No Speed Limit for Motor Cars. INCREASED TAXATION FOR BETTER ROADS COMMISSION'S REPORT.

Progress, Volume I, Issue 12, 1 October 1906, Page 342

No Speed Limit for Motor Cars. INCREASED TAXATION FOR BETTER ROADS COMMISSION'S REPORT.

The feature of the report recently issued by the Royal Commission on Motor Cars is the recommendation of the abolition of the speed limit of twenty miles an hour. Another striking point is that the Commission recommends increased and consolidated taxation on motor cars, the sums so obtained to be spent on improving English roads The following are the principal recommendations of the Commissioners as contained in the Daily Mail of August 15 th last — DANGER ARE^S. 1. Abolition of the limit of twenty miles an hour for light cars, speed to be controlled by the section of the Act making it an offence to drive recklessly, negligently, or in a way dangerous to the public ; a limit of twelve miles for inhabited places, dangerous corners, and hills, etc., where adopted by the authorities, to be indicated by signals, or in large towns by due advertisement. 2. Limit for cars weighing from two to three tons with non-resilient tyres to be five miles an hour. 3. A central department to allocate the revenue from taxation of cars to the authorities for the improvement of roads. Amendment of the law as to extraordinary road damage by heavy traffic. 4. Emission of smoke or visible vapour so as to cause annoyance or danger, and excessive noise or vibration — not momentary — to be an offence. "-,. Owners to be liable if shown to have abetted drivers in committing offences , duties of owners as to giving information fo- identification of drivers

enlarged ; special penalty for being drunk in charge of a car, and right of appeal when endorsement or fine of over £i is imposed. In dealing with the proposed abolition of the speed limit, the Commissioners admit that chief constables desired to retain it. Evidence showed that speeds of forty or fifty miles are rarely attained, though twenty is often exceeded. Statistics show that the police largely rely at present on the reckless driving clause of the Act, and in fortysix out of eighty-eight counties they dispense with limit section altogether. A suggestion for specially trained constables for motor-car duty is considered worthy of attention.

THE DUST NUISANCE. The Commissioners are convinced that the main roads, at any rate, must be made more capable of carrying heavy motor traffic. They point to the remarkable increase in cars from 5 1 ,000 to 88,600 between January 1, 1905, and May 1, 1906. They believe economy of upkeep will repay the extra cost of construction. They think a solid foundation surfaced with granite or hard stone, the binding being screened gravel or chippmgs of the same stone, the best type of macadam. The system of " armouring " with stone blocks parts of roads subject to heavy traffic — German " Klempflaster," Liverpool " random setts "—" — is worthy of careful consideration. Experiments with dust preventives — tar, Westrumite, etc. — have not yet supplied satisfactory information. While no one method of road construction

can be recommended, the Commissioners unhesitatingly approve the idea of devoting revenues — not fines — derived from motor cars to road improvement. The amount collected from motor cars in 1905-6 was about

IN MOTOR FINES. A return of motor car offences from July i, 1904, to June 30, 1905, is also issued. The number of prosecutions was 6,165. Of these 739 were withdrawn or dismissed, 452 discharged on payment of costs, 4915 defendants were fined, 54 were otherwise disposed of, and 5 committed for trial. The total amount of fines was There were 1,245 prosecutions for exceeding limits of speed ; 1,152 defendants were convicted, and 93 charges dismissed.