WARTIME MOTORING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23599, 7 March 1940, Page 11

WARTIME MOTORING

CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND FEWER CARS IN USE BLACK-OUT DIFFICULTIES The increased taxation on motor vehicles in England, combined with strict petrol rationing, has resulted in 60 to 75 per cent of private cars not being used, according to a letter ieceived by an Auckland resident from a friend in England. The letter says that bus services have been curtailed, a high percentage of lorries taken over bv the Government, and practically all major highway construction schemes suspended. The writer, who uses a powerful motor-car, is allowed 10 gallons of petrol a month for private purposes, but is granted, strictly for business use, an extra limited supply. The annual road tax for the car is £32 10s and the insurance £l7 10s, factors which, together with petrol restrictions, have resulted in a very severe drop in values. The correspondent's particular car, valued at £6OO in New Zealand, is not considered to be worth more than £3O to £4O on the English market to-day. The price of petrol, Is lOd a gallon, is quoted as another instance of the hardships imposed on English motorists by the war. "One cannot proceed at night faster than 20 miles an hour with safety," the letter says. "Car lights are considerably reduced. The side and rear lamps have to have two thicknesses of paper fitted over the bulbs, and only one headlamp with a slotted screen is permitted. The result is a very poor light on the road, with visibility limited to approximately 25ft. in front of the vehicle."

The protection of London against air raids-;is the subject of eulogistic reference. A barrage of some 2000 balloons floating thousands of feet in the sky, the writer says, gives to a motorist approaching the city the impression of a huge cloud of gnats. The writer says he is quite happy in London and believes it to be one of the safest zones.