AN ASSURED REGULATION
Even a law framed with the best intentions may occasionally look “ an ass” (a London correspondent says). A case tried recently has proved that if two or three friends agree to share the cost of a taxi they and the driver who permits them to do so are committing an offence. • The reason is that if separate fares are thus paid the taxi, according to the law, becomes an “express carriage,” and an “ express carriage ” cannot be operated unless a special road service license is obtained. Of course, the situation is absurd, but it arises from a perfectly reasonable desire incorporated in the Road Traffic Acts to protect the operaotrs of regular public services from illicit competition.
The difficulty of drafting laws is considerable, and in this instance there will obviously have to be an amendment. That may probably be a tricky business, but it is never really satisfactory to leave the question of prosecution and of overlooking the strict, if illogical, letter of the law to the discretion of an individual.
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Bibliographic details
Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3783, 17 July 1936, Page 11
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175AN ASSURED REGULATION Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3783, 17 July 1936, Page 11
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