The border vidette., 1931-10-03
HIGHWAY PATROL GETS DOWN
TO BUSINESS

The proof of the pudding is il
the eating. Arizona's newly or
ganized Highway Patrol justified
itself as q highly trained body OF
officers in their first months
operation on the highways of the
state. Averaging the citation oi
one motorist, for some infraction
of the states motor vehicle laws,
every 20 minutes of the working
day for each pstrolman on the
highway has been their enviable
record from August 8, the day
they took to the highways, until
August 81.
| The fact that these fourteen
patrolmen were able to step into
their duties in patrolling the
highways of the state and set
such high record for their first
months operations proves con
clusively two things. First. the
wisdom of the months intensive
training which they we're given
previous to their taking up their
duties on the highways. Sec
ondlv, the great need for these
patrolmen to enforce the motor
vehicle laws of the state, which
the public were ignoring in many
phases.
ln every county ia the state
the effect of having this handful
of state patrolmen on the high
ways is showing in the operation
of the motor vehicles. During
the month they inspected 1884
cars for defective lights and
brakes and cited the operators to
get them properly adjusted. A
few months of such operation
aud the glaring headlights that
have been so apparent on our
highways. and that have been
the cause of many accidents, will
surely cease to exist.
Citations we're issued to SIS
operators of foreign licensed We
hicles that should have had
Arizona licenses. These oper
! ators that were cited to properly
register their cars were residents
of Arizona that should have had
4 Arizona licenses on their cars
but were operating cars with
licenses from other states. Their
length of residence in this state
ranged from one to Is years and
one operator of such improperly
registered car had been q
resident of Arizona for the past
80 years. The big majority of
these cars had California regis
tration. Texas licenses were
second aud the balance came
from most of the states in the
| Union.
| Improper registrations caused
448 citations during the month.
The majority of these offenders
we're cases where commercial
cars bore pleasure car licenses.
Checking of these infractions is
one of the hardest tasks that
confronts the Highway Patrol
due to the conflict of the old law
and the new regulations that
took effect on June 13 of this
year. Many cars were register
ed before the taking effect of the
new law and their registrations
are good for the remainder oi
the year.
Cars being operated withou,
license plates, or with windshield
stickers that we're past the ter
day period granted for the secur
ing of registration, brought 1896
citations requiring the immediate
licensing of the vehicles. Othe,
infractions of the vehicle Law
caused 1887 repremands from
the patrolmen. These causes
ranged from only one plate on a
vehicle to operators licenses
hidden plates and registration
certificates. The patrols opera
tions in Maricopa county alone
during the month caused over
II, 900 operators to secure oper
ators to secure operators licen
ses from the county assessor.
office. This shows the mum bel
of drivers that had been pre-
viously operating q car illegally
| Sixteen stolen automobiles
were picked up by the Patro
during its operations in August
One of the cars had been stoler
in Cincinnati, Ohio, in July o.
1880. The party apprehendee
with the car waived extradi,ior
and was returned to the Ohio
authorities.
Only eleven arrests we're made