The sun., 1907-04-07
CONNECTICUH'S AUTO LAWS.
NEW BILL EXPECTED 10 PASS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
AhOiiyhm~nt OF Speed limit May T"It an End
n 20 Country COHstni GraTt -NIa-
II Chlncs May Ire Taken from LRwbrcak.
crS--TaN To go Toward Good Roads.

~ Nsw ITNvES. April G.--The owners Of those
4coTes Of big automobiles which find three
ffths nj their way between, New York and
Boston through COnnscticnt.s TO say nothing
of the other scores and hundreds which are
owned IN this STATE. are not eotnE 10 And the
same conditions n future as have prevailed
heretofore II thS present General Aassrnbiy
paSsss the hill which tho Committee IN Roads,
Bridges and Rivers Ia about to rcport-and
lhe Indications are theeh will. favorable com
Brittcc reports being rather sesdoSa turned
down. This II the nrst etas1 that this con-
hittec has had auto Legislation to deal With
that on Public Health and safety hns handled
II heretofore. when tho main question accom-
panyinG tho use Of tho auto waN public safety.
However, to quote Chairman Allerton OF
the comnittce whom hghtinE to have this
RmtOmohs legislation referred to his COM
fnittes the automobile Is no Ion ger q luxury
or merely y pleasure vehicle; u is a mode OF
transportation and must be considered by
Iris state IN IT'S relation 10 our roadvays.'
ConneCticut'S present automobile laws re-
huire the owner to register with the Secretary
OF state and rsceivea number which In figures
hot less than cour inches high and n0ns .of
AShosc strokes shnl bc less than oDe-half
inch wide. shall no carried both at front and
trnr of his machine. The fee IL tiifor the
or NnGl certificate and the same for eaoh
annGal renewal Non residents registered
IN their own States are permitted to operate
machine In Connecticut without license for
"a period OF fifteen days In any one year. This
speed limits Hre twenty miles an hour outside
cities and toroughs and twelve inside. Vio-
htiOns arc punished by fine Of noe over $500
or thirty days In jail for tho first offence and
300 and sixty days for subsequent offences.
= he real basis Of legislation regarding
AItos has always been the speed teature,
and IL seems 20 I've just dawninE on Con-
neCticut that in a crowded street three miles
an hour may sometimes h" reckless and that
under the proper conditions ont In the country
forty is entirely safe In other words, the
real rest should be whether or not a man
n operating a car with good Judgment aud
q proper care for the other users OF the high
way with little or no regard to the exact
speed at which he IL running. Indeed, so
far as speed goes there Is little reason for
putting automobiles on any other basis than
obtains In cases Of horse drawn vehicles.
- The actual safety Of life and limb Is the real
point. and Judges in any courts to which Of
Tenders are brought are capable OF deter
mining whether thia has been conserved In
any given case, with comparatively little
regard to Just what speed was being main
tained, Up to the present. however, tho
real test has always been speed and in cases
where IL was manifest that drivers had been
careless. even rech LESS. and yet were proved
20 have been driving within twelve miles an
hour courts have refused to hold them.
IL Is therefore likely that the speed limit
si be removed entirely from the law. This
will go far toward making 1t impossible for
country oonstables to work the rich graft
that has for several seasons been feature
of automobiling Ia this state. The town OF
Daricl IN axes no secret that sufficient money
b collected by roadside tribunals from auto
mObils after they have been caught in
We'll laid traps to pay the running expenses
OF the town, as well as 70 enrich constaoles.
there are severap other towns along the
main line between the Hub and the metropolis
where this Is doubtless as true. II not uuite
as openly admitted,
: Another change which will tend to still
further lessen the opportunities Tor bleeding |
autOmobiists will be "a clause in the law now |
being framed making 1t illegal to settle |
case OF this sort without a trial under tN enty- |
four hours. Yet the autoist is not going TO |
have things all his own way. The new law I
will contain a provision permitting his ma /
chine to be taken away from him. thus |
auto parties speeding to football game at /
New Haven. for instance, v i'll have TO respect |
the rights OF the other users OF the high |
ways, or possibly find themselves out in the /
rural districts confronted with choice be- /
tween walking or trOeying TO the next town |
having a steam road station.
The Secretary OF State as a supervising ]
officer over automobiles is to be superseded /
by an automobile commissioner to be alp |
pointed by the Highway Commissioner, |
PROBABLY from among his ONCE force TO save |
EXPENSE. The new commissioner will issue I
certificates OF resstration for cars and il |
does this latter measure seem to have struck |
= popular chord. Recently in Waterbury, |
ran over and instantly killed man last fall |
was tried for manslaughter. That word man
saught,e,t ,,, scared the jury i ana IL found him
something, If only gross careessness he
goes scot free: while If he had to be licensed
the deprivation of the right to run cars in
future would he some punishment.
All moneys to he collected on autos will go
10 the State for use on the state roads There
is a disposition TO adopt a new good roads
policy In Connecticut, giving all main roads
towns over 6 SG 's SoSd care sns S the state
posed, but this automobile money will help
out, especially as It is the growing use of
necessary. The autOmobilists realize that
their use Of the roads does break down the
results of the best road making as perhaps
nothing else could do. though they make
some reference TO the use of the roads in the
spring ny heavy teams cans ara The me G4Snsegpent 'S
Of the burden OF keeping the roadways in
shane
Of Connections are acting in \ very f ir and
honorthle spirit toward this matter. Repre-
q himself NT0p n% paSStomo6st IETdf and framed e % the
bill which the Committee on Roads. Bridges
and Rivers Is uSlnE geeneTnuy as model for
parently excellent innovation in means of
Identification was suggested by an enthusiasts
of New Britain This is tail light over the
number, which would work Hs DO the small
night, 10 keep the figures lighted and easiiy
regdahle. Mayor Ianders gets this idea from
the English law and admits that he did have
trouble over there in keeping his rear hight
lighted, and once hqd to settle. But the
present system OF identification is very in
adequate" he says, The fellow who wR nts
10 keen the law Is dsgusted to find how easy
IL is for the fellow who doesn't to break Il
and get awav without being caught"
The hardest point TO handle in the Whole
mntUer IL that Of taxing the automobile,
which ia bound to come directly. The autoists
ahV ~ the thought of tpXation. They would
oare less about paving $50 year for re0istra-
tion than half that "A n tax The committee
will report In favor of q tax. however. The
only point is how and by whom il shall he
raised. The general proposition is TO tax
al so much horse power. This at once leads
to confusion, for manv American cars. are
rated at a higher horsepower than they
develop. and practically all foreign cars
at much less than their real horse power
n the tax we're to be collected by the auto
commissioner II worll not he diflCut'matter
To supply him with the apparatus and formula
necessary, and require him to measure the
actual horse power of. each car and tax II
accordingly. That may vet he done. The
IDEA Ia, however, TO have the tax collected
hy local authorities and all but small per-
centage Of u turned over 10 the state. To
get around the dif1culty of their determining
the actual horsepower, the proposition IA
TO make the catalogue price OF the car the
basis Of taxation and lay tax Of ten mills.
for instance. But $1,000 car isn't worth
Frank Miller Of the Bridgeport Auto Cub.
"Hrv would YOU AK IL then? Al the same
TAtc!" Certainly" replied Mr. Asop. It's
gria. ne heavy and does lust as much do ma ge
TO t. roads the -eCond wear or the tenth"
While there - q General ha