Brake Tests Carried Out Near Wanganui Show Good Results

Wanganui Chronicle, 9 November 1949, Page 4

Brake Tests Carried Out Near Wanganui Show Good Results

Brake tests carried out recently by Traffic Officer W. Wilson on the main highways north and south of Wanganui showed that most vehicles stopped had brakes which were in good order. The tests are part of the Transport Department’s policy of making tha roads safer for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Brakes of cats and trucks are being tested in all parts of the Dominion and when brakes are found to be poor, traffic offence notices are issued. Operating all day yesterday on tha Main South Road in the Putiki area, Traffic Officer Wilson stopped 55 vehicles, consisting of 37 cars and 18 trucks. Of these, 35 had good brakes, 17 were fair and three were poor, or below regulation standard. Two of the vehicles with poor brakes were cars and one was a truck. An earlier series of tests carried out by Traffic Officer Wilson recently was also on the Main South Highway. O£ the 25 vehicles stopped 20 had good brakes and five were fair. No brakes were classified as poor and no traffic offence notices were issued. Nineteen of the vehicles stopped were cars and the rest were trucks. Another series of tests was conducted on the Main North Road and of tha 33 vehicles stopped 26 were good and seven were fair, again indicating a high percentage with good brake* Twenty-five of the vehicles were cars and the rest were trucks. Before being classified as good, a car travelling at 20 miles an hour must be stopped by the foot brake within a distance of 25 feet. Fair is given when the stop is made over 25ft. and under 40ft. If the stopping distance is more than 40 feet, the brakes are regarded as poor and traffic offence notices may be issued in such cases. The high percentage of good brakes is considered due in no small way to the efficiency of the Wanganui City Coucil’s testing station, regarded as among the best in New Zealand.