The Daily News SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1909. MOTOR CAR REGULATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 238, 13 November 1909, Page 2

The Daily News SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1909. MOTOR CAR REGULATIONS.

We were heartily in accord with the expressed intention of the Borough Council to frame bye-laws for the regulation of motor-car traffic in the borough of New Plymouth, hut it seems to us the C'uuncil, either in ignorance or from wilful perversity, have gone to an extreme that cadi only be considered ridiculous, As the proposed by-law stands, the Council has adopted the committee's report that the speed of motor-cars iu the principal streets of the town be limited to 10 miles an hour, and that ! corners may not be turned at more than I three miles an hour. No one who was animated by a spirit of fair reasonableness could for a moment argue that these speed limitations are not only ludicrous, but excessively liarrassing. The pate of the average horse-dnve-i vehicle through the town is certainly in the immediate vicinity of 10 miles an hour, and however much one may be prejudiced against the motor-car, anyone possessing the slightest knowledge of the mechanism and art of driving must know that the chauffeur has his car under greater control than the most experienced johu. As to the three-mile limit at corners, we confess our inability to appreciate the committee's recommendation, unless it were meant for a joke. We should say that the average pedestrian negotiates the corners at at least four mile- an hour. The effect of the enforcement of such a speed limit as proposed vnuld only .result iu public inconvenience through the temporary stoppage of the free passage of pedestrians while a motor-car laboriously crawled round the corners. We do not anticipate that the proposed legislation has the remotest possible chance of becoming law, for before the hy-law could

i-01110 into operation it, must receive lae assent of the .Minister for Internal Affair-,, a.- provided by the Motor liegulalion Act, J'.RHi. It may safely be assumed tliat the .Minister has at least some idea of what is a reason-able limit to place on the. speed of motor-ears in centres of. population, and should the regulation, as it stands, be sent forward for his approval, wc anticipate it would receive short shrift. Xow, a.s we have

■ilreaily stated, we' recognise the necessity of dealing with this i|iiostion, for none can deny that there are a few

motor-drivers who .seem possessed of an insane idea Hint the, king's highway s a rating tracu. upon which everyone • •Isi' is a trespasser. This particular ••lass lias to he disillusioned, and uw ooner (.In- hettcr for (heir own ultimate peace of mind, and t;lie .sWindiiess of .imli of oilier users of the streets. But iccansc (he irall'ic must he c-onlrolled I hero is no reason why the regulations should he harshly framed, and'we hope ihe jjoud sense of councillors will lead .lain to modify Hie proposed provisions in Hie direction of substituting somcIhing more reasonable. A maximum speed of 1.") miles, with a limitation of live miles an hour at corners, would provide perfect safety for all classes of IraHic and at tihc same time not be. tinnecessarily restrictive on a class of locomotion which, whether some like it or not, lias come to stay.