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NZ Truth, Issue 1148, 1 December 1927, Page 6

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More Rules and Regulations

The draft regulations Issued by the Government, dealing with the use of motor vehicles m New Zealand fill seventeen closely printed pages and cover every sphere of motoring. The Public Works chief engineer, who prepared the draft, has asked for criticism, and it behoves every motorist to see that he makes his protest, If he has one to make, before it is too late. TN the opinion of "N.Z. Truth" these 1 regulations, brought mby order m Council, have been too hastily drawn up and presented to an unsuspecting motordom, to be a8 free from defects as such sweeping legislation should be. There are other provisions, too, which actually make several popular motor earn illegal for use m the Dominion, their brakes not conforming to the regulations. It will be difficult, indeed, to enforce laws which will put out of action or involve costly alterations to hundreds of cars which are already m use. We may have two, and not more than two, headlamps, but later on it Is stated that we may have a "spotlight." Who is going to decide whether that third light is a headlamp or a spotlight? All those tail lamps and number plate brackets which are now so neatly arranged m the centre of the spare wheel, must be moved over to "at or near the right hand side" of the car. Several makes of car have "reversing lights" arranged so that a beam of tight is shown to the rear to assist the driver when backing. These become illegal under the new regulations. The possibility of reviving the following: hoary headed old law which reappears m the new regulations Js doubtful. "Every driver shall stop his vehlole at all railway intersections at which a notice is erected directing a stop." Every railway crossing has one of these notices, and unless it is intended to remove them except at really dangerous crossings (of which nothing is said m the draft) we cannot see much chance of this rule being better observed m the future than it has been m the past. One rule to which country motorists m particular will ohjeel, is that tohi h says that Vehicles ny st always be drawn up "with the left side of the vehicle to the near side of the road. This means that a lorry driver collecting milk, for instance, would have to carry the cans across the road from all stands on his right, or else turn his vehicle round and face the other way while loading and then turn round to continue his journey. Here, again, the rule will never be carried out, but why not confine its provision to boroughs and town districts and so give it some chance of being taken seriously? When "N.Z. Truth" took a ballot of its readers a little time ago, on the dimming question, a great majority voted against dimming. They will be pleased to learri that "No person shall cause any light to be appreciably yaried m brilliance, whether by dimming or otherwise. This iB accompanied by regulations as to the focussing of the lamps so as to prevent dazzle as far as possible. A feature which will appeal to theatre-goers and dancers is that cars are to be allowed to stand on authorized parking places without lights. An excellent rule, put into clear terms, is that which defines and prohibits cutting corners. Driving on long trips will be much simplified by the. proposed standardization of traffic signs throughout the country and rules as to where they are to be set up and, what is more important still, who is to put them there. This ' paper's purpose, however, is not to indicate the good features of this important measure, but to draw attention to the weaknesses m the hope that road users will make a common effort to see that these faults are rectified before the regulations are put Into effect.