FURIOUS DRIVING.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 February 1920, Page 2

FURIOUS DRIVING.

EXEMPLARY PINES, Reckless driving of vehicles along public roads will become an expensive pleasure for offenders who have the misfortune tp be brought before Mr, T. A. B. Bailey, S.M. When the first ease of the kind came before him on his settlement in the New Plymouth Magistracy he indicated that he intended, if possible, to put a stop to furious driving. Notwithstanding several examples thathave been made of offenders there are still those who transgress the law, and several young men were yesterday mulcted in heavy fines for breaches in this respect. Two young Maoris, who had evidently been racing along the South road, in the vicinity of the Omata store, were the first to face the Magistrate. From the account of the circumstances given by Sub-Inspector Hutton it appeared that on a Saturday evening a few weeks ago the two young njen were racing along the road— one' a motor cycle and the other in a nf , r - Another car just leaving the .Omata; store landed them in trouble, at the speed at which they were travelling they could not both avoid collision. The cyclist struck the forepart of the standing car and was thrown a considerable distance right over it, the car and cycle sustaining heavy damages. The driver of the motor car applied his brakes and pulled up about 40 yards further on, but in the process ploughed intq the road surface and turned his car completely round, so that when it came to a standstil it was facing in the opposite direction to that in which it had been travelling. Both the young Wanerei Komene, and Rongomai Ruakere—were detained until the police arrived, and their appearance in court yesterday was the result to this rash behaviour.. • The Magistrate remarked that he did not intend. to permit racing along the public roads, and inflicted a fine of £lO on each offender, with costs amounting to £4 4s. At a later stage of the Bitting the Borough Inspector (Mr. K. C. King) brought information against Edgar Martin and Rupert George for exceeding the speed limit, and fines of £5 were imposed in each case. Coats in Martin's case amounted to 12s and in George's to 7s.