TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT (ANNUAL REPORT OF)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, H-40

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1948 NEW ZEALAND

TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT (ANNUAL REPORT OF)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave

FOREWORD BY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT Mb. Speaker,— As Minister of Transport, responsible for the co-ordination of the different forms of transport, I propose to give the House a brief picture of our transport system. We stand on the threshold of a new era in transportation, and the present is an appropriate time to take a bird's eye view of the whole field. I have had prepared certain statistics relating to the transport industry as a whole. Complete accuracy cannot be claimed for these figures, but they are based on the most exact information available, and are sufficiently reliable for the purpose of general comparison. CAPITAL INVESTMENT Capital invested in the transport industry amounts to just over £350,000,000, the figures for each form of transport being as follows : Capital Investment Kind of (000,000 omitted). Transport. £ Roads and road transport* .. .. 240 Railways .. .. .. 76 Tramways .. .. .. .. 5 Shipping! .. .. .. 23 Air services .. .. .. .. 6 Total .. .. .. .. £350 * Includes value of roads, vehicles, garages, spare parts, &c. f Represents value of assets of Harbour Boards (excluding cash assets) as at 30th September, 1945, and estimated investment in coastal ships. This investment of £350,000,000 is equal to more than one and a half times the total value of all production in the Dominion for one year.

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FREIGHT The work done by each form of transport may be measured by the number of tonmiles and passenger-miles recorded. The volume of goods carried does not clearly indicate the amount of work done. A ton of goods may be carried one mile or many miles. The work involved varies both with the quantity of goods carried and the distance they are transported. For this reason tons of freight have been converted to ton-miles—i.e., one ton hauled one mile represents one ton-mile. For similar reasons passenger transport is expressed in terms of passenger-miles—i.e., one passenger carried for one mile represents one passenger-mile. Last year 1,963 million ton-miles were recorded for all forms of transport —on the average over 1,000 ton-miles per head of our population. The following percentage figures show how different transport agencies contributed to this total. Kind of Transport. Railways .. .. .. 48 Motor transport* .. .. 30 Shipping .. .. .. 22 Air transport Total .. .. .. .. 100 * Includes ancillary trucks. The railways made the substantial contribution of 48 per cent, of the total, coastal shipping and motor transport making up the balance between them. Air transport contributed only 5 out of every 10,000 ton-miles and is not yet of sufficient magnitude to figure on the scoreboard. Some freight may know one form of transport only, others may be carried on rail, road, and sea ; the way between production and consumption is a vast network on which the pattern of our trade and commerce is worked out. The ton-mile expresses all this activity in a simple figure in which the same goods may appear more than once. PASSENGERS During the year 3,133 million passenger-miles were run. This figure is made up as follows: Kind of Transport. T" Motor transport — Private cars, &c. .. .. 1,625 52 Public services .. .. .. 401 13 Railways .. .. .. .. 585 18 Electric tramways .. .. .. 406 13 Shipping .. .. .. .. 80 3 Air transport .. .. .. 36 1 Totals .. .. ..3,133 100 The magnitude of the figures for passenger-miles is an eloquent commentary on the New Zealanders' love of travel. It looms large in our national life and is ever expanding. It reflects the high standard of life enjoyed in this country to-day. On the average, every man, woman, or child travels approximately 1,750 miles a year. The most popular form of passenger transport is the private car, combining speed with comfort. It is not generally realized that in actual volume of passenger-miles the electric tramways are not so very far behind the railways. Air travel, as yet in its infancy, already accounts for 1 per cent, of the total and faces a future full of promise.

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ANNUAL COSTS The public pays approximately £37,000,000 a year in freight charges and passenger fares. The estimated annual operating costs for motor-vehicles other than those used in public transport services—e.g., private cars, &c.—is £39,000,000. Adding this figure to the £37,000,000 paid to public transport services, we get the total figure for expenditure on all kinds of transport —viz., £76,000,000. This represents 37 per cent, of the value of total national production for a year. The different transport agencies share in this cost as follows : Kind of Transport. (000,000° omitted). Motor transport — £ Private cars, &c. .. . . .. 39 • 0 Public services .. .. .. 14-0 Railways .. .. .. ..15*0 Shipping* .. .. .. .. 5-0 Tramways .. .. .. .. 2-0 Air .. .. .. .. .. o*7 Total .. .. .. .. 75-7 * Includes receipts of Harbour Boards for year ended 31st March, 1945, and an estimate of revenue from coastal shipping at present freight rates. PERSONS ENGAGED The transport industry provides employment for approximately 68,000 persons, all engaged in the vital work of facilitating the flow of production and movement of people. This work, in general, calls for a high measure of skill and initiative and has an appeal for our people, who excel at it. It is estimated that out of every ten persons of our working population, one is engaged in public transportation. Indirect employment is provided for many thousands of others in industries and services allied to transport. Employment is provided by the different forms of transport as follows : Kind of Transport. Persons engaged. Railways .. .. .. .. .. 24,000 Road transport (public service only) .. .. 24,000* Shipping .. .. .. .. .. .. 16,000 Tramways .. .. .. .. 3,000 Air services .. .. .. .. .. 1,000 68,000 * Includes only persons engaged in public motor transport services ; drivers of " ancillary" trucks and trucks operated by local bodies or Government Departments are not included. CONCLUSIONS The figures I have quoted show the importance of transport in the life of the Dominion. Certain conclusions can be drawn from them. Our transport facilities represent a huge investment of capital. The railways provide just under half the freight transport in the country. Private motor-cars are easily the most popular form of passenger transport, doing approximately the same amount of work as all other forms combined. The public pays £37,000,000 per annum for the carriage of freight and passengers on public transport services. It costs approximately £39,000,000 per annum to operate private cars, ancillary trucks, local-body and Government vehicles, and motor-cycles. The annual cost of all forms of transportation in the Dominion is estimated to be £76,000,000, or 37 per cent, of the value of the national production.

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The industry is an important source of employment in the Dominion. The trend in the direction of people providing their own means of transport, as in the case of the private car and truck, in preference to using the public transport services is still very strong. Air transport promises to revolutionize long-distance passenger transport and certain branches of freight transport. Another conclusion is clear : that rapid expansion in motor and air transport may have serious and even crippling effects 011 the older forms, and that one of the biggest problems we have to face is a system of regulation which, while not " bolstering up " obsolescence or inefficiency, will at the same time preserve the inherent advantages of each form of transport. Free and healthy competition should be allowed to play its part in ensuring efficiency and cheapness, and the dominant consideration in any system of regulation should be the interests of the public as a whole, and not those of any particular form of transport. Another important problem is the renewal and modernization of all forms of transport rendered necessary by the " lean " years of war. Considerable progress has already been made, but when one surveys our existing fleets of motor-vehicles, railway rolling-stock, and ships one is impressed with the huge amount of modernization and renewal that must take place before our transport system is running " full and free " again. And now I come to my final point. Low transport costs are essential if we are to maintain our position on the overseas markets of the world and to keep down the cost of living within the Dominion. The quickest and most effective way of reducing transport costs, or offsetting increases, is to increase the rate of flow of traffic through the whole system. If we can do this the unit cost of transport must come down with beneficial effects to all classes of the community and to the prosperity of all engaged in the transport industry. I appeal to all classes of transport operators and workers to do all they reasonably can to increase the rate of flow of whatever traffic they may be concerned with. It has been said that " the dominant economic fact of our age is the development, not of the manufacturing, but of the transport industries." It is these industries which have done by far the most towards increasing New Zealand's wealth. We cannot afford to have anything but a modern and efficient transport system if we are to fulfil the promise of our country's future and to play our rightful part in the British Commonwealth of Nations whose history has been described as a triumph of transport. F. Hackett,. Minister of Transport.

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The Hon. F. Hackett, Minister of Transport, Wellington. Transport Department, 28th July, 1948. Sir,: — Herewith I have the honour to submit the annual report of the Transport Department for the year ended 31st March, 1948. I have, &c., G. L. Laurenson, Commissioner of Transport. REPORT INTRODUCTION Summary of Contents. —(a) The number of motor-vehicles licensed at 31st March, 1948 (360,949), showed an increase of 30,027, or 9-07 per cent., over the number as at 31st March, 1947, and is the highest level yet reached. (b) Petrol-consumption by motor-vehicles rose from 86,440,000 gallons in ,1946 to 101,270,000 gallons in 1947, an increase of approximately 17 per cent. (c) In 1947, 206 lives were lost and 4,762 persons were injured as the result of road accidents, a decrease of 8 per cent, in the deaths per 1,000,000 gallons of petrol used as compared with 1946. (d) Slightly more school-children were injured in road accidents during 1947 than in 1946, but there was a substantial drop in the number of pre-school children injured. (e) Substantial expansion in road safety measures and activities, including the reintroduction of the New Zealand Road Safety Council. (/) New Zealand still has the lowest road accident death-rate of the motorized countries ; comparative figures of fatalities per 10,000 motor-vehicles in 1947 show New Zealand, 6-2; United States of America, 8-5; Canada (1946), 10-7; Victoria, 13-3; New South Wales, 14-1; Great Britain, 16*0 ; South Africa (1946), 19-5. (g) The Department's traffic staff reported 10,217 breaches during the year ended 31st March, 1948 ; of these, 4,914 offenders were warned and 5,303 prosecuted. (h) Over one private motor-vehicle out of every five examined had defective brakes. (i) More than one-third (2,914) of the total road transport licences (7,902) are held by ""ex-servicemen. (j) Passenger traffic on public motor services continues at high levels. (k) Public road freight carriers have efficiently met all demands on their services, and have substantially assisted in timber and fertilizer traffic when there have been " bottlenecks " in the rail services. (I) Several of the Dominion's older timber bridges are in such bad condition that restrictive load-limits are imposed for their protection; this frequently reduces normal vehicle loading, and correspondingly retards movement of goods and produce.

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DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR TRANSPORT Licensing- of Motor-vehicles by Principal Groups.—Under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, motor-vehicles are required to be registered and licensed. Such licences are renewable annually, and the following table gives the number of motor-vehicles in the principal groups, licensed as at the 31st March, 1948, the figures for the two preceding years being included for purposes of comparison :

All classes of vehicles licensed at 31st March, 1948, showed gains over the figures for the preceding year. Table No. 1 of the Appendix shows full details of the licensed motor-vehicles as at 31st March, 1948, by postal districts. Table No. 2 gives, for purposes of comparison, the number of motor-vehicles licensed year by year as at 31st March, 1937 to 1948, inclusive. Petrol-consumption.—The table hereunder shows for the individual calendar years 1937 to 1947 the estimated quantities of petrol consumed by motor-vehicles, used for other purposes, and the total consumption :

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Number licensed as at 31st March. Increase of Type. 1948 over 1940. 1947. 1948. 1947 Licences, Cars 201,425 202,437 217,871 15,434 Trucks not exceeding 2 tons laden 30,435 33,134 36,591 3,457 Trucks exceeding 2 tons laden 23,499 25,375 28,839 3,464 Passenger-trucks 1,947 1,997 2,100 103 Omnibuses.. .. 1,025 1,133 1,267 134 Taxis, including private-hire cars 2,113 2,147 2,231 84 Service cars 595 637 679 42 Rental cars 546 828 1,047 219 Motor-cycles 16,167 17,699 19,066 1,367 Trailers 20,031 22,788 25,254 2,466 Local-body and other vehicles exempted from 11,903 14,451 17,549 3,098 annual licence fees Government vehicles 5,814 8,296 8,455 159 Totals 315,500 330,922 360,949 30,027 or 9-07 per cent.

