, Page 6

Get Your Warrants of Fitness

Prosecution for Failure to Produce COURT DISCUSSES ANOMALIES Per Tress Association. AUCKLAND, June 21. Motorists in Auckland are in future going to be prosecuted by the police if they are found without warrants of fitness in their vehicles. A warning to this effect was issued by Senior-i Sergeant Calwell in the Magistrate’s Court. The existing system of issuing warrants' of fitness with no specific dale for their renewal was criticised by Mr. I. J. Goldstine. Senior-Sergeant Calwell said he desired to impress upon the public the necessity for warrants of fitness to be carried in vehicles. In many instances of collisions or "where vehicles had been stopped for minor breaches of regulations there had been no warrant of fitness in the vehicle. This applied to two thirds of the cases that came before the notice of the police who in tho past had been put to a tremendous amount of work in ascertaining whether there was a current warrant of fitness for the vehicle in existence. In future unless there was good reason the police would without makiDg an investigation prosecute drivers if they did not have a warrant of fitness in their vehicle*. This was clearly required by the regulations. The Magistrate (Mr. Morling) later asked whether Senior-Sergeant Calwell had any suggestion to make about periodical dates for the renewal of warrants. The senior-sergeant said the difficulty was caused by the fact that there was no specific date fixed for the renewal of warrants. The trouble was that if the warrants all became due on the same day garages would not be able to cope with the renewals. That was one reason no doubt why the regulations did sot provide for this. Mr, Goldstine said he had listened to Senior-Sergeant Cal wall’s homily and he would like to add to the remarks already made. Week after week, counsel stated, charges of this type were laid against motorists by the police. It must have become apparent to the Court that respectable and lawabiding citizens were being brought before the Court charged with this offence. There must be something wrong with the actual regulations. The public had regulations that provided for cars to be relieensed on May 31, counsel continued. The public knew that date. It was a specific one. Notice was also given through the press. The same thing applied to drivers’ licenses, wireless licenses and to taxation. Tho public was able to comply with these reminders. Mr. Goldstine said it was all very well to say that peoplo should remember the date but they found respectable businessmen who kept records overlooking it. For any person such as a labourer who did not keep office records it was very difficult to remember renewals. Counsel suggested that the matter should be brought before the authorities by the Courts which had to deal with these offences. If it was brought to the notice of the Minister or the Commissioner of Transport there was no doubt something would be done to rectify the matter.

Mr. Goldstine further suggested that the regulations should be altered so that before a vehicle could be relicensed a warrant of fitness would have to be produced aud the warrant renewed six months thereafter. There would then be a specific date of which notice would be given. The Magistrate said he was pleased to hear the remarks made by tho seiuorsergeant and Mr. Goldstine which would bring the regulations under review. It was not because of any deliberate desire to avoid the regulations that offences were committed but because people forgot. It was expecting too much of people to remember exactly the date on which they were to renew their warrants of fitness. They could make a note on the windscreens of their vehicles but this was not completely satisfactory. Mr. Morling suggested that the question might bo brought before the Automobile Association (Auckland). In the meantime the law would have to be obeyed and an orthodox fine of 10s would have to be imposed.