NEW REGULATIONS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 178, 30 July 1942, Page 6

NEW REGULATIONS

FORTY MILES AN HOUR SERIOUS RUBBER PROBLEM (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. Regulations were passed to-day fixing a maximum speed limit of 40 miles an hour for all motor transport throughout New Zealand. It will be necessary for motorists still to comply with the lower speed limits already in force, namely, 30 miles an hour in cities, boroughs, town districts, and special speeds for heavy traffic. Certain exemptions are provided in the case of vehicles on urgent duties for hospitals, fire brigades, police, traffic inspectors, naval, military and air forces, and Ministers of the Crown.

The regulations also make it an offence to overload tvres beyond the weights prescribed by Ministerial order to be gazetted.

In announcing the issue of the regulations, the Minister of Transport, Mr. Semple, said they were a further measure arising from the serious tyre position. They were aimed at the conservation of tyres during their use. Traffic inspectors had been instructed to issue traffic offence notices for any breach of the regulations and also to tighten up the enforcement as far as speeds for heavy traffic were concerned even to the extent of setting speed traps. ♦ regulations also give power to authorise the fitting of bells, sirens, or whistles to motor vehicles to be used for the Home Guard or Emergency Precaur - Semple explained this would be chiefly to assist in tne mobilisation of those services in country districts.