Estimated Consumption of Petrol. Calendar Year. By Motor-vehicles (i.e., Petrol on which all Duty was paid). Other (i.e., Engines, Aeroplan'es, &c., on which Refunds of Duty were made). Total. 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 Gallons. 82,111,000 89,306,000 91,955,000 74,114,000 66,924,000 46,100,000 50,178,000 53,663,000 65,541,000 86,440,000 101,270,000 Gallons. 7,339,000 7,590,000 8,027,000 9,649,000 15,326,000 10,442,000 9,200,000 9,000,000 9,045,000 10,146,000 13,746.000 Gallons. 89,450,000 96,896,000 99,982,000 83,763,000 82,250,000 56,542,000 59,378,000 62,663,000 74,586,000 96,586,000 115,016,000

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The sharp increase in motor-vehicle petrol-consumption for 1947 is" due mainly to the lifting of the wartime rationing on Ist June, 1946, and the additional number of vehicles on the road. The average annual petrol-consumption per vehicle for 1946 amounted to 261 gallons, as compared to 280 gallons for 1947. Petrol-consumption for other purposes in 1947 has risen to approximately one-third •over the figure for 1946 ; this is accounted for by an extension in farm mechanization, expansion of commercial aircraft services, the revival of aero-club-flying activities, and ■a considerable increase in petrol-driven plant and machinery used on general construction road maintenance work. ROADS Limitation of Loads on Roads and Bridges.—ln most districts the rural roads have been classified according to their suitability for carrying heavy wheel loads. The classes of road are Class Three, where the maximum axle load permitted is 5| tons ; Class Four, axle load 4 tons; and Class Five, with 3 tons as the maximum allowable .axle load. In the case of multi-axled vehicles or trailers this limit in each class is reduced by one-half ton. While on the one hand the lightly surfaced roads must be protected from undue damage by heavy wheel loads, on the other hand any reduction in the gross load of a vehicle can be effected only by reducing the pay-load. Such reduction will result in increased mileage to carry the same amount of goods, and thus an increase in transport costs and in charges to the user. Condition of Bridges.—Due to the serious condition of many of the older timber bridges throughout the Dominion, a great number of roading authorities have imposed special limits upon the loads to be carried by the bridges. In some instances these loadlimits are very restrictive and will have the effect of seriously curtailing loads over the routes upon which the bridges are situated. In a country as dependent as New Zealand is upon motor transport such restrictions upon the normal loading of heavy vehicles over important arterial routes, as well as secondary highways and purely local roads, will interfere drastically with the movement of produce and goods and will seriously affect the economy of the country. Road Usage.—Traffic volumes during 1947 (calendar year) are estimated to have exceeded the volumes of 1946 by 17 per cent., and, in fact, have exceeded the previous peak volumes reached in 1939 by some 10 per cent. These estimates of traffic are based upon the annual consumption of petrol by motor-vehicles, which in 1947 reached the highest figure yet attained. ROAD FINANCE Dominion's Road Bill, 1935-36 to 1938-39, inclusive, and 1943-44 to 1945-46. — The Department has abstracted from various official sources the statistical data relating to road finance and analysed it to show the approximate cost of roads, streets, and bridges under the headings of construction, maintenance, and loan charges. The expenditure has been apportioned in the three primary groups of roads, &c. —namely, main highways, urban roads and streets, and other (rural) roads. To obtain the mileages of these groups some estimation has been necessary, as with certain aspects of the figures for the whole road bill. Any estimations have been conservatively made, and the figures are sufficiently close to accuracy to form a reliable basis for broad conclusions. The road bill for the year ended 31st March, 1946, is the latest figure that can be computed from complete available information. It differs materially from pre-war road bills in that practically no construction was carried on during the war years, and

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comparatively little had been done .up to 1946. Constructional expenditure for the 1943-44 year amounted to only 11-9 per cent, of the total, and for the following year 15-2 per cent., and for the 1945-46 year 16-9 per cent.; the corresponding proportion averaged over the six years immediately preceding the war amounted to 41-2 per cent, of the total. The expenditure on maintenance for 1945-46 was 8-6 per cent, above the corresponding figure for 1938-39. The amount spent on maintenance in 1945-46 was £4,032,588, compared with £3,711,737 in 1938-39, so that, allowing for the increased costs, the actual amount of maintenance work done in 1945-46 was probably below that done in 1938-39. The total expenditure for 1945-46 showed an increase of approximately 10 per cent, upon the previous year. It is reliably estimated that the operating-costs of all classes of motor-vehicles in the Dominion amounted to £52,800,000 for 1947-48. These figures indicate the importance of good roads to the Dominion, particularly when it is realized that bad roading conditions mean high operating-costs for motor-vehicles ; on the other hand, good roading tends to lower operating-costs. In addition, good developmental roads mean buoyant rural development. The following table shows the total expenditure on roads, streets, and bridges under the appropriate headings for the vear ended 31st March, 1946

Table No. 3 in the Appendix gives a comparison of the expenditure on roads, streets, bridges, &c., over the individual years ended 31st March, 1936 to 1939, inclusive, and the three years ended 31st March, 1944 to 1946. Owing to staffing shortages, the comparative expenditure has not been prepared for the intervening war years. Sources of Moneys expended on Roads, Streets, etc. —The table hereunder gives the approximate percentages of the five main sources of moneys expended annually on all roads during the years 1935-36 to 1938-39, 1943-44 to 1945-46 :

The figures from which, the above percentages were computed are given in Table No. 4 of the Appendix.

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Expenditure upon Main Highways. Urban Roads and Streets. Other Roads. I | Total. 1 Maintenance .. .. Construction Interest and sinking-fund charges £ 1,880,297 428,475 717,536 £ 570,321 578,419 723,237 £ 1,581,970 295,347 914,997 £ 4,032,588 1,302,241 2,355,770 Totals 3,026,308 1,871,977 2,792,314 7,690,599

Source. 1935-36. 1936-37. 1937-38. 1938-39. 1943-44. 1944-45. j 1945-46. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Loan 14-0 22-5 29-0 32-8 3-4 6-5 8-2 Local rates 30-3 27-7 24-2 20-9 39-4 40-5 39-8 Employment Promotion Fund .. 12-5 7-7 6-7 12-0 0-9 0-7 0-7 General taxation 14-5 13-2 12-4 11-0 16-1 14-7 12-1 Motor taxation 28-7 28-9 27-7 23-3 40-2 37-6 39-2 Totals 100-0 100-0 100-0 100-0 100-0 100-0 100-0

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Annual Charges per Mile of Roads, Streets, etc. —The following table gives the approximate mileage of the three primary groups of roads, together with the corresponding expenditure upon maintenance and interest, &c., per mile of road for the year ended 31st March, 1946 :

Table No. 5 in the Appendix shows comparative figures for the years ended 31stMarch, 1935 to 1939, inclusive, and 1944-46, inclusive. ROAD SAFETY A. ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTICS The Number of Accidents.—There were 188 fatal accidents and 3,382 other accidents which involved injury to persons during the year 1947. As the result of these accidents 206 persons were killed and 4,762 others were injured. In 1946 there were 190 killed and 4,144 injured. Although there were 16 more deaths in 1947 than in 1946, the death-rate per million gallons of petrol consumed in 1947 was 8 per cent, less than the previous year. Comparison of Traffic Death-rates. —The traffic death-rate in New Zealand is compared with that of Great Britain, two of the Australian States, South Africa, Canada, and the United States of America as follows : Deaths per 10,000 Motor-vehicles in 1947 Great Britain .. .. .. .. .. ..16-0 United States of America .. .. .. .. .. 8• 5 New South Wales .. .. .. .. .. 14 • 1 Victoria .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 • 3 South Africa (1946) .. .. .. .. ..19*5 Canada (1946) .. .. .. .. .. .. 10-7 New Zealand .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 • 2 Comparison of Fatal Accidents during the Past Seven Years (see Table No. 6). —Those killed in 1947 included 108 occupants of motor-vehicles, 47 pedestrians, 30 riders of motor-cycles or pillion-riders, and 21 push-cyclists. There has been a marked increase in the number of motor-occupants killed, but there has been no such increase in the number of pedestrians or cyclists killed. The total number of persons killed by motor-vehicles during 1947 was 30 per cent, more than the average number killed during the previous six years, although the exposure to accident (as measured by the motor-vehicle usage) was 65 per cent, more in 1947 than the average of the previous six years.

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Total Mileage. Annual Charges per Mile of Road, &c. Class of Road. Maintenance. Interest and Loan Charges. Total. Main highways Urban roads and streets Other roads Miles. 12,104 4,325 37,364 £ 155 132 42 £ 59 167 24 £ 214 299 66 All roads 53,793 75 44 119

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The following other points emerge : (i) A further increase in fatalities on the open road has taken place. In both 1946 and 1947 more than half of the fatal accidents occurred on the rural roads. During the war years, when petrol-supplies were drastically curtailed, the larger proportion of fatal accidents happened in the towns. (ii) The number of fatal accidents occurring after dark was greater in 1947, both in the towns and on the open road, than the number occurring in daylight,, although traffic at night is very much less than the volume using the roads in the daytime. (iii) Twice as many accidents where a pedestrian was killed occurred in hours of darkness as in daylight hours. Fatal non-collisions —i.e., where the motor-vehicle overturned or left the road, or where a passenger fell from the vehicle—were more frequent at night than in the daytime. Particulars of All Accidents Reported (i.e., Fatal and Non-fatal) (see Table No. 7). —Of 3,570 accidents reported, 2,460, or 69 per cent., occurred in built-up areas and 1,110, or 31 per cent., in areas not built up. In the towns 1 accident in 28 resulted fatally, but in the areas not built-up, where speeds are normally greater, the severity of the accident was greater, so that 1 accident proved fatal in every 11 reported. In the built-up areas, collisions between motor-vehicles numbered 747 ; there were 676 collisions between a motor-vehicle and a cyclist, and 634 collisions with a pedestrian. On the open road the main types of accident were as follows : Collisions between motor-vehicles (430, or 39 per cent., of all accidents on the open road). Motor-vehicle went over the bank (123). Motor-vehicle driven off the roadway (93). Motor-vehicle overturned (79). Motor-vehicle collided with a bicyclist (95). Motor-vehicle collided with a pedestrian (91). The relative severity of the main types of accident may be seen from the following : Collision with railway train .. .. .. 1 accident in 4 proved fatalPerson fell from vehicle .. .. .. 1 accident in 6 proved fatal. Over the bank .. .. .. .. 1 accident in 7 proved fatal. Collision with telegraph pole.. .. .. 1 accident in 13 proved fatal. Overturned on the roadway .. .. .. 1 accident in 14 proved fatal. Collision with pedestrian .. .. .. 1 accident in 15 proved fatal. Drove off roadway .. .. .. .. 1 accident in 24 proved fataL Collision with another motor-vehicle .. .. 1 accident in 29 proved fatal. Collision with a cyclist .. .. .. 1 accident in 37 proved fatal. Distribution of Accidents (see Tables Nos. 8 and 9). —Thirty-nine per cent, of all accidents, and nearly 25 per cent, of all fatal accidents, in 1947 occurred in one of the four main centres of population. This is over half of the total number of accidents in the built-up areas. Fifteen per cent, of all accidents, but 24 per cent, of all fatal accidents, happened on the State highway system of 3,800 miles. Thus approximately half of the accidents on rural roads took place on the State highways.

