The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-02-05
12 ARRESTED AS CLEANUP 0F CITY STARTSF
SAFETY MEASURES
 N PUBLIC STREETS
Robbins B. StOeckel Talks on Proposed Legislation
 of Motor Vehicles
OLD AND NEW CARS

htcles prior to registration may be a possibility when the new state of- flee building is completed, Commits sioner of Motor Vehicles Robbins B. Stoeckel indicated in an address last night from WTIC, the Travellers Sta tion.
 A traffic safety lane" may be installed, if space is available, he said. When cars are offered for registration and they appear to need testing they will be made to go through the thorough examination which will be part of safety lane. Commissioner Stoeckers address was on the general subject of legis- lation which has been introduced into the 1881 general assembly per- taining to motor vehicle. The safe ty lane idea was advanced in dis cussing bill which would provide for state inspection of all cars more than five years old prior to regis tration. He said that while it was natural that such an attack should be made on old cars, there was also need to give attention to compara- lively new cars. he explained some- times lets it run down because he thinks in view of it's newness it ought not to be running down. The man who knows that his car is old, uSudAy SltCS IL IIlOE0 care anu at. tentiOn because it is old.
 A compromise was suggested by the commissioner on the matter of i allowing registration plates for new year to be displayed several weeks before the beginning of that year. He pointed out that "almost every crime committed nowadays in- cludes the use of a motor vehicle. Inasmuch as this is so, the motor ve- hicle department files should pro- vide thorough identification, at all times, and within few minutes, as is now the case. If markers are used fifteen or thirty days ahead, there would be in the possession of each operator two sets of valid markers for the balance of the year. This might provide opportunities for un- authorized use of markers.
 ''The main trouble, however, would be that the department would
 be put to it, with it's enormous fil-
 ing system, to keep up two sets of files over an extended period, in-
 would have to be ready to identify
 on either set of markres. In might become a sort of Dr Jekyll and MT Hyde performance. So it is rather
 hoped that this bill will not become
 a law with too much time allowance.
 A compromise might be reached so
 that two or three days, or even a
 week, might be allowed if the legis-
 lature believes that it reasonable"
 A proposed law which would
 make car dealer jointly respon-
 sible with his salesman when an ac- cident occurs during the demonStra-
 tion of a car to prospective buyer
 has some merit. the commissioner | finds. While there has been no great damage done to date, under
 existing conditions" he said, 'it is
 well to be foresighted. and this l seems to be a first class method to fix responsibility upon the person who ought to assume it."
 Taxicab legislation now before the
 assembly will probably result, among
 other things, says the commissioner in making each taxi operator easily identified by means of a car with his license number and name so placed that each occupant of the taxi can see it.
 A bill to restrict speed limits to 40-miles an hour would result in thousands of violations, Commis- sioner Stoeckel believes. There might be so many that it would be impos- sonable rate of speed law in effect in Connecticut for four years has worked out in a more restrictive manner than any other law ever could," he said. Under it, if per son goes too fast or too slow for the kind of traffic or conditions in which he is operating, he has been | unreasonable, has committed an of- fense and can be prosecuted. The reasonable rate of speed law is | elastic and much better to apply to all the varying cases than any sim gle restrictive law ever can be-" | Commissioner Stoeckel favored a change in the law which would per init Connecticut registrants to use headlight bulbs of greater candle power than at present, conforming with practice in nearby states. The | legal limit now is 21 candlepower. He suggested also that provision
 might well be made for the use of | non-shatterable glass, wherever pos | Sible, as a safety measure.