SPOILERS OP ROADS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1983, 13 February 1914, Page 4

SPOILERS OP ROADS

AN INDICTMENT. MOTOR CARS CREATE A NEW PROBLEM* " [BY StIVIBS.] A recent article in a London news> paper, which has been reprinted in many places, points out that the advent of motor traffic has dotto more to destroy the surface of the best-laid ioads of England than any othor form of traffic since these roads were built under the direction of Julius Caesar. When they built a road, the Romans must have fancied that they had built for all time, for it lias been discovered tliafc the actual formation work in some of these roads was from six to. ten feet in depth. They reasoned that the bettor the roads the faster their chariots could travel) and tho quicker they could reach any threatened point tho greater Aya,s the ohanco of defeating tho enemy. The- surface of these roads, "-which havo been, found to be impervious to tho taaffie of tho age, is now shoving signs of disintegration.—a sure but .gradual loosening of the metal that lias long been held together by the "blinding? , and experts havo declared thvt the cause of it is the motor—clue-fly the f.ouriug motor-car. The motor-bus is not holdto "bo so guilty, as its tires are- solid and its speed is not sufficiently fast to have the decimating effect of a high-speed pneumatic-tired motor-car. W«tch any. motor-car travelling a-bovo 20 miles en a dry road, aud the reason for tlie ruin of the road surface is at' once made apparent. .

Pnsumatlc Tires Blamed,

At ono time it was imagined that tlie pneumatic tire was going to be- n. boon and a blessing to ' every road. That idea has long since be<m dispelled b .,' the havoc heavy moto.'r traffic has made on the best roads" of England'. That being the case it is a' matter, for consideration as to whether the fliotorist is paying enough into the funds of local bodies to pr6vi«le against the cost; of the restoration «f roads that, are sufferingfrom that farm'of traffic. A few inquiries elicited the fact that- tho registration of motorcars and motorcycles in the City ef Wellington was not conducted on such lines as would ensure that motorists are eveii complying with the by-law concerning re/ji&tration. The reghtratiw fee for a' motor-car is 10a., for a motoi-cyelo ss.•' —that is tlie registration for the ma- i chiui', not the ownur. That is poiiited out because it is said that there are those who years ago w&ro i,ii the ijos--session of a car or a motor-cycle (which , wero registered), but eiheo ' have ■ had occasion to purchase new or mare up-to-date machines, which are wot sa registered. It may he that these people imagine that if once they register near it suffices for. all the cars tlicv are ever likely to own. ' Either that or tliev arc evading the .by-law, as it is said ihat 'the record , of motor-car and mp'tor-cycle refiistrations in the Rates Office of the .City Council docs not adequately repreiieii't tlie scroll of those owning such ears' or cycles hi 1 Wellington at tho present time.'

Registering tho Cars. : There is a motor inspector (jVJtr. Drake), but as things aro at present conducted;. it is impossible foi- him to keep track of all the cars a.iri cycles in Wellington. The only way to check this evasion of the by-taw is to insist- that tlio driver of every eaf-should be-in possc3sion of tho reglstratioai certificate of-tlio car or cycle at ttll times, and that tlio; irtsptctoV shofildbo given certain-powers to enable hiin, when his suspicions) ai'e aroused,'to' demand tiio production of the samp. ; Ji such a proposal were ..given elfcGfe,. to, and the inspector acted disowietlj, those who had registered need never bo afraid of being greatly inconvenienced, and the ovader of "tlio by-law would bo bi'oug'lit to * book.

It may; be'argued that .tho by-law could not very easjjy .be itoirK-U, as every car must, according to th> regu*. lations. of tlio Motor Regulation Act, 1908, have, a number (reed upon, it in a prescribed manner, to be assigned to n ear upon registration by the registering authority. Most o&ta, aljM.it the efty at all events, do have a number, usually attached to the back • of the car, but the trouble, is that there are sometimes two or more cars bearing the i>smc number, which indicates that the car originally registered has retained its number, a.nd the person who has said it has used the same number on a new car without troubling to register it at all. Ca-see have icon known where a mail has lieeii liold up for some petty offence such aa exceeding the speed limit,, and it ha 3 been found that the deqerijtio'n of the car given by ' the police does not tally, at all with that opposite the car nuiii-. her in the registration records. Tlte plain duty of th 6 council appears to bo to see that every car is separately and distinctly registered. Whether they should register every year and pay an annual registration feo is a- matter for more deliberate consideration. The allocation of miinterr. by the dif■feront registering authorities is somewhat confusing. . The Butt- Coiiiity Council .was the first authority to undertake the work, and it issued numbers from 1 to 500, preceded by the letter "W." The Masterton County Conn* oil followed, starting with 501, and having, as ite maximura 1000 S also using "W." as a prefix to itidicate Wellington. Then the Wellington City Cpaife cil commenced registering cars,, and life ing late in the day had to commeiveo nt 1001, and having regis-toetl . cars Mpitc. 1900 preceded by tht <! W.," it ivas decided to .commence. ever again'.ot "i," using the letters "WN." to denote Wellington. Since the change. 573 cars have been registered, So that there ar ; e at present 1478 ears and motor-cycles on the rccofds of the ccrautiß.