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Accidents in the large urban areas during recent years are compared as follows :

In Auckland and Wellington collisions with pedestrians predominated as the most frequent type of accident. In Christchurch, and also in the smaller cities, collisions between a motor-vehicle and a cyclist constituted the main type of accident. Collisions between motor-vehicles were also of very frequent occurrence in most of the centres. The Number of Road-users killed or Injured (see Table No. 10). —During 1947, 2,674, or more than half of those injured on the road, were occupants of motorvehicles. Accidents involving this class of road-user were most frequent in the months of March, April, and May. Bicycle-riders injured numbered 789, and of these, 329, or 42 per cent., met with their accidents during the four months March to June. The winter months May to August were the most hazardous for the pedestrian, some 335 -of the 763 pedestrian casualties occurring during this period. Accidents involving the Pre-school Child (see Table No. 11). —Of 53 children under five years involved in traffic accidents during 1947, 1 was killed. During 1946 some 75 were injured, 2 of these being killed. Certain of the Department's advertising propaganda has been directed to the need for parents to supervise these very young when they are on or about the roads. Accidents involving School Pupils (see Table No. 12). —Traffic accidents in 1947 where a school child was injured were slightly more numerous than in 1946, both .among pedestrians and among cyclists. The casualties were as follows: Pedestrians — In 1947, 8 were killed and 158 others injured. In 1946, 8 were killed and 151 others injured. Cyclists — In 1947, 4 were killed and 203 others injured. In 1946, 6 were killed and 181 others injured. The more youthful pedestrians —i.e., up to nine years of age—continue to figure prominently in these accidents, and this year there were more cyclists under ten years who were injured than has previously been the case. B. ROAD SAFETY COUNCIL With the increase in traffic following the easing of the petrol situation the Minister *of Transport decided, in late 1947, to reconstitute the New Zealand Road Safety Council, .an advisory body first set up in 1936 to advise the Government on matters of road

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Centre. ]STur fiber of Accide :nts. Population at 1st April, 1 QJ.7 Accidents' per 10,000 Population 1945. 1946 . 1947. during 1947. Auckland Metropolitan Area 427 552 641 231,280 27-7 Wellington City 246 281 360 129,400 27-8 -Christehurch City 263 324 302 120,500 25-1 Dunedin City 106 112 104 69,400 15-0 Lower Hutt City 43 66 85 36,500 23-3 Palmerston North City 33 44 60 27,100 22-1 Wanganui City 40 43 61 24,900 24-5 Invereargill City .. .. 21 51 46 25,200 18-2 Hamilton City 42 75 77 23,600 32-6 Totals 1,221 1,548 1,736 687,880 25-3

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safety. This Council rendered outstanding public service and I desire to place on record my thanks and appreciation to all the members for the valuable assistance they always rendered so willingly to the Department. The following representatives now form the new Council: — Hon. F. Hackett, Minister of Transport (Chairman). Mr. G. L. Laurenson, Commissioner of Transport (Deputy Chairman). Mr. D. G. Ball, Education Department. Mr. F. Langbein, Main Highways Board. Mr. J. Cummings, Commissioner of Police. Mr. E. R. Neale, M.P., municipalities. Mr. W. G. Belton, counties. Mr. W. I. Deavoll, Education Boards. Mr. R. H. Newbold, motor-vehicle insurance companies. Mr. N. Gilchrist, Educational Institute. Mr. C. R. Edmond, motor trade. Mr. A. C. Melville, transport drivers. Mr. H. J. Knight, transport operators. Dr. S. D. Rhind, medical profession. Mr. C. E. Owen, newspapers. Miss M. Magill, women's organizations. Mr. W. H. Brown, North Island motorists. Mr. R. Wilson, South Island motorists. Mr. T. Wickham, sports-car clubs. Mr. A. McLaren, motor-cyclists. Mr. I. M. Plimmer, cyclists. At the first meeting of the Council, held on 10th March, 1948, sub-committees were set up for the purpose of dealing in detail with the different aspects of the problem of road safety. These committees, which were to report back to the Council, were to deal with the following angles : The motor-driver. The motor-vehicle. Roads. Traffic laws. Traffic law enforcement. Road accident statistics. Road safety publicity. Child education in traffic. C. ADULT EDUCATION IN ROAD SAFETY The road safety publicity activities of the Department have been continued during the year. These have usually been directed to a certain specific aspect, according to the season or the particular problem of the moment, rather than making a general appeal. The publicity through the various advertising media has been co-ordinated as far as possible so that press, posters, screen slides, and possibly radio all feature the same subjfect-matter simultaneously, and often this is linked with a traffic enforcement drive against the same problem. Press. —The newspapers have given considerable prominence to statistical and general information relating to road safety. Detailed statements of the trends in fatal motor accidents have been supplied to the papers each month, and appeals have been made through the press at holiday seasons, when traffic movement on the road was heavy. In addition, the advertising campaign has been continued regularly through space taken in a large number of newspapers, magazines, and journals throughout the Dominion.

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Radio.—Special appeals were made over both the National and Commercial network prior to holiday periods, and these were supplemented by special road safety " spot" announcements at those periods. A number of road safety features were broadcast weekly over the Commercial Stations. These have now been discontinued. Posters. —Two main posters carrying road safety messages were widely displayed at appropriate periods and two sets of smaller posters were produced for local use during safety drives. Screen Slides.—Screen slides were shown at one hundred and fifty theatres throughout New Zealand and changed periodically according to the publicity programme. Films. —No new traffic films have been produced for adult audiences, but several appropriate films have been obtained from overseas, and these have been shown to different groups in various centres by the Road Traffic Instructors. The Instructors, whose work is primarily with the school pupils, are frequently invited to address adult groups at luncheons and at evening functions. Leaflets. —Certain of the newspaper advertisements and other material of an informative nature have been distributed as leaflets by traffic officers and automobile associations. Road Code. —This was reprinted in 1946, but the supply of 200,000 copies printed has been practically exhausted and a new edition is in hand. Traffic Safety Weeks.—Local campaigns, combining educative propaganda and traffic enforcement, have been conducted at New Plymouth, Timaru, and Oamaru. In one instance the week coincided with the national traffic safety drive conducted by the Junior Chambers of Commerce. Other Organizations.—Road safety publicity has been continued by other organizations, notably the automobile associations, the N.I.M.U. Insurance Co., the Junior Chambers of Commerce, and certain companies associated with motoring. D. ROAD TRAFFIC INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS Visits of uniformed Instructors to the schools have continued throughout the year. The Transport Department employs seven trained men exclusively upon this work, and, in addition, a few of the municipalities send a traffic officer to the schools periodically. A large number of schools, particularly in the North Island, are also visited and pupils instructed by officers of the automobile associations. These visits serve to supplement the regular instruction in " Safety First" which is given by the class-room teacher. The Departmental Instructors and some of the automobile association men utilize motion picture films to illustrate the points they are dealing with. The Department has embarked upon a programme of film production for this purpose, and during the year the National Film Unit produced two short films for use in the schools. One of these dealt with cycling and the other with the school bus, having particular regard to the hazard that occurs when pupils dart across behind or in front of the bus into the path of another vehicle. It is generally felt that school pupils of to-day have learned a good deal about the rules of the road. Nevertheless, no reduction in accidents has resulted during the past few years, and there is in fact an upward trend in the numbers of youthful casualties. While the total number of pedestrians (adult and child) who were traffic casualties during 1947 was somewhat less than in 1946, there were seven more children between the ages of five and fifteen years injured last year than in 1946. Accidents among school-children as cyclists also have shown a substantial increase each year since 1945.

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E. ENFORCEMENT OF TRAFFIC LAWS At 31st March, 1948, the strength of the uniformed traffic staff of the Transport Department was as follows :

The increase in staff is accounted for, firstly, by the taking-over of the traffic enforcement staff of the Nelson City Council (2) and the Timaru Borough Council (3) as the result of arrangements with these Councils for the control of traffic by the Department, and, secondly, by the appointment of additional inspectors stationed in the following centres: Whangarei, Warkworth, Auckland (Great South Road), Ohakune, Hastings, Palmerston North, Wellington (2), Motueka, Christchurch, Palmerston, and Otautau. At Wellington one Senior Inspector was required at Head Office to assist with the increasing work of the Traffic Offences Bureau and to enable the Chief Traffic Inspector to devote greater personal attention to traffic matters throughout the Dominion, and an experienced Inspector was specially detailed to investigate and report upon the background and driving history of motor-drivers involved in accidents, where it seemed that their qualifications for holding a licence might be reviewed. Control of traffic on all rural roads is exercised by the Department's traffic staff, and at 31st March, 1948, some 115 urban authorities (including two cities) had entered into an agreement for the control of their traffic by the Department. During the year the following local authorities voluntarily vested the control of their traffic in the Department: Nelson City Council; Waihi, Te Aroha, Stratford, Taihape, and Timaru Borough Councils; Waverley, Taupo, and Tahunanui Town Boards. Notwithstanding the reintroduction of petrol-rationing during the year, traffic on the highways to and from outdoor sporting and other gatherings, together with the customary pleasure travel on Saturdays and Sundays, has continued to be heavy, particularly during holiday periods. The Centennial Celebrations held at Dunedin were also responsible for considerably increased traffic on the highways in that district. The Inspectors examined more than twenty-five thousand applicants for drivers' licences. The duties of the Department's Inspectors have included testing new applicants and drivers seventy years of age and over for driving licences ; checking speeds of motorvehicles and behaviour of motorists on the highway ; piloting vehicles carrying specially large loads on narrow roads ; control at scenes of accidents ; inquiries and enforcement in connection with wandering stock ; checking lighting offences by cyclists during hours

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District. Chief Traffic Inspectors. Assistant Chief Traffic Inspectors. Senior Traffic Inspectors. Traffic Inspectors. Total. Head Office 1 1 1 3 Auckland 1 1 2 28 32 Wellington 1 1 2 29 33 Christchurcli 1 1 2 21 25 Dunedin 1 1 15 17 Totals, 1948 5 5 7 93 110 Totals, 1947 5 5 4 79 93

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of darkness ; foot patrol, point duty, and supervision of parking in towns ; checking motor-vehicles for defective or wrongly adjusted headlights and mechanical defects; checking stocks and sales of petrol-resellers in connection with petrol-rationing; enforcement of transport licensing legislation and regulations concerning the use on roads of heavy motor-vehicles and prosecution of traffic offenders. Some nineteen patrol cars in the North Island have now been equipped with two-way radio. These instruments have been put to good use in many phases of traffic control. In addition, they have a psychological value as a deterrent to offending motorists. During the year a training course for Junior Inspectors and a refresher course for Senior and First-grade Inspectors were held. The training course covered aspects of Traffic Inspectors' duties not readily gained in the field and with a syllabus similar to previous courses held. The keenness of Inspectors to further their knowledge at these courses has been most pronounced. The refresher course covered more advanced work and included demonstrations and personal handling of tank-transporters and other articulated vehicles and trailers now coming more prominently into use on the highway ; technical lectures and demonstrations at the Dominion Physical Laboratory; lectures by experts on care and maintenance of cars ; and lectures on driver testing and fitness of drivers by a medical practitioner (medical aspect) and an optician (in relation to eyesight). F. TRAFFIC OFFENCES Traffic Inspectors of the Department reported 10,217 breaches of the traffic laws during the year ended 31st March, 1948. Nearly half of these offenders (4,914) were cautioned, but proceedings were taken in 5,303 instances. Convictions were entered in 5,171 cases, 50 charges were withdrawn, and the remaining 82 cases were dismissed. By far the majority of minor breaches are dealt with by the Traffic Inspector on the spot and are not reported by him. The following schedule shows comparative figures relating to the number of traffic offences over the last eight years: —

Table No. 13 in the Appendix shows the nature of the offences which resulted in convictions during each of the past four years. G. INSPECTION OF MOTOR-VEHICLES All motor-vehicles are inspected every six months, and in this respect are divided into three main groups. (1) Passenger-service vehicles. (2) Goods-service vehicles. (3) All other vehicles.

