TESTING OF CARS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22939, 18 January 1938, Page 12

TESTING OF CARS

MUNICIPAL STATION CHRISTCHURCH ENTERPRISE COST TO CITY OVER £6OOO [BY TELEGRAPH —OWN COR KKSI'ON I)EN'r] CHEISTCHUHCH, Monday "This ceremony marks a milestone in tho history of safe traffic development in this country," said the Minister of Transport, the Hon. li. Scrapie, when ho was opening tho City Council's car-testing station in Lichfield Street. The station has been established to test motor vehicles for warrants of fitness as required by legislation introduced last year by the Minister, and it is the first specially equipped for this purpose to be opened in New Zealand. The cost of building and equipping the station was a little more than £6OOO.

Tho Mayor, Mr. J. W. Beanland, said that the council felt the expense was justified because tho Minister had said that after two years all the test-' ing in tho city would be done at the station. The land had cost £IOSO, the building £1221, and tho equipment £B3l. Analysis of Test Results Mr. Semple said an analysis of the results of tho first six months' testing of motor vehicles in New Zealand showed that of 170,000 that were examined only 34,886 —or 20 per cent—were correct in every detail. "That is an amazing statement," remarked Mr. Semple, "and surely it justified the alteration to the law. Before the first tests were made I had referred to junk on the roads, and all I had said then applied to these cars that could not attain the standard set out in the regulations. These cars were a menace, and no one should drive such a car." Next to United States From 20,000 registrations in 1914 the number of cars had risen until new it was between 250,000 and 260,000, said the Minister. In the month before Christmas there were 127 new registrations each day, on an average. New Zealand was next to the United States in density of motor vehicles to head of population, and that was a justification for the establishment of testing stations such as he was about to open. Very few people were fully aware of the rapid development of motor transport in the Dominion, and it was the duty of the Government to create an organisation that would control traffic effectively.