More Cars On British Roads

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 1, 27 September 1950, Page 7

More Cars On British Roads

In Britain with car ownership and petrol unrationed at 3 shillings odd a gallon, progress to any popular resort, or any large function, is achieved at the rate of a few miles per hour, writes Ralph Feilden, motoring correspondent of The Recorder.

With some two million cars licensed —there are more cars on the roads of Britain than ever before —not to mention large numbers of motor cycles, commercial vehicles, and hordes of cyclists, the roads are becoming so congested as to make motoring progress for business or pleasure a matter of extreme discomfort and diffiiculty. Since petrol rationing has been relinquished every weekend has been fine, and practically every vehicle that will run has been pressed into service—even vintage cars are being used. At weekends roads to popular resorts have been more vehicle-chok-ed than ever in the history of motoring. And with the return back at night with everybody hurrying home, confusion is worse confounded. An aerial observer would note thousands of immobile vehicles extending back over miles, all due to a road crossing a long way ahead, a broken down vehicle, or other road obstacles.

Less Work Woe betide the motorist who wants to cross from one side turning of these roads to a destination on the other side. He has to wait for a very long while. To such a condition has the mulcting of the Road Fund brought the highway system of Britain. Since the pre-war years the volume of road maintenance works has decreased by some 40 per cent. For 1950-51 the total road expenditure will be some 4.3 per cent below that for 1949-50 (£48.5 million compared with £50.7 million). The average pre-war expenditure was £59 million annually, and it is dstimated that since 1939, costs have risen by 125 per cent.