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Year ended 31st March, Offences reported. Prosecuted. Convicted. Charges dismissed. Charges withdrawn. Offenders warned. Percentage of Warnings. 1941 .. 8,463 6,032 5,758 108 166 2,431 29 1942 .. 3,740 2,615 2,475 52 88 1,125 30 1943 .. 3,961 2,463 2,363 38 62 1,498 38 1944 .. 5,288 3,491 3,338 74 79 1,797 34 1945 .. 7,341 4,803 4,598 76 129 2,538 35 1946 .. 10,650 6,467 6,288 69 110 4,183 39 1947 .. 10,123 5,456 5,303 80 73 4,667 46 1948 .. 10,217 5,303 5,171 82 50 4,914 48

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Passenger-service Vehicles. —This group embraces all vehicles which carry passengers for hire —namely, omnibuses, trolley-buses, service cars, service coaches, passenger-trucks, school buses, school vehicles, taxis (excluding taxis operating in the four main centres, which are inspected by the Metropolitan Licensing Authorities), and rental cars. Examinations are made each six months by departmental Vehicle Inspectors appointed for this purpose. The examination not only covers matters which may effect the safety of the travelling public, but also their health and comfort. Each vehicle is required to display a certificate of fitness, showing the number of passengers which it is authorized to carry. Goods-service Vehicles. —This group comprises all vehicles which carry goods for hire, and these vehicles are also inspected by departmental officers, each six months, and carry a certificate of fitness which shows the maximum load which may be carried. Other Vehicles.—Vehicles not included in the above groups —i.e., private cars, &c. —are inspected each six months by municipal vehicle-testing stations and approved motor-garages which issue warrants of fitness. The following table gives the number of passenger and goods-service vehicles in operation in the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago districts on the 31st March, 1948:

Vehicle Defects. —The following tables give the percentages of vehicles which were found to be free from defects at the time of examination : (a) Passenger-service Vehicles Type. Percentage. Omnibuses .. .. .. 24 • 4 Trolley buses .. .. .. .. 26 • 6 Service cars .. .. .. ..14*5 Service coaches .. .. .. 23-0 Passenger-trucks .. .. .. 20-0 School buses .. .. .. .. 21*8 School vehicles .. .. .. .. 30 • 5 Taxis .. .. .. .. .. 40-5 Rental cars .. .. .. .. 54*1 Ambulances .. .. .. .. 18-0 (b) Goods-service Vehicles 20-9 per cent.

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Passenger-service Vehicles. ■ 8 £ 8 Area. . C3 <P 32 © * _ . m • # ct5 O Omni buses Trolle Buses Servie Cars. Servie Coache Passeng trucks Schoc Buses Schoo Vehicle Taxis Kenta Cars Ambu lances ■§*§ 1 H Auckland .. 504 4 116 142 200 229 39 465 374 40 3,991 6,104 Wellington .. 367 105 74 119 124 27 459 363 48 3,349 5,035 Canterbury .. 206 11 92 69 108 70 31 191 195 32 1,629 2,634 Otago 147 59 45 78 85 21 167 122 20 1,330 2,074 Total .. | 1 1,224 15 372 330 505 508 118 1,282 1,054 140 10,299 15,847

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(c) Private Vehicles 52*1 per cent, (based oil returns from Municipal Testing Stations) Analysis of Defects. —(a) Passenger-service Vehicles. —Table No. 14 in the Appendix gives an analysis of the defects for the various types of passenger-service vehicles. From this table it will be noted that the most common defect is in respect of steering-gear. The fact that 27*5 per cent, of the omnibuses and 50*1 per cent, of the passenger-trucks operating in the Dominion were found to have " defects " in the steering-gear does not necessarily mean that the vehicles were in a dangerous condition. The item " steering-gear " covers all the component parts of the steering-mechanism, and an adjustment or replacement is requested when the degree of wear is such that there is a likelihood of a dangerous condition developing before the next bi-annual inspection. The number of defects disclosed by the examination indicates the necessity for the inspection of motor-vehicles at regular intervals. (b) Goods-service Vehicles.—The following defects were found in the inspection of goods-service vehicles on the basis of every 100 vehicles examined. Unladen weight displayed .. .. 18-4 Trade name and address .. .. 10-8 Head lights .. .. .. .. 29 • 6 Tail light .. .. .. ..19-0 Warning-device .. .. .. 5-6 Windscreen-wiper .. .. .. 5-0 Rear vision mirror .. .. .. 9-0 Tires .. .. .. .. ..1-3 Suitable jack .. .. .. .. 1-4 Fuel system .. .. .. .. 9-6 Brake connections .. .. ..13-9 Steering-gear .. .. .. .. 44 • 3 Transmission .. .. .. .. 8-8 Engine condition .. .. .. 4*9 Driver's exit .. .. .. .. 15-6 Brakes, foot .. .. .. .. 12*6 Brakes, hand .. .. .. .. 22*3 (c) Private Vehicles. —From the returns furnished by municipal testing stations, private vehicles (motor-cars, &c.) were found to have the following defects when submitted for examination for a warrant of fitness. The figures represent the number of defects on the basis of every 100 vehicles examined. Brakes, foot .. .. .. .. 20*7 Brakes, hand .. .. .. .. 18*8 Lights, head .. .. .. .. 19*9 Lights, tail .. .. .. .. 5*6 Steering-gear .. .. .. ..15*6 Windscreen-wiper .. ~ .. I*9 Rear vision mirror .. .. .. o*s Warning-device .. .. .. I*o Door-fastenings .. .. .. I*6

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Vehicles condemned. —During the year a total of 98 passenger and goods-service vehicles were condemned and 2,482 vehicles were voluntarily withdrawn from service. This reflects the Department's policy of giving adequate warning of the necessity of replacing vehicles when nearing the end of their economic life in order that old vehicles may be replaced without dislocating public services. The following table gives an analysis of the vehicles condemned and voluntarily withdrawn in respect of the various classes of vehicles :

New Vehicles. —The following table shows the number of new passenger and goods-service vehicles placed in service during the year - Vehicle Group. Number of Vehicles. Omnibuses .. .. .. .. 114 Trolley buses Service cars .. .. .. .. 22 Service coaches .. .. .. 90 Passenger-trucks .. .. .. 70 School buses .. .. .. .. 52 School vehicles .. ~ .. 23 Taxis .. .. .. .. 318 Rental cars .. .. .. .. 277 Ambulances .. .. .. .. 7 Goods-service vehicles .. .. .. 1,203 Total 2,176

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Vehicle Group. Vehicles condemned. Vehicles voluntarily withdrawn. Total Number of Vehicles withdrawn from Service. Omnibuses .; Trolley buses Service ears Service coaches Passenger-trucks School buses School vehicles .. .. .. Taxis .! .. .. .. Rental cars Ambulances Goods-service vehicles 6 6 2 5 8 2 8 14 47 2a 61 2 70 33 73 504 277 5 1,431 32 67 4 75 41 75 512 291 5 1,478 Totals 98 2,482 2,580

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Seating-capacities.—The following table gives the seating-capacities of the various types of passenger-service vehicles in operation in New Zealand: —

Vehicles used for Taxi and Rental Purposes.—The following table gives the number of vehicles used for taxi and rental car purposes in three separate groups classified according to horse-power ratings :

Ownership of Licensed Passenger and Goods-service Vehicles.—The following table subdivides the various classes of " licensed " vehicles into three groups according to ownership :

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Number of Seats. Omnibuses. Trolley Buses. Service Coaches. Service Cars. School Buses. Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Up to 15 16 to 20 21 to 25 26 to 30 31 to 35 36 to 40 41 to 45 46 to 50 51 to 55 56 to 60 2 74 322 199 568 59 1 0-2 6-0 26-3 16-3 46-4 4-8 15 100 I 24 157 127 22 7-3 47-6 38-5 6-6 318 51 3 85-5 13-7 0-8 39 40 44 53 70 71 61 110 11 9 7-7 7-9 8-7 10-4 13-8 14-0 12-0 21-6 2-1 1-8 Totals 1,224 .100-0 15 100 330 100.0 372 100-0 508 100-0

Group Taxi. Rental. (h.p. in R.A.C. ratings). Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Light (up to 9-5 h.p.) 607 57-6 Medium (over 9-5 h.p. to 14-5 h.p.) 23 1-8 296 28-1 Heavy (over 14-5 h.p.) 1,259 98-2 151 14-3 Total 1,282 100-0 1-054 100-0

Omnibuses. Service Cars. Service Coaches. Goods Service. Ownership. Number. Per centage. Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Number. Percentage. Private Local body Government-owned 755 233 236 61-7 19-0 19-3 237 i35 63-7 36-3 eq oo tH 00 43-0 57-0 10,092 207 98-0 2-0 Totals 1,224 100-0 372 100-0 330 100-0 10,299 100-0

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Gross Carrying-capacities.—The following schedule gives an analysis of goods-service vehicles on the basis of heavy traffic licence groups:—

Goods-service Vehicles : Axle types.—The different types of vehicles operated on licensed goods-services are shown below :

* Condition of Vehicles. —From a comparison of the tables shown under sub-headings " Vehicles condemned " and "New Vehicles " it will be noted that, with the exception of omnibuses, service coaches, and school buses, more vehicles were withdrawn from service than were replaced by new ones. In view, however, of the fact that the total number of vehicles in operation has increased during the year (with the exception of service cars) it is clear that, owing to the shortage of new vehicles, operators are faced with the alternatives of either purchasing second-hand vehicles or rebuilding old ones, which normally would have been scrapped as having reached the end of their economic life. The demand for spare parts is therefore still acute.

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Heavy Traffic Gross Weight Percentage Classification. (Tons). of TruefcL A 2 -2* 1-4 B 2f-3 2-2 C 3-3^ 1-0 D 3-M 1-5 E 4"-4£ 1-5 F 4f-5 1-4 G 5 -5| 2-9 H 5^-6 1-9 I .. .. ! 6 -6| 8-7 J 6i-7 11-4 K 7"-7| 8-4 L .. .. ! 7i-8 31-7 M .. .. | 8"-8i 5-7 N 8f-9 3-9 0 9 -9| 2-9 P 9-|-10 6-2 Q Over 10 1 7-3

Type of Vehicle. Number. 1 Two-axle vehicles 9,539 Three-axle rigid-frame vehicle with trailing axle 247 Three-axle rigid-frame vehicle with double axle drive 160 Multi-axle articulated vehicle 143 Trailers 210

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The number of new vehicles imported during the year still falls below the number required to offset the normal obsolescence factor without providing for the expansion of services. The average condition of vehicles in operation throughout the Dominion therefore continues to decline. Public Passenger Transport.—From decisions made by municipalities it is clear that in New Zealand there will be no extension of tramway services, and in most cases there seems to be the desire to eliminate tram-cars completely, either immediately or on a long-term replacement policy in favour of trolley buses and omnibuses. The body-building industry, however, has been working to full capacity since the conclusion of hostilities in an endeavour to meet the current demands for new passengerservice vehicles, and it is therefore clear that the main factor which will control the rate of change from tram-cars to trolley buses and omnibuses for urban transport is that of body-construction. To assist in meeting this problem the Hon. the Minister of Customs in December last gave his approval to the importation of all-steel bodies from the sterling area, but to date no relief has been obtained from this source. REGULATION OF COMMERCIAL ROAD TRANSPORT Transport Licensing Authorities.—The licensing of road transport services is carried out by the three District and four Metropolitan Licensing Authorities, the Metropolitan Authorities dealing only with passenger services (including taxis) within their boundaries. Owing to the illness of the No. 3 Licensing Authority, a deputy was appointed to carry on his duties for approximately three months. There is no shortage of applicants seeking entry into the transport field. This is amply demonstrated by the number of applications lodged for new licences and for transfer of existing ones. During the year 2,127 such applications were dealt with. Of the 1,475 applications granted, 317 were for passenger services, 309 for taxi services, 38 for rental services, and 811 for goods services. In all, 6,283 applications concerning transport licences were handled by the Licensing Authorities during the year; 4,873 applications came before District Authorities, and the balance, 1,410, before Metropolitan Authorities. Of 5,096 applications granted,. 611 were for new licences and 596 authorized taxi-operators to charge separate fares for racegoers and early morning train passengers ; 864 transferred and 1,875 amended existing licences ; 1,150 licences were renewed. Fuller details of the applications dealt with by class of transport are given in Tables 15-18 inclusive in the Appendix. Public Passenger-services.—Traffic volumes on buses and service cars continued on a healthy level during the year. There have been a few complaints from the public in respect of overcrowding, but, in general, these services have been operated on a highly efficient basis. The Licensing Authorities have increased fares in some cases, but, in general, the level of fares is still on the pre-war basis. Several new services have been developed to meet the demand in new housing areas. Goods-services.—Public road freight carriers have capably fulfilled their task in the national transport system. The demands of industry and trade on road transport, augmented by a shortage of railway rolling-stock, were met efficiently; the drive for increased production was materially aided by the speedy delivery of fertilizers to farms. On those occasions throughout the year when goods-trains were seriously restricted by lack of coal, road transport operators ably stepped into the breach to ensure the smooth flow of freight.

