FITNESS OF MOTOR CARS

Southland Times, Issue 23306, 16 September 1937, Page 8

FITNESS OF MOTOR CARS

FRESH EXAMINATION NOW DUE

Red stickers on the windscreens of motor-cars testifying to the fitness of the vehicles will shortly be replaced by green emblems, which will cover the period from October 1 to March 31. It will come as a surprise to many motorists to realize that the period of six months covered by the first issue of certificates of fitness has expired and garages will be very busy during the next fortnight carrying out the necessary tests of brakes, headlights and the general mechanical condition of the vehicles.

Not all motor-vehicles have been adorned with stickers, but the owner of every vehicle is required to obtain from an authorized garage .a certificate of the fitness of the vehicle. Traffic inspectors are equipped with the coloured stickers and it is customary for them to place one on the windscreen of every motor-vehicle when a driver has presented his certificate of fitness. This does away with the necessity for further production of the certificate until after the end of the six-monthly period.

With the end of the first six-monthly period since the regulation came into operation, traffic inspectors are in a position to review the results of the new system. The scheme is generally considered to have proved successful, as it is stated that very few cases have come under notice of vehicles having inefficient brakes. This was formerly found to be fairly frequent when tests of vehicles were made after collisions.