By June 1.

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 354, 15 May 1928, Page 7

By June 1.

Preparing for New Motor Regulations The recently gazetted Domin-ion-wide motor regulations come into force on Friday, June 1. Before that date motorists will have to bring their cars into conformity with the new regulations. First and foremost is the requirement that every motor vehicle—this term includes motor-cycles—must be equipped with a red reflector in addition to a tail-light. Regulation No. 7 lays it down that “No person shall operate any motor-vehicle which is not equipped with a fixed red reflector affixed to the rear thereof as near as possible to, or forming part of the tail-light, having an effective reflecting surface not less than two square inches in area, and set perpendicularly so as to reflect toward the rear any light showing from rearward of the vehicle.’’ As such red reflectors as are on the market are mostly circular in shape, the above means that if a circular reflector is purchased it must be not less than 1 5-Bin in diameter. As to just what is needed to constitute “an effective reflecting surface” is another question, and one which it is for the courts to decide. Perhaps some magistrates may hold that the red glass of a tail lamp is a sufficient reflector; perhaps others may not. It is to be noted also that the regulation calls for “a reflector.” not a number of reflectors having together a total area of two square inches—and this point is worth remembering before spending money on devices of the latter type. Having bought his rear reflector, the motorist has next to see that his red tail-light at the rear of his vehicle is

“at or near the right-hand side thereof, and (in the case of a vehicle constructed with a chassis) at or near the level of the chassis frame.” This means that tail-lights mounted in the centre of the vehicle will have to be moved across. The tail-lamp (or some other lamp) must also throw a wffiite light on the number-plate so that “every letter and numeral” on it is “plainly distinguishable under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of at least 60ft.” Finally, no white light may be visible to the rear from the lamp illuminating the num-ber-plate. The next thing is to see that the headlight beam is correctly adjusted. The regulation lays it dowrn that:. “When the vehicle is standing on a horizontal surface the main beam of light is not projected above the horizontal plane of the lamp, nor projected to a height which at a distance of 75ft from the lamp is more than 3ft 6in above such horizontal surface.” The above appears to mean that there must be no upward diffusion of the beam from a headlight whatever,