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Passenger-services Licences. —The following schedule shows, in districts, the total number of applications considered by District and Metropolitan Licensing Authorities and the manner in which these applications were disposed of during the year ended 31st March, 1948 :

Taxicab Service Licences. —The following schedule shows, in districts, the total number of applications considered by District and Metropolitan Licensing Authorities, and the manner in which these applications were disposed of during the year ended 31st March, 1948 :

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Class of Applications dealt with. Disposal of Applications. w | District Authority. o X § % c3 1 a | CM 1 "3 "§ a ci "3 5+H tH •3 > S _o l 3 fc a <! O H 5 £ ■5" ° 1 H No. 1 .. 95 2 105 45 247 189 28 7 23 247 No. 2 .. 84 162 99 30 375 325 14 8 'ii 17 375 No. 3 .. 30 3 94 13 140 117 13 4 6 140 No. 4 .. 24 95 29 21 169 155 4 6 4 169 No. 5 .. 16 15 60 1 92 84 1 1 6 92 Sub-totals 249 277 387 110 1,023 870 60 26 n 56 1,023 Metropolitan Authority— Auckland 656 6 20 50 732 673 59 732 Wellington 1 3 1 5 4 1 5 Christchurch 1 15 5 21 21 21 Dunedin 1 2 16 19 19 19 Totals 908 300 431 161 1,800 1,587 120 26 ii 56 1,800

Class of Applications dealt with. Disposal of Applications. District Licensing i § a & tj Authority. | CS £ § rs g <§ d . "5 "a 1 ■8 JS i> 0 c H O •3 £ P3 < 5 H 0 Eh f-4 g $ ■< 0 H No. 1 .. 92 1 25 50 168 85 44 20 19 168 No. 2 .. 63 54 211 49 377 226 14 15 '97 25 377 No. 3 .. 24 5 15 14 58 30 11 2 15 58 No. 4 .. 20 115 4 22 161 143 2 6 10 161 No. 5 .. 22 9 52 7 90 60 20 2 8 90 Sub-totals 221 184 307 142 854 544 91 45 97 77 854 Metropolitan Authority— 378 11 Auckland 10 346 35 391 2 391 Wellington 1 26 27 21 6 27 €hristchurch .. 41 104 "2 20 167 149 18 167 Dunedln 33 2 6 7 48 16 17 5 'io 48 Totals 306 290 661 230 1,487 1,108 143 50 97 89 1,487

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Rental-car Service Licences.—The following schedule shows, in districts, the total number of applications considered by District Licensing Authorities, and the manner in which these applications were disposed of during the year ended 31st March, 1948

Goods-service Licences. —The following schedule shows, in districts, the total number of applications considered by District Licensing Authorities, and the manner in which these applications were disposed of during the year ended 31st March, 1948 :

Appeals.—During the year ended 31st March, 1948, 271 appeals against the decisions of Licensing Authorities were lodged. Of these, 118 related to goods-services and 153 to passenger-services. The following table sets out the detailed position for the year ended 31st March, 1948 :

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Class of Applications dealt with. Disposal of Applications. District Authority. § "i a «• ■g a g 1 I % T3 a 2 g 1 1 "S g -3 1 1 3 & H £ 5 £ < 0 H No. 1 .. 20 21 5 46 26 13 3 4 4& No. 2 .. 17 '32 6 11 66 51 1 3 "3 8 66 No. 3 .. 9 2 7 1 19 13 1 5 19 No. 4 . . 3 f I 2 7 22 21 1 22 No. 5 .. 1 5 11 "2 19 18 1 19 Totals 50 51 52 19 172 129 14 9 3 17 172

Class of Applications dealt with. Disposal of Applications. District Authority. 1 <0 & 13 § P§ ! i a 1 1 H 3 o H a s o "S 1 a > g ■9 Sn3 > §3 S PH 13 i o "O ■< i H No. 1 .. No. 2 .. No. 3 .. No. 4 .. No. 5 .. 240 147 64 80 37 21 402 9 65 20 446 375 187 147 44 264 137 54 71 14 971 1,061 314 363 115 731 924 229 307 81 118 31 35 20 6 58 44 11 23 8 i.3 3 ' *1 64 49 36 13 19 971 1,061 314 363 115 Totals 568 517 1,199 540 2,824 2,272 210 144 17 181 2,824

District. On Hand, 31at March, 1947. Lodged during Year. Appeals withdrawn. Licensing Authorities' Decisions upheld. Decisions modified. Decisions reversed. Referred back. Under Action, 31st March, 1948. No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 Totals No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 Metropolitan .. Totals 4 1 3 4 79 2 20 16 1 Good 10 2 2 4 s-services 51 1 5 3 1 4 2 7 4 i I 12 i5 5 12 118 18 61 4 9 6 32 5 4 7 1 *2 37 79 13 7 i7 Passen 6 15 1 4 qer-services 9 3 6 4 *7 4 5 4 1 1 3 40 2 1 1 15 21 11 2 6 19 153 26 29 4 11 47 55

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Rehabilitation. —During the year ended 31st March, 1948, 649 transport licences were obtained by ex-servicemen, compared to 856 during the previous year. (a) The following table shows, by districts, the type of licences obtained by ex-servicemen during the year :

(b) The following table shows the number of transport licences now held by ex-servicemen, and also the total number of current transport licences, as at 31st March, 1948, by districts :

f 559 licences authorizing taxis to run to race meetings for separate "j Temporary and short-term J fares i licences issued by Auckland excludes 37 licences authorizing taxis to run early morning services at [ Metropolitan Licensing L separate fares J Authority. The total licences held by ex-servicemen as at 31st March, 1948, have risen from 2,265 (the previous year) to 2,914, or by 29 per cent, over the preceding year. Goods-service Charges Tribunal.—During the year ended 31st March, 1948, the Tribunal held hearings to deal with 10 applications for the review of area rates schedules, 5 for the review of city schedules and an application for a general increase in rates following a wages increase. In addition the Tribunal dealt with 77 general contracts and 65 mail contracts.

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Class of Licence obtained during the Year ended 31st March, 1948. Passenger. Taxi. Rental. Goods. Total. No. 1 13 31 3 209 256 No. 2 19 45 7 117 188 No. 3 1 8 3 38 50 No. 4 11 14 24 49 No. 5 3 3 6 Auckland Metropolitan .. 28 28 Wellington Metropolitan 24 24 Christchurch Metropolitan 40 40 Dunedin Metropolitan 8 8 Totals 44 201 13 391 649

, Class of Licence. Passenger. Taxi. Rental. Goods. Totals. District. 1 H Ex-servicemen. Total. Ex-servicemen. Total. Ex-servicemen. Total. Ex-servicemen. Total Licences. Total held by Ex-servicemen. Percentage held by Ex-servicemen. No. 1 .. No. 2 .. No. 3 .. No. 4 .. No. 5 .. Auckland Metropolitan .. Wellington Metropolitan €hristchurch Metropolitan Dunedin Metropolitan 481 349 125 175 69 28* 6 16 17 39 50 11 17 3 1 428 304 81 124 33 375 206 128 56 156 210 26 73 16 137 137 84 31 59 60 29 22 6 •• 13 15 8 3 4 2,057 1,357 524 658 129 776 536 207 318 43 3,025 2,070 759 979 237 403 212 144 73 984 811 252 411 66 138 137 84 31 33 39 33 42 . 28 34 65 58 42 Totals 1,266* 121 1,735 870 176 43 4,725 1,880 7,902 2,914 37

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The results of the hearings are set out in the following summary :

In all cases where increases were granted by the Tribunal the Minister of Stabilization directed that the increased cost was to be borne by the user. There are now a number of applications coming before the Tribunal for adjustments in the rates for individual items on rates schedules. Difficulty is being experienced in obtaining the necessary evidence regarding costs revenue and volume of business. In this connection the following extract from a Tribunal decision recently given is quoted:— We think it proper to point out that where charges have recently been fixed the Tribunal is not prepared to agree to an alteration of those charges without very clear evidence either that the original decision was made in error or that the circumstances have changed. The details of the applications dealt with by the Tribunal since its inception are

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Application in respect of. Date. Decision of Tribunal. Southland District, Nos. 1, 2, 30/9/47 Slight increase in a number of items in small goods and and 3 Areas parcels schedule approved. Southland District, Nos. 1 and 3 30/9/47 Timber cartage rate for timber ex mill deleted in favour Areas of general timber cartage rate. Wellington City, Hutt Valley 10/10/47 Schedule reviewed and confirmed. New conditions Area applied and small increases in two or three items granted. Southland Rural Mail-service .. 10/10/47 Contract price fixed for carriage of mails. Palmerston North District rural 10/10/47 Application for increased rates for paper cartage refused. mail and newspaper service Banks Peninsula Area Rates 10/10/47 A new schedule involving some increase on old rates Schedule prescribed and approved. Dunedin City cartage rate 14/10/47 An increase in rates for building materials and parcels charges approved. Carterton rural mail-service .. 27/11/47 Rates for bread cartage increased to Price Tribunal delivery rates. Apiti Rate Schedule Area .. 27/11/47 New schedule involving increases in rates prescribed for General application in respect of 27/11/47 tllC died. Rates increased by 2J per cent, on Area Schedules and goods-service charges throughprevious increases cancelled, and a comprehensive out New Zealand increase of 10 per cent, on city, borough, and town district schedules consequent on wage increase by Court of Arbitration. Northern Manawatu Rate 27/11/47 Application to vary area for pig cartage declined. Schedule Area Wellington Hutt Valley Area 9/12/47 New schedule prescribed involving slight increase in rates for timber deliveries by timber-merchants. Governor's Bay Area 16/12/47 Increase granted in rates for stock cartage. Auckland Rate Schedule Area 12/3/48 Application for increase in shingle and metal cartage rates declined. North Auckland Rate Schedule 12/3/48 New rates for bulk lime cartage ex hopper prescribed Area (decrease on general rates). Auckland Rate Schedule Area 12/3/48 Increase in rates for carriage of bitumen and emulsion in tanks approved.

