RECKLESS SPEEDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19144, 9 October 1925, Page 10

RECKLESS SPEEDING.

MAGISTRATE LAYS COMPLAINT. EYE-WITNESS OF THE CASE. PUBLIC MUST ASSIST POLICE. PLAIN DUTY FOR OWN SAFETY. [»:( TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] BLENHEIM, Thursday. An unusnaj situation was developed in Court this morning whan Mr. T. E. Maunself, 2 S.M., revealed himself as the inf< rmant in a charge of speeding brought against a well-known motorist, ajid incidentally expressed the opinion tliat in view of the prevalence of the speed menace on dangerous roads it was the duty of private citizens to co-operate with the police in bringing reckless motorists to book. The defendant in the case was John Archibald Mclnnes, the touring representative of a Christchurch motor firm, and he pleaded guilty to a charge that on October 6, between Rai Falls and Havel jck, on the Blenheim-Nelson highway, he drove at a speed which in all the circumstances might have been dangerous to the public. In explanation of the offence the do fendant pleaded that he knew the road well, and took no unnecessary risks. Ho said that after driving behind one of the service cars for some miles, and taking all its dust, he blew his horn and passed rt, and then, as a matter of courtesy on the road, kept going at a fast pace so that he would not give the service car more of his dust than he could help. The Magistrate: Ypu were very considerate. Travelling Time Taken. Defendant said he had taken no risks, as he always made a practice of keeping well on his own side of the road, and his car was fitted with hydraulic brakes, which enabled it to be pulled up in a few feet. The magistrate said he supposed one could describe the circumstances of the case as very peculiar, as the prosecution had been instituted on his own instructions. If the defand&ni had pleaded not guilty it would have been necessary to arrange for a justice of the peace to hear the case, and he himself would have had to go into the witness-box. He explained that he had been a passenger ip the service car which the defendant had overtaken near Rai Falls, and the Service car was travelling quite fast enough, ths explanation being that it was late in leaving Nelson, and he supposed the .driver was endeavouring to make up his distance. However, despite the speed at which the service car was travelling, the defendant's car at a certain point on the road passed it at a very rapid speed* and in a few moments was out of r sight, • In view of the pace at which defendant;was travelling he took a note of this time and gave instructions to the driver of the service car to telephone ahead to. the constable at Haveloek to > note the time at which defendant reached Haveloek. This was done. Alarming Craze For Speed. *' It was shown as a result that defend- ' ant had travelled a distance of miles, including number of dangerous corners, at" ap average speed of 34.4 miles an hour," said the magistrate. " This craze for speed is becoming a most alarming thing, and we ar? reading nearly every other day of accidents, and sometimes oi fataliti<ss, directly attributable to speeding. I have Come to the conclusion that the police cannot suppress the menace unaided, and the only remedy I can see is for private citizens to come forward and lodge complaints in cases which coma under their notice. I have travelled a good deal in the service cars between Nelson and Blenheim, and I know something of the road and its dangers. As a matter! of fact, the car in which I was travelling on Tuesday afternoon was within inches of colliding with a motor-lorry, and if the defendant, travelling at the speed he adopted, had met this lorry in similar circumstances I do not see how he could have avoided a collision. The service cars travel fast enough, and I want to say that if I happen to be in one and it is passed by another car, developments are likely to occur." Stating that he had noted what the defendant had said in regard to the brak- * ing ability of his car, the magistrate imposed a fine of £5 and costs, 7s.