MOTORS AND SAFETY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19503, 6 December 1926, Page 14

MOTORS AND SAFETY.

MINIMISING ACCIDENTS. RECOMMENDATIONS IN SOUTH. WIDE RANGE OF SUGGESTIONS. [bi* telegraph.—press association.] OAMARU, Saturday. The quarterly meeting of delegates of the South Island Motor Union was held at Oamaru. Mr. A. E. Ansell, the chairman, said the executive had decided to got proposals from various associations to suggest methods of minimising accidents. In compliance with this tho Otago Motor Club forwarded the following recommendations: That the importation of left hand drive motor vehicles ibe prohibited; that each motor vehicle be compelled to have a mirror affixed in such a position that it will show traffic approaching from the rear; that it bo made compulsory for all motor-car owners to have a third-party insurance cover; that motor drivers' licences be standardised, and that tests by duly qualified inspectors bo carried out; that governing bodies, such as borough councils, be asked to make their by-laws as uniform as far as possible throughout the Dominion. That motor inspectors periodically inspect all motor-cars, especially as to the efficiency of brakes and steering gear; that lights on stationary cars be dimmed; that all town and city councils see that pedestrians keep to tho footpaths in busy streets except at intersections; that street crossings for pedestrians bo defined by lines of different colour to motor traffic; that all motor-buses and lorries be open on the drivers' right, or that sound catching devices be attached; that all cyclists should have ruby reflectors.. Report to be Obtained. It was resolved to forward these suggestions to tho executive for a comprehensive report. Tho Nelson Automobile Association forwarded the following suggestions:—(l) That the South Island Motor Union should make an emphatic protest against continued delay in issuing tho promised motor regulations. Wo feel thai) when these regulations are available local bodies will be able to frame their own by-laws, and that until these are issued a great many matters which might be considered are automatically held up; (2) that the South Island Motor Union reaffirm the principle of giving way to traffic on the right. Theso recommendations were approved. Tho Southland Association recommended: —"That the South Island Motor Union strongly disapproves of the practice of the Motor Association countenancing road speeding." The remit was endorsed. Danger from Headlights. A motion "that tho maximum penalty for stealing cars should be £SO or six months' imprisonment" was carried. One of the proposals sent forward by ' the Otago Motor Club recommended that persons in charge of or driving motor vehicles while under tho influence of liquor should have their licences cancelled for a minimum term of three years. Only seven voted for the motion. The chairman read a telegram from Mr. F. W. Johnston (Christchurch), a member of tho executive, who suggested that the union again discountenance dimning, and' recommend' the relentless prosecution of drivers using naked headlights of faulty anti-dazzle lenses. The motion met with the approval of the delegates. A suggestion from the Nelson delegate "that the union executive consider the proper focussing of headlights,", wafs also adopted.