Applications dealt with during Year ended 31st March, Class of Application. Total. 1944. 1945. 1946. 1947. 1948. Country schedules 12 1 13 10 4 10 49 Town schedules 6 5 11 General contracts 57 4i 36 44 77 255 Mail contracts 70 81 71 38 65 325 Special rates 2 2 Wages increase 2 1 3 Totals .. 139 135 123 90 158 645

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Cartage Rates Schedules.—With the general wage increase granted in October the work of including the percentage increases in schedules and generally bringing the schedules up to date has been delayed. The work will be proceeded with during 1948-49. Comparison op Present-day with Pre-war Costs. —In the table that follows a comparison is made between the costs of operating a heavy traffic Class I truck, as at 31st March, 1939, and the costs of operating a similar truck as at the 31st March, 1948. For the purposes of comparison it has been assumed that the trucks are identical in all respects save that the cost of the 1939 truck (new, less tires) was £306 and the corresponding costs of the 1948 truck £715. Costs as at 31st March, 1939, and 31st March, 1948, for a Class I truck running 14,600 miles:—

Overhead expenses have been allowed according to the conventions laid down by the Goods-service Charges Tribunal.

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Item. Estimated Costs as at 31st March, 1939. Estimated Costs as at 31st March, 1948. Item Cost. Percentage of Total. Item Cost. 1 Percentage of Total. Running Expenses— Petrol Oil Tyres Repairs Total, running-expenses Standing charges— Licence fees .. Insurance Garage fees Wages Depreciation Total, standing charges Overhead charges— Management Office salaries Office rent Printing and stationery Postages. Telephone and tolls Accounting, audit, and legal Trade subscriptions General expenses Contingencies Interest on capital Total, overhead charges Total cost Running-expenses, per mile Standing charges, per mile Overhead charges, per mile Total, expenses per mile £ 168 10 61 82 21 13 1-27 7-67 10-31 £ 244 15 98 127 20-73 1-27 8-32 10-80 321 40-38 484 41-12 37 9 13 279 30 4-65 1-13 1-64 35-09 3-77 37 13 13 424 70 3-14 1-10 1-10 36-02 5-96 368 46-28 557 47-32 40 20 5 4 3 5 2 2 5 5 15 5-03 2-52 0-63 ! 0-50 0-38 0-63 0-25 0-25 0-63 0-63 1-89 50 25 5 5 5 5 2 2 5 5 27 4-25 2-12 0-42 0-43 0-43 0-43 0-17 0-17 0-42 0-43 2-29 106 13-34 136 11-56 795 100-00 1,177 100-00 d 56-< 1L 28 05 74 d. 7-95 9-16 2-24 13 07 19-35

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RETAIL DELIVERY SERVICES Inquiries made by departmental officers during the year show that reasonable delivery services are available to the public in the grocery trade, but that considerable hardship is being suffered in many homes some distance from shopping centres owing to the absence, in many towns, of delivery services by butchers and bakers. Efforts to encourage the resumption of the pre-war deliver}?- services in these places have so far been disappointing. AID FOR BRITAIN: PETROL-RATIONING To assist Britain in the economic crisis, petrol-rationing was reintroduced as from 15th November, 1947, after efforts to achieve voluntary savings had proved unsuccessful. To save man-power, the quotas of petrol-resellers were fixed on the basis of their sales for the corresponding month of the previous year, less 10 per cent. This system proved unsatisfactory and was abolished at the end of February, 1948 ; thereafter a simplified form of the wartime system of rationing by coupons and licences was put into operation. CHANGES IN TRANSPORT LAW DURING YEAR The following, in chronological order, are the principal enactments passed during the period Ist April, 1947, to 31st March, 1948 : jßevocation of the Warrant of Fitness Emergency Order 1947 (No. 2), (Serial No. 194:7/53). —The effect of this is to revert to the six-monthly inspections in the use of warrants of fitness for private cars. Motor-vehicles Registration Emergency Regulations 1947 (Serial No. 1947/75). — This restores as a temporary measure the system whereby licence labels are issued on annual relicensing of motor-vehicles instead of the change of registration plates. Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Regulations 1939, Amendment No. 6 (Serial No. 1947/76). —This contains changes in the annual third-party insurance premiums for motor-vehicles. Motor-drivers Regulations 1940, Amendment No. 3 (Serial No. 1947/112). —The main effect of this is to limit the cases when a person who is defective in one eye may drive a public passenger-vehicle. Passenger-service Vehicle (Constructional) Regulations 1936, Amendment No. 1 (Serial No. 1947/137). —These contain certain added provisions concerning the construction of public passenger-vehicles, including a requirement that any school bus shall display at rear and front signs with the words " School Bus." Motor-drivers' Regulations 1940, Amendment No. 4 (Serial No. 1947/182). —This modifies the effect of Amendment No. 3 above by enabling the Minister to authorize a driver with one eye to continue to drive public passenger-vehicles if he has previously done so with a good record and is judged as safe to do so by a medical practitioner. Traffic Sign Regulations 1937, Amendment No. 2 (Serial No. 1948/3). —This enables some elasticity in the dimensions of traffic signs for indicating parking zones. Heavy Motor-vehicle Regulations 1940, Amendment No. 5 (Serial No. 1948/4). — This sets out procedure for urgent protection by a local authority of any bridge against use by heavy traffic which might be unsafe for that bridge. v It is desired to place on record the thanks of the Department for the willing and helpful co-operation afforded by the many transport and other organizations and local authorities with which the Department came in contact during the year. Particular mention is made of the New Zealand Road Transport Alliance, the New Zealand Carriers' Federation, the New Zealand Passenger-services Federation, the New Zealand Omnibus Proprietors' Association, the New Zealand Taxi-proprietors' Federation, the New Zealand Rental Car Proprietors' Association, the Drivers' Union, the North and South Island Motor Unions, the New Zealand Retail Motor Trade Association, the New Zealand Farmers' Union, the New Zealand Shipowners' Federation, and the Associated Chambers of Commerce. I wish to express my thanks to all the officers of the Department for their co-operation in carrying out the duties of the Department.

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Table No. 1.—Table showing, by Postal Districts, the Number of Motor-vehicles licensed as at 31st March, 1948, under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924

Postal District. Cars. Rental Cars. Private-hire Cars. Light Trucks (i.e., 2 tons and under Laden). Heavy Trucks (i.e., over 2 tons Laden). Passengertrucks. Omnibuses. Taxis. Service Cars. 0 £ 5 Dealers' Cars. Local-body and other Vehicles exempted from Annual Licence Pees. Government Vehicles. Dealers' Cycles. Motor-cycles. Totals. Whangarei Auckland Thames Hamilton Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton "Wellington Totals, North Island .. Blenheim Nelson Westport Greymouth Christchurch Timaru Oamaru' Dunedin Invercargil Totals, South Island .. Totals, New Zealand .. 6,464 41,657 7,939 18,807 4,217 10,123 10,379 7,188 12,702 4,758 21,194 15 203 41 110 15 52 68 29 41 10 137 14 71 6 18 1 6 6 9 6 2 18 1,628 4,898 1,806 3,918 950 2,322 2,123 1,493 2,417 1,098 2,633 1,089 4,965 1,291 2,906 620 1,509 1,876 1,135 1,625 778 2,458 147 200 74 257 102 127 87 56 100 100 131 North li 53 334 37 110 32 59 28 11 55 11 167 'land 81 413 69 190 55 78 54 59 67 23 299 42 66 22 92 20 30 19 25 36 10 53 774 4,299 1,114 2.735 496 1,163 764 685 1.736 608 1,641 42 283 47 135 35 58 75 39 70 29 195 534 1,365 812 1,430 432 771 848 512 853 434 369 219 1,305 153 1,027 197 311 136 214 402 13 1,905 1 14 2 6 2 7 2 5 2 9 657 4,006 596 1,418 408 712 741 589 960 284 1,865 11,760 64,079 14,009 33,159 7,582 17,321 17,211 12,046 21,075 8,160 33,074 145,428 721 157 25,286 20,252 1,381 897 1,388 415 16,015 1,008 8,360 5,882 50 12,236 239,476 2,268 4,539 617 1,916 29,724 6,283 2,531 13,093 10,051 6 34 4 6 130 56 ' 59 31 4 14 3 9 49 2 ' 16 3 581 1,176 161 469 3,506 1,149 512 2,036 1,715 299 675 137 389 3,197 626 312 1,506 1,446 S 35 43 24 45 171 76 19 153 153 OUtll Islt 9 26 10 30 129 17 5 98 46 %nd 23 37 6 29 161 36 18 187 89 3 67 13 18 61 15 1 46 40 372 548 55 174 3,978 958 364 1,424 1,366 21 22 3 13 174 43 18 76 43 337 432 31 78 3,007 1,012 316 1,362 2,614 9,189 64 276 51 166 1,272 77 17 313 337 1 1 9 1 2 4 3 225 376 82 217 2,960 423 164 1,576 736 4,247 8,266 1,197 3,560 48,528 10,774 4,279 21,949 18,673 71,022 326 100 11,305 8,587 719 370 586 264 9,239 413 2,573 21 6,759 121,473 216,450 1,047 257 36,591 28,839 2,100 1,267 1,974 679 25,254 1,421 17,549 8,455 71 18,995 360,949

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Table No. 2.—Comparative Table showing Number of Motor-vehicles licensed as at 31st March, 1937 to 1948, inclusive

Local-body (j arg Trucks, xrucks Taxis and other a A is -•'« iir« *? SL ±Jusmes6, Laden. • Laden - Cars. Licence 3Tees. 1937 .. .. 170,004 1,585 24,201 146 26,289 19,260 703 619 1,697* 570* 2,077 2,019 5,444 1,134 250,304 1938 .. .. 190,554 1,837 22,880 140 26,590 20,430 695 656 1,755* 713* 2,892 2,703 7,087 1,395 273,240 1939 .. .. 212,566 1,953 21,109 150 27,794 21,393 659 691 1,695* 782* 4,650 3,492 9,345 1,652 298,586 1940 .. .. 219,938 1,861 19,201 145 27,639 21,559 622 754- 1,777 564 5,873 4,290 11,518 1,785 306,008 1941 .. .. 215,516 1,343 18,276 103 27,197 21,280 579 747 1,675 577 6,401 4,713 13,120 1,560 299,967 1942 .. .. 207,353 1,021 16,098 71 26,456 20,527 561 785 1,709 523 6,933 8,958f 13,438 1,360 292,355 1943 .. .. 194,715 741 16,459 43 26,456 19,433 560 817 1,889 487 7,073 16,572t 12,105 1,285 286,530 1944 .. .. 199,379 721 12,479 47 27,054 19,928 550 862 1,987 500 7,430 4,687 15,059 1,454 277,078 1945 .. .. 198,629 789 13,624 43 28,616 21,985 572 932 2,005 501 9,611 5,207 17,064 1,576 284,090 1946 .. .. 200,492 933 16,110 57 30,435 23,499 595 1,025 2,113 546 11,903 5,814 20,031 1,947 295,469 1947 .. .. 201,155 1,282 17,634 65 33,134 25,375 637 1,133 2,147 828 14,451 8,296 22,788 1,997 308,134 1948 .. .. 216,450 1,421 18,995 71 36,591 28,839 679 1,267 2,231 1,047 17,549 8,455 25,254 2,100 335,695 * Private-hire cars are included under " Bental Cars " for the 1937-38-39 licensing years. Separate figures not available. f Includes Armed Services vehicles which were not subsequently relicensed.

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Table No. 3. —Table showing the Annual Expenditure upon Roads, Streets, and Bridges, etc., during the Years ended 31st March, 1935-39, inclusive, and 1944-46, inclusive.

