NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 245, 14 September 1929, Page 14

NOTES.

There is to be a through bus service between Portsmouth and Dundee, via London, Newcastle and _ Edinburgh. This will be the longest interconnecting road service in Britain. i There were only four fatalities in motor-cycle accidents in Glasgow last j year, as compared with nineteen in j car accidents. Wave your hand at the right time, • a moment later it may be in farewell. ‘ A reply to a Parliamentary ques- , tion states that the estimated numbers of employees in the British motor and . air-craft industries were 199,000 at the end of June, 1925, and 218,000 at the end of June, 1929. The motorist in England is being protected against the roadside tinkerer by the Automobile Association’s system of approved garages. Over 2500 repair shops now figure on the official lists of the association. The order in St. Helens, in the Scilly Islands, prohibiting motor cars has been repealed. The Channel Island of Sark is now probably the only place where cars are still legally prohibited. Compulsory third-party motor insurance, first tried in Massachusetts, has been the subject of a number of State moves for legislation. Many States have refused to introduce the measure, and an alternative, known as “The Safety Responsibilities Bill,” has been evolved. The Automobile Association of Great Britain has /formed an aviation department for the assistance of members who are members of light ’plane clubs. Special flying maps are provided, and the association is gathering information concerning British and Continental aerodromes and air routes. Magistrate: “You are charged with running your ear 60 miles an hour, smashing a telegraph pole, going through a plate-glass window, and injuring six people. What do you say ? Lovely Young Lass: “Don’t the 15 dollars I pay for my license entitle me to any privileges?” WHO IS TO BLAME? OWNERS’ LIABILITIES. FRIENDS WHO DRIVE. In law, the ownership of a car involves many responsibilities. The legal view is that the owner is at all times responsible for his vehicle, even when some other person is driving it (says the Sydney Sun). Recently, in the United States a motorist had to answer a charge of manslaughter arising from an accident caused by his car when he was not driving it but was sitting beside a friend who drove. Although the law in New South Wales is not as drastic as this, it brings home to an owner liability for damage which he might not actually have caused. In civil law, here, an owner is responsible for damages in an accident caused by his car if a friend is driving it while the owner is a passenger. In criminal law he cannot be charged with manslaughter m the same circumstances, though he may be called to answer a charge of being an accessory before the fact if he has aided or abetted any improper driving or breaking of traffic regulations, which may be a contributing cause of the accident. The owner’s duty at all times is to control the driver and he is held liable for his negligence. Thus an owner who was sitting next to a probable purchaser who was driving the car to test it has been held liable for the intending purchaser’s negligence. But if the contract of sale had been completed, the purchaser would have been liable even though the vendor was driving. ~ - In another case, the widow of a, friend who was killed in an accident to a car, which was being driven by a friend of the owner, recovered damages from the owner. PREVENTION OR CURE? A traffic officer who knows how to exercise his discretion can often do more for the safety of road users than one who is crammed with rule-of-thumb ideas and familiar with the very letter of all bv-laws and regulations (states an Auckland paper). There are still cases around Auckland in which motorists are allowed to act injudiciously in order that they might learn a doubtful leseon from a delayed prosecution. Traffic cpntrol was never meant to imply the posting of men with stopwatches while vehicles are allowed to rush along unchallenged. Often traps are laid to include some intersection m the 440-yard section. A certain speed, usually an excess of 30 m.p.h., n 5 declared to be the danger point. Officials secrete themselves and traffic is allowed to cross the inter-section unchecked at speeds which the officers swear are dangerous. A day or two later, or sometimes a week or two after, the motorist is advised. He will not recall any sense of danger at the time mentioned and the whole corrective value is nil. . c , A German motorist was recently fined for warning others of the existence of a police trap by placing a placard In an appeal in the Dresden Court, it was held that the motorist had been instrumental in preventing a number or motorists from taking risks, and the fine was remitted. This is a much debated matter and the point of obstruction has been tested several times in New Zealand. ‘ The usual attitude is that it is not an offence to warn a motorist who is not actually m the process of committing an offence. One mav be fairly safe in warning a drivel that there is a trap ahead provided he is not conducting himself so recklessly that he would be certain to rail mt the trap. One would be likely to be held guilty for issuing a warning to a motorist who was scorching through a trap thus enabling him to stop short of the timing line. If one sees a suspicious figure taking numbers one is pretty safe in warning anybody who appears to be driving £vb nil reasonably* TECHNICAL TERMS. In New Zealand motorists are evenly divided on the use of American and British nomenclature. Rarely is the pump attendant asked for a gallon oi “gas,” but the American “bumper is always preferred to the British equivalent of “buffer.” Following are comparative terms: — American British Sedan Saloon Muffler Silencer Transmission Gear-box Bumper Buffer Fender Wing Windshield Windscreen Top Hood Spark plug Sparking plug Truck Lorry Gas Petrol Crank case Sump Roadster Two-seater Rumble seat Dickey Generator Dynamo Lights ■- Lamps High (gear) Top Wrench Spanner Hood Bonnet