THE LAW FOR MOTORISTS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1929, Page 12

THE LAW FOR MOTORISTS

PROVISIONS OF TRANSPORT BILL. IMPORTANT POINTS SURVEYED. Interesting comments on a number of the proposals contained in the Transport Bill recently before Parliament were made by the chairman, Dr. W. T. Simmons, at the annual meeting of the South Taranaki Automobile Association, held last night at Hawera. The measure was passed in an abbreviated form, but the portion that was shelved contains a number of clauses affecting motorists. “Clause No. 19 of the draft Bill provided,” said the chairman, “that any person called upon to produce his driver’s license for inspection, and failing to produce same, shall be allowed 24 hours in which to produce the license at some convenient office nominated by the constable or traffic inspector who made the request. As the law stands at present, mere failure to produce a license at once when called upon is an offence under the Act, and the North Island Motor Union has been urging for a considerable time that any motorist who through inadventure could not produce his driver’s

license at the time should have a reasonable time in which to produce it. “Another particularly important matter was dealt with in Clause 19 of the draft Bill, which provides that no motorist shall be convicted of breaking speed limits unless he is warned of the intended prosecution at the time the alleged offence was committed, or unless within seven days after the commission of the alleged offence a notice of the intended prosecution is sent to him by registered post. This clause is one that the motor union has been striving for for a long time, and if passed by the .. next Parliament, will prevent motorists from being prosecuted six weeks or more after an alleged offence, when they have probably forgotten all about the circumstances. “Another important provision is contained in Clause 27 of the draft Bill, which provides that the licensing authorities shall have power to withhold a license from a person suffering from specified diseases or physical defects likely to make him ■ unfit to hold

a driver’s license. Clause No. 21 is also of interest, as it provides that where a person has been disqualified from obtaining a driver’s license the matter may be reviewed after the expiration of 12 months from the date of the making of the order. “Another particularly interesting point is dealt with in Clause 26, which empowers the Minister of Transport to disallow either wholly or in part any bylaw made by any local authority where it is shown that the subject matter of the by-law should not be dealt with otherwise than by statute or by regulation of general application. I think that our members generally will support the motor union in its endeavours to have these clauses in the draft Transport Bill made effective.”'