The bulk of interest is an estimate of interest on local-body and public debt road liability. Since the year 1932-83 no statistics have been available for local-body road indebtedness, and the 1945-46 estimate is based on the assumption that the proportion of road to total debt has not varied ; this is found to be the most satisfactory way of arriving at a reasonable estimate. The road-liability proportion of public debt is a known figure, and interest has been calculated on the average rates prevailing for the 1945-46 year.

Table No. 4. —Table showing Sources of Revenue from which Moneys were expended upon Roads, Streets, and Bridges suring the Years ended 31st March, 1935-39, inclusive, and 1944-46, inclusive

The item " general taxation " covers the sources of revenue other than receipts by way of loan, local rates, employment promotion fund, and motor-taxation; no attempt has been made, in view of the magnitude of the work involved, to analyse the sources of general taxation. " Motor taxation " includes receipts from motor-drivers' licences and heavytraffic fees.

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Expenditure oil 1935-36. 1936-37. 1937-38. 1938-39. ' 1943-44. | 1944-45. I 1945-46. Maintenance — Main highways Urban roads and streets .. Other roads £ 1,632,453 406,775 1,098,366 £ 1,314,694 424,201 1,088,204 £ 1,482,531 463,533 1,164,972 £ 1,952,732 453,282 1,305,723 £ 1,519,201 441,633 1,270,279 £ 1,555,596 496,812 1,447,075 £ 1,880,297 570,321 1,581,970 Totals 3,137,594 2,777,099 3,111,036 3,711,737 3,231,113 3,499,483 4,032,588 Construction — Main highways Urban roads and streets .. Other roads 624,943 903,918 1,102,730 1,622,982 938,692 1,443,185 2,565,822 982,008 1,605,648 3,331,959 1,308,173 2,025,818 116,086 452,656 187,549 318,856 494,809 248,223 428,475 578,419 295,347 Totals 2,631,591 4,004,859 5,153,478 6,665,950 756,291 1,061,888 1,302,241 Interest and sinking - fund charges— Main highways Urban roads and streets .. Other roads 605,403 580,979 1,122,408 605,925 573,423 1,047,394 642,695 580,773 1,135,116 734,507 572,439 1,248,346 695,571 698,960 995,773 756,380 634,728 1,033,954 717,536 723,237 914,997 Totals 2,308,790 2,226,742 2,358,584 2,555,292 2,390,304 2,425,062 2,355,770 Grand totals 8,077,975 9,008,700 10,623,098 12,932,979 6,377,708 6,986,433 7,690,599

— 1935-36. 1936-37. 1937-38. 1938-39. 1943-44. 1944-45. 1945-46. Main highways— Loan Local rates Employment Promotion Fund General taxation Motor taxation £ 549,546 502,408 45,638 £ 892,274 517,507 5,662 £ 1,708,635 448,949 97,864 £ 2,739,751 451,737 297,531 £ 110,559 335,127 £ 303,673 434,256 £ 408,072 400,128 157,403 1,607,804 169,239 1,958,919 213,299 2,222,301 233,098 2,297,072 5,119 1,880,053 14,671 1,878,232 20,039 2,198,069 Totals 2,862,799 3,543,601 4,691,048 6,019,189 2,330,858 2,630,832 3,026,308 Urban roads — Loan L6cal rates Employment Promotion Fund General taxation Motor taxation 118,745 1,080,048 384,050 308,829 199,783 1,059,920 330,156 346*457 203,827 1,097,237 336,140 389^110 157,429 1,077,607 705,807 393^051 21,978 1,188,056 36,409 346,806 23,707 1,202,381 28,289 37i,*972 33,084 1 ,'402,841 26,343 409^709 Totals 1,891,672 1,936,316 2,026,314 2,333,894 1,593,249 1,626,349 1,871,977 Other roads— Loan Local rates Employment Promotion Fund General taxation Motor taxation 466,152 863,458 580,000 939,714 916,181 357,220 1,169,128 1,027,709 276,695 1,350,322 1,168,289 554,242 84,321 992,655 19,994 125,470 1,192,808 24,375 192,524 1,258,255 23,531 1,010,496 403,398 1,017,082 298,586 1,101,369 330,835 1,185,080 321,954 1,019,005 337,626 1,013,064 373,535 914,137 403,867 Totals 3,323,504 3,528,783 3,905,736 4,579,887 2,453,601 2,729,252 2,792,314 All roadsLoan Local rates Employment Promotion Fund General taxation Motor taxation 1,134,443 2,445,914 1,009,688 1,167,899 2,320,031 2,031,771 2,493,608 693,038 1,186,321 2,603,962 3,081,590 2,573,895 710,699 1,314,668 2,942,246 4,247,502 2,697,633 1,557,580 1,418,178 3,012,077 216,858 2,515,838 56,403 1,024,124 2,564,485 452,850 2,829,445 52,664 1,027,735 2,623,739 633,680 3,061,224 49,874 934,176 3,011,645 Totals 8,077,975 1 9j008,700 10,623,098 12,932,970 6,377,708, 6,986,433 7,690,599

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Table No. 5.—Table Showing Annual Charges per Mile on Roads and Streets

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Year ended 31st March, Length of Formed Roads. Annual Charges per Mile of Road. Maintenance. | Interest and Loan Charges. Total. (a) Main Highways Miles. £ £ £ 1935 11,176 114 55 169 1936 11,649 140 52 192 1937 11,684 113 52 165 1938 11,728 126 55 181 1939 11,802 165 62 227 1944 12,027 126 58 184 1945 12,060 129 63 192 1946 12,104 155 59 214 (b) Urban Roads and Streets 1935 4,035 97 137 234 1936 4,059 100 143 243 1937 4,177 102 137 239 1938 4,201 110 138 248 1939 4,186 108 137 245 1944 4,287 103 163 266 1945 4,298 116 148 264 1946 4,325 132 167 299 (c) Other Roads 1935 36,947 26 31 57 1936 36,350 30 31 61 1937 36,467 28 29 57 1938 36,699 32 31 63 1939 36,815 35 34 69 1944 37,135 34 27 61 1945 37,405 39 28 67 1946 37,364 42 24 66 Total, all Roads (a), (b), and (c) 1935 52,158 55 44 99 1936 52,058 60 44 104 1937 52,328 53 43 96 1938 52,628 59 45 104 1939 52,803 70 48 118 1944 53,449 60 45 105 1945 53,763 65 45 110 1946 53,793 75 44 119

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Table No. 6.—Comparison of Details of Fatal Motor Accidents for the Calendar Years 1941 to 1947

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Item. Year. 1941. | 1942. ! 1943. | 1944. | 1945. j 1946. j 1947. Number of Fatal Accidents (a) Total number 158 i 159 138 134 109 174 188 Number in daylight 80 ! 95 94 74 70 90 88 Number in darkness 78 64 44 60 39 84 100 (b) Number occurring in built-up areas— Total number 87 j 83 75 74 60 80 88 Number in daylight 43 48 52 44 35 37 39 Number in darkness 44 35 23 30 25 43 49 (c) Number occurring on rural roads— Total number 71 ! 76 63 60 49 94 100 Number in daylight 35 47 42 30 35 53 49 Number in darkness 36 1 29 21 30 14 41 51 (d) Number of collisions between motorvehicles — Total number 22 21 20 16 20 23 41 Number in daylight 13 12 15 8 15 12 24 Number in darkness 9 9 5 8 5 11 17 (e) Number of collisions with railway trains— Total number 8 14 9 6 7 12 10 Number in daylight 7 10 9 6 7 10 9 Number in darkness 1 4 2 1 (/) Number of collisions with trams 1 2 3 3 3 1 (g) Number of collisions with bicyclists— Total number .. .. 25 22 20 23 13 23 21 Number in daylight .. 14 15 17 14 8 11 11 Number in darkness .. 11 7 3 9 5 12 10 (h) Number of collisions with pedestrians — Total number .. .. 53 44 42 42 33 54 48 Number in daylight .. 21 19 26 24 24 27 16 Number in darkness .. 32 25 16 18 9 27 32 (i) Number of collisions with horse— Vehicles or animals .. .. j 1 1 (j) Number of other collisions— ; Total number .. .. 16 16 24 15 6 18 ' 16 Number in daylight .. 8 8 13 7 5 7 6 Number in darkness .. 8 8 11 8 1 11 10 (1c) Number of non-collisions— Total number 33 40 23 32 17 40 50 Number in daylight 16 31 14 15 11 23 22 Number in darkness 17 9 9 17 6 17 28 Number of Persons hilled (a) Total number 175 167 145 140 129 190 206 (b) Nulnber of occupants of motor-vehicles 76 75 67 56 68 83 108 (excluding motor-cycles) 24 30 (c) Number of riders of motor-cycles or 21 26 16 17 15 pillion-riders (d) Number of bicyclists 25 22 20 23 13 23 21 (e) Number of pedestrians 53 44 42 42 33 57 47 (/) Number of other road-users.. 2 3

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Table No. 7. —Types of Motor Accidents during the Calendar Year 1947

Table No. 8.—Distribution of Motor Accidents on the System of Roads and Streets during the Calendar Year 1947

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I 1 Number of Accidents. Type of Accident. In Built-up Areas. In Areas not Built Up. In All Areas. Fatal. Nonfatal. Total. •Fatal. Nonfatal. Total. Fatal. Nonfatal. Total. Collisions With another motorvehicle With a railway train With an electric tram .. With a bicyclist With a pedestrian With a 'horse-vehicle With a ridden horse With an animal With a telegraph-pole .. With a fixed object Other collisions 18 4 1 15 31 5 3 729 16 50 661 603 10 4 81 10 78 747 20 51 676 634 10 4 86 10 81 23 •6 6 17 1 5 3 407 14 89 74 4 16 43 •1 61 430 20 95 91 4 i7 48 1 64 41 •10 1 21 48 ■ 1 10 •6 1,136 30 50 750 677 14 20 124 11 139 1,177 40 51 771 725 14 k 134 11 145 Totals, collisions . . 77 2,242 2,319 61 709 770 '138 2 ,<951 3,089 Non-collisions Drove off roadway Over bank Overturned on road Person fell from vehicle Other 1 2 7 1 28 20 32 37 13 28 21 34 44 14 5 20 6 6 2 88 103 73 28 9 93 123 79 34 11 521 8 13 3 116 123 105 >65 22 121 144 113" 78 25 Totals, non-collisions 11 130 141 39 30.1 ' 340 50 431 •481 Totals, accidents .. 88 2,372 2,460 100 1,010 1,110 188 3,382 3,570

Classification of Locality. Fatal Accidents. Non-fatal Accidents. All Accidents. Number. Percentage of Total. Number. Percentage of Total. Number. Percentage of Total. Four main centres Secondary eities (5) Boroughs 6,000-20,000 population (19) Small boroughs, town districts, and closely populated localities 46 14 11 17 24-5 7-4 5-9 9-0 1,348 315 387 322 39-8 9-3 11-5 9-5 1,394 329 398 339 39-0 9-2 11-2 9-5 Totals, built-up areas 88 46-8 2,372 70-1 2,460 68-9 State highways Main highways Other rural roads 45 24 31 23-9 12-8 16-5 493 271 246 14-6 8-0 7-3 538 295 277 150 8-3 7-8 Total of open-road accidents 100 53-2 1,010 29-9 1,110 31 1 Total accidents 188 100-0 3,382 100 0 3,570 100-0 2—H 40.

