A.A.A. ACTIVITIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21086, 21 January 1932, Page 13

A.A.A. ACTIVITIES.

CAMP SUPERVISION. NEW NORTH ISLAND MAP. The touring department of the A. A. A. has experienced a record year during the past season, and in view of the rapidly increasing membership the touring manager has recommended revision and extensions to the already comprehensive literature published by the association. Information concerning hotels was published thin season on lines similar to the English and European lists, but_ up to the present the only guide a motorist has regarding the quality of the hotel is the tariff. In some cases this can be misleading and for 1932-5, it is proposed that hotels shall be classified on the star" system of the English Automobile Association. If this is brought into force, every hotel in the North Island which is hkely to be patronised by motorists will be inspected and will then be classified, firstclass sumptuous houses being listed with five stars, and others ranging down to one star accommodation hordes.

Motor camps are reporte<i as requiring mure supervision and it is proposed that every motor camp in (he Noith Island will he personally inspected, and that the proprietor will be required to sign an agreement as to the facilities and services which will be available and the scale of charges to Ke levied before the association gives its official recognition. On the programme of activities is a completely new map for t.he North Island to contain nvmy new features and all the recent ro&ding improvements. Larjre scale local sketch maps of local districts have in the past proved very popular and during the cominc winter it is proposed to revise the maps of the Rotorua and Taupo districts. Veiv maps of the Waikato, Whangarei. National Park and Gishorne districts WjII most likely he completed. Regulation Booklets.

Booklets containing copies of the regulations have for the past few years been supplied free hy the A.A.A. In order to familiarise raotcu'sts with the requirements of ibe motor regulations, which rmbodv ordinary safety first measures to motor driving, these booklets have not only been issned to members, but also have been supplied in applicants for driving licences through the various traffic inspectors. As amended regulations are expected to be gazetted shortly, authority is bping asked for an issue of a further 50.000 booklets. The safety-first activities are to be continued and a system of delivering lectures to school children is to bp continued. During the winter, the road guides will be revised and brought up to date for nest summer's touring, anj in addition, a completely new set of touring itinerary slips is to be prepared. This will necessitate compiling 750 individual trips, each trip including such features as mileages, altitudes, gradients, .a general description of the type of country and the scenic attractions surrounding the route, a reference to any historical associations and a sketch map illustrating the country which is being travelled. Touring Itineraries. The free loose-leaf touring itineraries of the A.A.A. have in the past proved one of the most popular features of this department and the new system which is proposed should considerably add to the pleasure of travelling and sbould prove of exeat value, not only to the holiday motorist, but to the men engaged in travelling throughout the country on business. Signposting is to be extended further into the rural districts away from the main highways. Naturally the first care will be the supply of direction signs, but due attention is to be paid to the placing of warning signs, particularly where the danger is concealed or not easily apparent and'also to the placing of signs and naming the various districts and streams.

AUSTXSf CAB CLUB BALLY. The committee of the Austin Car Club have finalised arrangements for the run to Coromandel on Anniversary Day. Members -will meet in Symonds Street on Friday morning, and an early start will be made, halting- at Tapu for lunch. The club will then drive in a procession into Coromandel, -where they will go into camp for the week-end. While at Coromandel the club will be the guests of the Chamber of Commerce, and during the stay card parties and dances will be arranged in the evenings and launch parties and motor runs along the coast during the day. All cooking arrangements are being left, in the bands of a first-class chef, who will proceed ahead of the main partv. Given fine weather, this rally should be a very enjoyable one. The club will arrive back in Auckland on Sunday night. EOAD SEKSE. Road sense is a thing of which one hears mnch, bni of which the average person knows little. To put it briefly, road sense is knowing what to do and when to do it without having to reason why. For instance, when the car in front stops dead, the driver following should seldom be taken unawares, that is, if he possesses any degree of road sense. Something should" tell him that the car is going to pull up. The driver of the rear car may just have got a glimpse of something in front of the preceding car. He may have acted independently of the driver of that car, but still he did it instinctively. That can be road sense.

The motor-driver of to-day, although he may be fully licensed as far as the motor regulation tests are concerned, may yet be almost incompetent in the handling of his vehicle. Such incompetence is a menace to other road-users, who, possessing the greater experience, too often drive their cars expecting every other road-usef to display the same road sense. The Auckland Automobile Association has long appreciated the need of simple tuition of a more advanced type than is usually extended to the novice taking his first lessons in the control of a car. For the past two years, post licence tuition has been available to members of the association, and in order that country motorists may also secure this privilege, arrangements have been made for the uniformed patrols who are stationed in the country districts to carry out the work on application.