A MOTORING CAUSERIE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19031, 30 May 1925, Page 12 (Supplement)

A MOTORING CAUSERIE.

[ny oi,'rt nniTisii correspondent.] Easter and Alter. For the third year in succession British motorists have enjoyed delightful weather for their Easter holidays, and in consequence the roads have carried heavj traffic. Those who kept to the main roads have been saving sumo scathing things about the plethora of had drivers and over-fast speed merchants, and not without some cause, as the record of accidents reveals. The toll of the road has been heavy, and public opinion is just a bit stirred in consequence. My own opinion is that, a good deal of the last driving ot "cuttingin" is due to the fact that in England there is a great variety in type among the vehicles on the road and considerable difference in speed. '1 litis, when the way is narrow, traffic banks up behind, perhaps, a slow-going h.p. motor-cycle combination. There follows, in consequence, many attempts by the impeded motorists to jump ahead whenever a shadow of a chance arises. I nless the judgment is good, narrow shaves result, and accidents. For myself, I have aban- | doned the crowded roads at such seasons as these, and, with the aid of large-scale ! maps, thread my unchecked way along i the most, delightful of by-roads, of which j England possesses some JOO.UCO miles, j Hut, taken all round, it has been a | wonderful Easter, and everyone is the ! better for the change of scene and for the I delights which the car alone makes posl sible. It is good to be in England now j that -April's" here-especially with the j Daylight Saving Act in force, and an | extra hour available each evening wherein I to motor without lights. The Perfect Day. This. 0 ! my hat ! is bliss. This is the sort of day 1 wouldn't miss I For gold | Untold. i Let come what may—- | Rain, hail or snowLet boreal breezes blow j Until they burst, i 1 still would have you know j That I have lived through hours sublime, I And though our climate yet may do its i worst, (lee! I have had some time. For I have been in sunny Sussex When the wind was in the south, I And joyous Spring, ! That gay young tiling, j Has kissed me squarely on the mouth. I And we have sat together, hand in hand, On banks thick-starred with golden celandine. And heard sweet mating songs from budding trees, And watched the clouds go by White as the drifts of wood anemones; Seen the ground ivy's wondrous blue Peep through the emerald grass, J And watched the wakened dryads pass — A somewhat lightly clad but joyous crew— And heard the distant yaffle's ringing laugh, And . . . well, do you Think I enjoyed myself? Oh! no! not half. (C.E.8.; in the London Evening News.) Eationed Buses. A drastic new order restricting the number of omnibuses plying in nearly every street in the metropolitan area where tramcars also run has been issued by the i Ministry of Transport. This order is a step j in the campaign to cure the traffic chaos in the London streets which is being carried out by the London Traffic Committee. The regulation lays it down that no further omnibuses—above the number running to-day—will be permitted in aiiy of a long list of scheduled streets, all of which contain tramway tracks. There hangs a long tale on this announcement. In fact the London Traffic Committee came into existence primarily to cure the tram-bus overlap, and prevent the "pirate," or non-combine, buses from cutting out the combine trams, which are owned by tlio same interests as run the tubes and "general" buses. Undoubtedly, the action of the committee in intervening and checking the cut-throat competition on the tram routes is all to the good, so long as the balance is held fairly between the combine and the small ileet owners. The public owes a debt to the latter who, by their enterprise, have stimulated the tram-bus-tube combine to improve and cheapen service. The London Traffic Committee is, virtually, a State institution, and is, therefore, competent to legislate in affairs which a local body could not handle effectively. Thus for a municipality that owns trams to suppress bus competition by by-law is bad, but not so for a central authority. New Zealand, one notices, leaves far too much power of regulation of motor vehicles to local bodies, and might well, in this matter, consider the advisability of adopting the plan that has worked so well in Britain. The essence of British motor regulation is that local bodies (generally speaking) cannot secure local restrictions without sanction from Whitehall. The result has been uniformity, and an absence of local rules beyond the comprehension of strangers. Irish Free State. The Government of the Irish Free State have notified their adherence to the International Convention of relating to the circulation of motors. This technical announcement means that , wheieas up to now anvone holding British registration could circulate in the Free State without being called upon to take out licences, and vice versa, a formal International Travelling Pass will now be necesTourists may obtain this document, which is valid for the greater part ot Europe, from the Automobile Association r,r It \ C The present uitervahdity between Great Britain and Northern irelanf will continue. _