HEAVY TRAFFIC.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1921, Page 3

HEAVY TRAFFIC.

QUESTION OF NEW BY-LAWS. ACTION BY BOROUGH COUNCIL. At last night’s meeting the New Plymouth Borough Council appointed a sub-committee to report on the question of heavy traffic by-laws. The decision was the result of a recommendation from the finance and executive committee as follows: That with, a view of ■dealing with heavy traffic the council be recommended to a-mend its by-laws to provide an increased license fee for motor vehicles, which fee shall vary either: (a) According to weight of vehicle; (b) according to width of tyre.” Motor vehicles only were mentioned as the present by-laws in. regard to ordinary vehicles provide for a variation of the license fee according to the width of tyre, and this was thought sufficient for this class of vehicle.

The subject is also mentioned, by the general manager (Mr. F. T. Bellringer) and he includes some extracts from an article setting out heavy traffic by-laws in Maryland, United States, which he states, may be of some assistance. When that State recently was forced to spend more than £125.000 on the reconstruction and repair of a large mileage of main routes damaged by excessively loaded motor trucks after having been in service only seven to ten years, it was decided to put into effect a policy which would definitely safeguard any further capital investments in the State highway system. The result was the passage last year of an amended general motor vehicle law limiting gross loads to 20.0001 b., a much lower maximum than is allowed elsewhere. Motor Vehicle Restrictions. —With regard to solid tyre motor vehicle® the main provisions of the law are as follows: Maximum gross load 10 tons, maximum load per inch width of tyre 6501b5., maximum width of vehicle except traction engine, 90 inches, maximum rated carrying capacity/5 tons. For motor trucks equipped wholly or in part with solid tyree the speed liniits are 25 miles per hour for two tons gross load; 15 miles an hour for gross loads between two and six tons; 12 miles per hour f6r gross loads exceeding six tons. One provision of the law is particularly significant. It reads as follows: “No ’motor vehicle shall be operated with a greater load than for which u registration certificate has been issued and fee paid.” While a three and a-half ton truck can be rated at two tons by ite maker, the purchaser cannot benefit as formerly by this subterfuge, as he is now limited to the load indicated on the plate of his machine. Registration Fees.—For automobiles with pneumatic tyres, for private use, the registration fee is 2s 6d per horse ; power,, while pneumatic-tyred vehicles: for hire are charged 5s per horse-power, < with a minimum charge of £2 10s. For ■ motor trucks with solid tyres the yearly ;■ registration fee for the capacities indi-I cated are as follows: 1 ton £5, 2 tons • £lO, 3 tons £l5, 4 tons £25, 5 tons; £37 10s, 6 tons £75, 7 tone £125. ' Trailers if equipped with rubber tyres p are charged £2 10s for the first ton , and £5 for each additional ton; if metal | tyres are used the foregoing fees are; doubled. Traction enginee or tractors, uaed for hauling are charged a flat fee ' of £fl ss. The six and seven ton trucks | provided for the foregoing registration i fees are those owned in the State before the amended vehicle law went into effect and are subject to the ten-ton gross i load limit. Now, trucks with a raxed carrying capacity exceeding five tons are . ruled off the road, for the law states i that “No motor vehicle having a greater , rated carrying capacity than five tons shall be operated over any public high- | way in this State, these provisions be-' ing absolutely necessary in the opinion | of the General Assembly for the proper □rotection and continued maintenance of the public highway of thia State.” The actual weights and rated carrying capacities of all trucks are recorded by the motor vehicle commissioner at the time of registration and the mkchines are properly tagged. { Profiting by this experience the State , Roads Commission for some time past has been insisting upon the discharge of excels loads at the roadside. The campaign was begun last September, and during the first week 60 trucks were held up and fined from £2 10s to £25. The weighing crew during the next week se- i lected a different road and caught 70 overloaded trucks. For several months past the average number of overloaded trucks detected has been less than one a | day. and these usually for inpuffic : tyre width. Loads greater than ten tons have practically disappeared. The solution of the problem of road ’ damage by excessively loaded vehicles, the State Roads Commission has found, ia to legislate such, vehiclea off the roads rather than attempt to gain this result by taxation alone. In 1919 it ; was found that a £125 yearly registrar tion fee was not sufficient to keep r seven-ton trucks off the highway. Accordingly when the amended Bill in 1920 ’ was passed it carried a definite load--5 carrying limit of five tons. Mr. Mackall I (chief engineer) believes that the claim • for greatly reduced transportation r charges by the use of extremely large ? motor truck*? units are generally greatf ly exaggerated. > ’ The article from which the above was ’ taken sets out the various fees in dol- ’ lars, but I have shown the amounts in , English currency, conversion, for pur- ’ poses of covenience being taken as four , dollars to the £l.

There is one phase of heavy traffic that is not emphasised as much as it might have been, and that is the question of the speed limit of such traffic. There is no doubt that fast driven heavv vehicles are much more destructive to the roads than similar vehicles slowly driven. Provision should therefore be made in the by-laws requiring that all motor vehicles of two tons and over should be provided with a governor or controller preventing such vehicle being driven at a greater speed than a limit to be fixed in the by-laws.