MODERN AIDS TO TRAFFIC CONTROL

Chronicle (Levin), 11 February 1947, Page 4

MODERN AIDS TO TRAFFIC CONTROL

TALK TO LEVIN ROTARIANS "Our idea- is not to get big bags of prosecutions, but to assist motorists and try to educate them when we see them making mistakes," said. Traffic Inspector Kehoe in a talk at the Levin Rotary Club's weekly luncheon yesterday. In support^of this he estimated that only one of every ten motorists spoke'n to received a traffic offence notice. The biggest difficulty, he added, was in trying to show drivers where they had made a mistake, as 99 out of every 100 spoken to believed they had not erred and in many cases almost convinced the inspector they were in the right. Since the war the volume of traffic on the roads had increased tremendously, and to keep up with the times the Transport Department had introduced new methods and, to a degree, new technique, continued Mr. Kehoe. One new method was the loudspeaker with which some of, the cars were equipped. It had proved very helpful. One of the most common and worst offences on the roads today was straddling the white line. With the loudspeaker it was possible to draw atte,ntion to such a breach while it was being committed whereas previously the offender might travel a mile before the inspector could stop and correct him. In the meantime he had probably been talking to a passenger and quite understandably forgotten the incident. Another new method was the camera gun, Mr. Kehoe said, ahd these would shortly be fitted to inspectors' cars. The films were to be used for educational functions and were not to build up prosecutions. The use of two-way radio was at present being experimented with and it would undoubtedly- be of very great assistance to inspectors and the motoring pu'olic. At the moment the radius of the s'ets was limited, but it was hoped evcntually to have unlimited range. It had been used most successfully in connection with traffic to the recent race meeting at Trentham. Part of the equipment of every inspector's car was a load meter, which was in effect a miniature hydraulic weighbridge capable of weighing any vehicle. They were used to ensure that vehicles were not overloaded for the class of road they were travelling on, thus preventing f ast driving and overload cutting up the roads unduly. In conclusion, Mr. Kehoe emphasised that the aim of all traffic inspectors was smooth flowing traffic and saiecy on the roads, and to achieve that by educational rather than puni ti ve means. The speaker was introduced by Rotarian S. J. Thompson and at the conclusion was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, proposed «by Rotarian H. Black..