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Table No. 9. —Number and Type of Motor Accidents occurring in the Larger Centres of Population during Calendar Year 1947

Table No. 10.—Classification of Road Users killed or injured each Month during Calendar Year 1947

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Type of Accident. Auckland ! Metropolitan 1 Area. Wellington City. Christchurch City. Dunedin City. Lower Hutt City. Palmerston North City. Wanganui City. Invercargill City. Hamilton City. H Number of fatal accidents* Number of Collisions With other motor-vehicle .. With railway train With electric tram With bicyclist With pedestrian With telegraph or power pole Other collisions Non-collisions Vehicle left road Vehicle overturned Person fell from vehicle Other Total number of accidents* 23 8 11 5 6 1 3 4 61 195 3 11 105 248 21 27 11 5 12 3 96 1 13 36 146 21 22 6 6 6 7 77 1 15 145 36 13 7 4 3. 1 28 1 3 25 29 5 2 5 ' 6 29 30 11 2 3 0 1 4 3 19 30 6 1 2 1 1 14 3 30 8 3 1 2 17 2 22 4 1 23 1 29 16 2 4 2 498 9 45 452 504 68 67 27 19 33 14 641 360 302 104 85 60 61 46 77 1,736 * Includes 14 accidents (one fatal) which occurred in the four Metropolitan centres outside 30 m.p.h. limit, and included in Table No. 8 as "open-road" accidents.

Number of Persons killed and injured. Month. Occupants Motor-cyclists of Motoror PillionBicyclists. Pedestrians. Other. Total. vehicles. riders. - January 228 49 37 48 2 364 February 205 59 55 42 3 364 March 241 79 89 63 8 480 April 251 60 87 70 9 477 May 245 49 78 87 9 468 June 219 37 75 85 10 426 July 194 35 58 88 4 379 August 238 52 58 75 7 430 September 183 54 58 55 4 354 October 205 69 63 51 3 391 November 231 61 67 49 3 411 December 234 73 64 50 3 424 Totals 2,674 677 789 763 65 4,968

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Table No. 11. —Number of Young Children killed or injured as Pedestrians during the Six Calendar Years 1941-47, inclusive

Table No. 12. —Number of School Pupils killed or injured during the Six Calendar Years 1941-1947, inclusive

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Number of Casualties during the Year. Age of Child. . 1941. ■ • 1942. 1943. 1944. 1945. 1946. 1947. Under one year 1 One year 1 4 "i 6 1 Two years i3 13 6 12 6 13 11 Three years 13 12 13 14 14 21 20 Four years 10 12 33 13 12 35 20 Totals .. . . 36 38 52 43 33 75 53

Number of Pedestrian Casualties during the Year. 1941. 1942. 1943. 1944. 1945. 1946. 1947. Five years 20 25 8 19 19 29 41 Six years 26 15 12 20 13 38 39 Seven years 18 13 10 16 10 24 20 Eight years 16 12 6 8 6 9 12 Nine years 13 7 7 10 11 12 11 Totals, 5-9 years 93 72 43 73 59 112 123 Ten years 10 5 3 6 5 9 12 Eleven years 8 9 1 6 8 9 3 Twelve years 14 4 2 9 4 9 12 Thirteen years 8 4 4 2 2 9 1 Fourteen years 5 1 1 4 5 7 11 Fifteen years 7 1 5 7 4 4 4 Totals, 10-15 years 52 24 16 34 28 47 43 Totals, 5-15 years .. 145 96 59 107 87 159 166 Number of Cyclist Casualties during the Year. Age or Unila. 1941. 1942. 1943. 1944. 1945. 1946. 1947. Five years 2 Six years 5 2 3 i 6 3 1 Seven years 7 3 1 3 4 3 10 Eight years .. .. , 5 3 4 1 7 7 15 Nine years .. 17 7 6 10 10 10 16 v Totals, 5-9 years 34 15 16 15 27 23 42 Ten years 20 14 10 7 4 12 26 Eleven years 30 15 10 14 15 24 20 Twelve years 24 18 12 15 15 31 21 Thirteen years 37 26 10 25 9 27 37 Fourteen years 36 31 8 15 10 30 22 Fifteen years 48 21 14 22 29 40 39 Totals, 10-15 years 195 125 64 98 82 164 165 Totals, 5-15 years 229 140 80 113 109 187 207

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Table No. 13. —Table showing Nature of Offences involved in Convictions during Each of the Four Years ended 31st March, 1945-48, inclusive

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Nature of Offence. 1945. 1946. 1947. 1948. Road Traffic Offences Number. Number. Number. Number. Intoxicated in charge 27 31 42 67 Negligent driving .. .. ... 8 1 4 14 Driving in dangerous manner 52 49 92 183 Dangerous speeding 6 16 25 60 Careless or inconsiderate driving 35 59 90 122 Exceeding 30 miles per hour 368 467 552 607 Overtaking, offences 11 19 28 59 Failing to keep to left 20 46 59 109 Failing to yield at intersections 16 31 37 71 Driver's licence offences 469 697 484 305 Licensing and registration offences 230 320 208 209 Lighting defects 89 217 635 552 Defective brakes 59 84 87 102 Warrant of Fitness offences .. 960 1,607 837 600 Loading offences 42 62 53 62 Cycling offences .. 255 312 230 348 Exceeding 40 miles per hour 387 474 373 344 Other offences 206 339 300 439 Failure to dip lights 91* 67 Crossing railway-line when not clear 38* 44 Heavy Motor-vehicle Offences Exceeding heavy traffic licence 99 130 121 105 Exceeding axle load 46 40 23 28 No heavy traffic licence 215 201 173 130 Speeding .. .. .. .. 281 387 267 161 No disk or class plates 56 34 10 11 Other offences 15 36 29 23 Transport Licensing Offences Unlicensed services 99 98 87 96 Breach of terms of licences 11 9 13 8 Failure to carry vehicle authority 142 166 67 53 Other offences 38 31 54 40 Failure to carry Certificate of Fitness 82 102 74 48 Miscellaneous Offences Transport control offences 29 10 t Exceeding tire-load limitations (new regulations) 45 95 14 Carrying racehorses over thirty miles by road (new 87 8 f regulations) Under miscellaneous Acts and regulations 113 110 106 104 4,598 6,288 5,303 5,17.1 *Not previously recorded separately. t Restrictions lifted.

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Table No. 14. —Defects in the various Types of Passenger-service Vehicles on the Basis of One Hundred Vehicles Examined

Table No. 15. —Table showing for Year ended 31st March, 1948, the Manner in which all Applications relating to Passenger-services were dealt with by all District and Metropolitan Transport Licensing Authorities

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The defects relate to the last bi-annual inspection made prior to 31st March, 1948. Type of Defect found on Last Inspection prior to 31st March. 1 I o 1 « S 1* 2 H M as O <3> S QC o>"§ .2 58 o cc g! £ % opq o ■s CO if ■§ m X cS H 1 © J ft rt § ,2 ■g 3 Unladen weight displayed .. Headlights Tail and stop light Marker lights and destination 8-8 15-3 25-9 7-0 6-7 200 13-3 13-3 10-2 14-2 33-3 11-3 10-6 16-4 13-6 3-3 20-6 24-2 34-9 16-4 14.2 20-7 33-9 9-4 19-5 28-8 1-7 17-5 21-9 2-5 18-5 9-4 4-3 17-8 14-3 5-0 sign Warning-device Windscreen-wiper Rear vision mirror Internal lights, notices, and signals Direction-indicator Sun-vizor Fire-extinguisher Entrance and emergency doors Upholstery and seat comfort Vehicle clean Suitable jack Tires Fuel 1 system safe Engine condition Steering-gear Transmission Brake-connections Spring and shackles General body conditions .. Brakes, foot Brakes, hand 1-9 3-6 4-7 6-5 I-3-6 8-5 9-7 16-7 13-8 2-3 0-4 1-1 2-6 2-6 27-5 6-0 5 0 12-3 16-4 II-7 17-3 13-3 6-7 13-3 13-3 13-3 13-3 6-7 1-3-3 6-7 1*6 2-7 4-0 8-0 7-8 7-3 22-0 15-6 ' 7-3 1-9 0-8 5-6 4-3 26-9 4*6 12-9 15-1 13-7 14-8 16-1 1-5 0-9 3-0 21 6-4 1-8 7-0 9-1 2-7 0-6 0-6 0-6 2-r 1-8 18-5 2-7 3-3 8-2 5-5 6-4 13-6 2-6 1-8 6-3 2-6 5-1 19-4 10-0 15-2 5-7 1-2 0-4 1-2 2-0 6-7 50-1 12-1 18-6 19-2 8-1 17-2 13-1 4-1 51 4-9 4-7 15-2 7-5 20-7 18-9 11-6 2-8 2-2' 5-5 3-9 7-9 38-0 6-1 8-1 16-9 16-9 15-4 18-9 0-8 3-4 0-8 1-7 5-1 20-0 9-3 5-1 2-5 0-8 2-5 0-8 4-2 32-2 1-7 22-9 13-6 11-0 13-6 12-7 1-2 2-0 0-4 1-0 0-3 2-2' 0-9 7-4 5-2 0-5 0-5 1-9 0-7 2-0 35-4 3-0 19-3 10-4 3-0 8-7 28-6 1-8 4-6 2-1 0-6 1-7 0-9 4-8 10-6 1-5 0-8 21 0-7 2-7 33-0 2-8 2-4 7-8 6-3 7-7 13-7 2-8 0-7 1-4 1-4 2-1 7-1 8-6 2-1 0-7 1-4 0-7 5-0 10-7 26-4 11-4 7-1 11-4 7-1 11-4 17-1

Decision. Total Number of Applications considered. New Licences. Renewals. Amendments. Transfers. Total. District Licensing Authorities — Granted Refused Withdrawn Reserved Adjourned 162 39 12 7 29 275 o 332 16 11 4 24 101 5 3 1 870 60 26 11 56 District totals 249 277' 387 110 1,023 Metropolitan Licensing Authorities — Granted Refused Withdrawn Adjourned 599 60 23 44 51 717 60 Metropolitan totals 659 23 44 51 777 Totals 908 300 431 161 1,800

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Table No. 16.—Table showing for Year ended 31st March, 1948, the Manner in which all Applications relating to Taxicab Services were dealt with by all District and Metropolitan Transport Licensing Authorities

Table No. 17.—Table showing for Year ended 31st March, 1948, the Manner in which all Applications relating to Rental-car Services were dealt with by the Five District Transport Licensing Authorities

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Decision. Total Number of Applications considered. New Licences. Renewals. Amendments. Transfers. Total. District Licensing Authorities—• Granted Refused Withdrawn Reserved Adjourned District totals Metropolitan Licensing Authorities— Granted Refused Withdrawn Adjourned Metropolitan totals Totals ' 75 59 29 58 181 3 166 26 5 96 14 122 6 11 1 2 544 91 45 97 77 221 184 307 142 854 33 40 5 7 106 346 3 5 79 9 564 52 5 12 85 106 354 88 633 306 290 661 230 1,487

Decision. Total Number of Applications considered. New Licences. Renewals. Amendments. Transfers. Total. Granted 22 50 41 16 129 Refused 9 1 4 14 Withdrawn 6 3 9 Reserved 1 "2 3 Adjourned 12 5 17 Totals 50 51 52 19 172

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Table No. 18.—Table showing for Year ended 31st March, 1948, the Manner in which all Application relating to Goods-services were dealt with by the Five District Transport Licensing Authorities

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (1,063 copies), £142.

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington.—l94B. Price Is..]

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Decision. Total Number of Applications considered. New Licences. Renewals. Amendments. Transfers. Total. Granted Refused Withdrawn Reserved Adjourned 316 98 58 3 93 515 1 1 946 105 54 9 85 495 6 32 4 3 2,272 210 144 17 181 Totals 568 517 1,199 540 2,824