MOTAH MEN MULCT.

NZ Truth, Issue 240, 12 February 1910, Page 7

MOTAH MEN MULCT.

Much Argument : Small Fines.

The police keep their eyes ' specially skinned for breaches of the by-laws which happen at the intersection of Rattray and Princes-streets, Dunedin, and two cases m which, motorists were charged with haying exceeded the speed limit * round corners m the vicinity took up a great lot of. time at the Police- Court, on ; Monday.

In the case against Theodore Jan-eS Kemp, the police evidence was that the car went round the corner at eight miles •' an hour, and, proceeding up Princes-, street on the wrong side, nearly had a' collision with a car going m the opposite direction. The evidence, for the defence, however, was to the effect that when the cars caught sight of each other they were almost stationary, and defendant's car proceeded up the road on the correct side. In view of the conflict of evidence, the case was dismissed.

A plea of not guilty was tendered by Lawyer Macassey, on behalf of William Black, who was charged with being on his wrong side near one of the corners. Counsel contended that the words m the by-law "as near as practicable" to the left side meant "as near as reasonable," and, therefore,, if a car was taken on the wrong side of the road to get a clear run, it was as near as reasonable to the correct side, which was «"owded with people. Also, having, overtaken a cabletram, the car was entitled to pass on the right-hand side.

Counsel then cited a number of cases to prove the meaning of "as near as reasonable," but stopped short of putting m the dictionary. The driver of the car said he moved to the wrong side to dodge a crowd of people getting off the' tram ; bat said he would have gone through the people if he wanted to go up Princesstreet instead of through the Triangle. City Councillor J. J. Barlow, who was m the car, said be was very, very sure the Council didn't want its by-laws to apply to such cases. , Magistrate Bartholomew, m dealing out a fine of 10s, said it would create an impossible position to make a cable car amenable to the rnle of the road as re-* gards passing on ,the right when overtaken, because a rale to be reasonable must be reciprocal, and it wasn't reasonable to expect ,the tram to pass on the right of a car which it overtook. William Gibson was alleged by the police to have come round one of the corners at tZ miles an hour, 'and an adjournment was given to enable him to call a witness. -' .

The driver of a car belonging to a lady who is touring the country was dealt out a 5s fine as a polite indication that registration m Brisbane was . insufficient, and that the car must be registered m New Zealand.