JOTTINGS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20110, 31 March 1928, Page 23 (Supplement)

JOTTINGS

The whole system of traffic control is worthy of praise and might be emulated with advantage by many other authorities.

It is worthy of note that the 'Chief Constable adds that “in shopping or business centres where room is available cars arc allowed to stand for a reasonable period while the owners are making a call or shopping.” ♦ # •

Thc island of Anticosti, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Canada, ha» nine miles of road, a few tracks, and one motor-car. The car has a petrol pump to itself- Since the island is privately owned by a timber company the car requires neither registration nor number plates-

In the Canton Schwytz, in Switzerland, there is now law requiring vehicles to carry lights at night. As a result, a motorcyclist was recently killed outright by colliding with a lampless brewer’s wagon. But this self-same canton is preparing a new law imposing special taxes on visiting motorists. As a Swiss motoring journal remarks, one has to pay to be “legally assassinated.” « * T- *

Disapproval of the tax of £1 per horse-power imposed in Great Britain was expressed by Sir Robert Horne, member of thc House of Commons, who arrived in Auckland this week- Sir Robert said that as a result of his observations of overseas conditions he* was an opponent of a flat rate tai which tended to influence engine design. On his return to England would advocate other methods of taxing automobiles. « ♦ ♦ ♦

An indication of thc extent to which service cars arc used in New Zealand is given by the Government Statistician’s survey of transport for November, 1927. During this month 714 passenger service cars were in organised service on regular routes. The approximate value of thc fleets was £253,742 and total receipts were £32,219, a rate of over £380,000 a year.. The distance run in thc month was 788,600 miles and 58,270 passengers were carried.

The council of the A.A.A. becam< critical this week of the “rod tape’

which is hampering road work in the 1 Auckland district. It was stated that innumerable complaints had been made' regarding the highways to Hamilton i and Helensville. It seemed that thc | roads were steadily becoming worse 1 although motorists’ money was cer- j tainly being spent in attempts to improve conditions. It was resolved to * ask the members of Parliament con-

cerned to traverse the roads in company with Public Works engineers ami representatives of thc A-A.A.