THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1924. THE MOTOR VEHICLES BILL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19260, 26 August 1924, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1924. THE MOTOR VEHICLES BILL.

The Motor Vehicles Bill now before Parliament is a measure that should not bo provocative of controversy, except possibly in matters of detail. To the general public as a whole it will commend itself chiefly as an instrument by means of which motor traffic will be brought under better control than is at present the case. It will be recognised that this at least will be a step in the right direction. The need for an improvement in the supervision of the traffic has been only too clearly illustrated in the prevalence of motor accidents throughout the dominion—accidents for which in many instances the driver of the motor vehicle has certainly been to blame. Hitherto it has not been within power of the courts to deal with incompetent or reckless drivers in the only way that is calculated to ensure that they will not continue to be a menace to the public safety—namely, by cancellation of their licenses. It is now proposed to remedy this weakness in the law. The Bill provides for the cancellation of drivers’ licenses, or for their endorsement or suspension by a court of justice, in cases where it has been shown that the holders are not fit persons to have charge of a motor vehicle. It provides, also, for the exercise by the police of powers in connection with the arrest of an intoxicated person in charge of a motor vehicle, and in other directions, that should greatly strengthen their hands. The effect of tnis, in conjunction with the provisions respecting the cancellation of licenses, should be to furnish the public with safeguards much more adequate than exist now. There can be no doubt that a reflection is placed upon motorists as a whole through the misconduct of drivers who do not exhibit a due sense of responsibility. What was said at the last meeting of the Otago Motor Club leaves little room for doubt that those who have the interests and welfare of motoring qt heart realise the need for the punitive provisions which it is proposed to incorporate in the law. Apart from these aspects in which it is designed to reduce the risks associated with motoi traffic, the Bill proposes a new departure in respect of the fees payable on motor vehicles. It provides for a national system of registration and the annual licensing of motor cars. It is in the nature of a complement to the Main Highways Act in that it proposes to exact from the owners of motor cars a contribution towards the cost of maintaining the highways. It is to its provisions in this particular that objection will be raised. The owners of vehicles that are not usually employed, or likely to be employed, on the main highways may be resentful of a proposal under which they must contribute to ■he fund for the maintenance of these highways. Moreover, the validity of the principle of a flat license fee is arguable, and it is impossible to deny the existence of some force in the contention that the fee should bear a certain relation to the power of the machine. It cannot be suggested that the fees which the Bill contemplates are not sufficiently modest—a nonrecurrent registration fee of £1 on motor cars and of ten shillings on motor cycles; an annual license fee of £2 on motor cars and of ten shillings on motor cycles; and a driver’s license fee of five shillings per annum. While the registration and annual license charges will go to the Government, the fees paid by drivers go to the local authority, which will thus receive some compensation for the loss of the registration fees now collected by them. The Bill may be said to represent a careful endeavour to eliminate controversial points, and while it may be subjected to criticism on some points, its commendable points are such as to render it desirable that it should reach the Statute Book, the more so if it should be amended in such a way that the conflicting interests of the general and local authorities may be reconciled.