Connecticut western news., 1922-12-28
ONE JUDGE FOR. ALL
 MOTOR VEHICLE CASES
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(Continued from page 1 a motor vehicle offense of a minor nature as to reduce an indueement to arrest for fees. In applying this remedy, the serious offense involt- ing should receive one fee schedule and the minor offense should receive another.m .... #.......
 The commissioner points out that the state police department, with its force limited to fifty men, has been unable to divert enough of it's men from pressing police business to meet all the demands for motor vehicle enforcement, particularly in view of the fact that twelve to fifteen state policemen are constantly required for the giving, of motor vehicle ex- aminations alone. ''If motor vehicle enforcement is to be maintained on an increasing basis of efficiency" the commissioner says, "the state police department must be increased ! by sufficient squad which must have exclusive traffic enforcement ] duties to the full extent of the ncc- essity." The motor vehicle .commis- sioner is, by law, one of the three commissioners of state police, ex- ofic;o. ss ..=
 The general underlying purpose of every motor vehicle act, ,, aside from the collection of revenue for the state, is to provide regulation and discipline which will help to prosl mote safe operation of motor eye- hicles, is the commissioner view. Therefore, any motor vehicle act is necessarily more a law of regula- tion than it is a criminal law. The test for his department, he says, is that determination as to whether the principle of regulation be con sidered or whether punishment be imposed, depends upon whether there is wilful intent in any offense. This policy applies to revocation and suspension of licenses. 'In connec- ton with the suspension of opera tors' licenses" the report says that S'it has always been the policy of tine department to renlcve permanently from the road any operator who is disqualified either by some disability, mental or physical, or who, by virtue of his temperament, has shown that he is not desirable on the roads," The commissioner points out that ''thet offense of operation of car while under the influence of intoxi- eating lquprs is sauch more frequent than in recent years" .:->
 Officials of the department gave over 887 hearings on cases involving possible suspension or revocation If 1 licenses during the fiscal year ended June 30 last, which is the period covered by the report.
 1 The offense of operating before : becoming of age is regarded as trou- blesome. The statistics of the de- partment do not show, however, any extraordinary number of accidents charged against minors under 21 1 years old as compared with those older, but they do apparently show that the ages between "A and 2S years are those during which acci- dents are most apt to happen. The state law makes it illegal for any person under IS years old to oper- ate a motor vehicle on the public highways, unelss under the instruc- tion and in the presence Of licensed l operator. A bill to drop the age minimum to 16 years was defeated in the last session of the Legislature. t'The law as it now stands" the commissioner says, "is a difficult flaw to enforce and definite age without qualification should be adopted"
 An idea of the increase of motor vehicle operators entitled to use Connecticut highways and the vol ume of business in the motor ve- hicle department is given by a table in the report showing that receipts of the department have jumped from $230,120.89 in 1911 to $3,- 9,047.88 in 1922, and that the number of licensed operators has increased from 26,241 in 1912 to 164,011 in 1922.
 The, traffic hazard has increased correspondingly, it is explained, and general accidents reported have increased from 6,878 in 1920 to T013 in 1921 to 1O,3OO this year. To
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