H—4o

REPORT INTRODUCTION Summary of Contents. —(a) The number of motor-vehicles licensed at 31st March, 1950 (413,363), showed an increase of 26,408, or 6-39 per cent., over the figure for the previous year, and is the highest level yet reached. (b) Petrol comsumption by motor-vehicles increased from 102,600,000 gallons in 1948 to 111,500,000 gallons in 1949. (c) Expenditure on roads in 1947-48 amounted to £10,847,265, an increase of 22 per cent, over that for the previous years. (d) In 1949, 218 persons were killed and 5,317 injured as a result of road accidents. The death-rate per million gallons of petrol used decreased by 4 per cent, as compared with 1948. (e) The number of pre-school children killed and injured shows a decrease and the number of school-children an increase over the previous year. (/) New Zealand continues to have the lowest road-accident death-rate of motorized countries. Comparative figures of fatalities per 10,000 motor-vehicles in 1949 are: New Zealand, 6-06 ; United States of America, 7-5 ; Queensland, 9-0; Canada, 10-2 (1948); South Australia, 10-6 (1948); Great Britian, 11-8 ; Victoria, 12-1; New South Wales, 13-3; West Australia, 16-0 (1948); South Africa, 16-2 (1948). (g) Two hundred and twenty-three school patrols are operating throughout the Dominion. (h) The Department's traffic staff examined 34,673 persons for driver's licences and reported 15,458 traffic offences during the year ended 31st March, 1950 ; 5,532 warnings were given and 9,926 prosecutions instituted. (i) Of private cars inspected, 51-3 per cent, were found to be free from mechanical defects. (j) One thousand two hundred and forty-one new transport licences were granted during the year. (k) Vehicles operating under the Transport Act ran approximately 259,000,000 miles in 1948-49, for a revenue of approximately £22,000,000. (I) The number of passengers carried by public road services amounted to approximately 101,000,000 in 1948-49. (m) Of all transport licences 47-4 per cent, are held by ex-servicemen. (n) It is estimated that rationing saved 8,000,000 gallons of petrol during the year. DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR TRANSPORT Licensing of Motor-vehicles.—The following table shows the number of motorvehicles in the principal classes licensed as at 31st March, 1950, with comparative figures for the two previous years. In most classes the numbers of vehicles are now considerably in excess of the 1939 figures, with the exception of motor-cycles and dealers' cars, the numbers of which have not yet regained the 1939 level. The increase in the numbers of omnibuses and trucks reflects the growing demand for road transport.

8