Evening star., 1942-12-01
Tire Inspection
Inauguration
Draws Hundreds
License Numbers
Up to 10000
Checked This Week

The Districts tire inspection pro-
gram began today with hundreds of
early bird drivers swarming
around filling stations and garages
for the first of the periodic exami-
nations which they will face until
the Nations supply of rubber be-
comes more abundant.
Inspectors at the 287 stations
throughout the District were ready
Tor the morning rush, after attend
ing a meeting last night at the
Department of Interior Auditorium
to receive final instructions. More
than 300 persons. most of them man.
ayers and attendants at garages and
service stations which have been
certified as official inspection sta
tions, attended the instruction
session
High Numbers Show Up.
Car owners with license tax num-
bers up to 10000 are supposed to
appear for tire examinations at anv
time between now and Friday. A
substantial number of automobiles
with higher numbers showed I'D at
the stations this morning, though,
and in most instances were accom-
modated.
Few early motorists, especially in
the downtown area, remained at the
stations during the inspection Most
OF them left their cars with attend
ants to be inspected during the day
and picked up when their owners
return from their jobs tonight.
inspectors were generally slower
today in checking the tires than
they will be when they have accus-
toned themselves to the routine.
The examinations took anywhere
from 5 to IS minutes per car. If
serial numbers did not appear on
the outside of the tire, the inSpec-
tors had to crawl under the car and
find the number, just as the motor
lists themselves had to do when they
| registered their tires.
Nom Residents Accommodated.
A sprinkling of Virginia and Mary
land cars were left at the stations to
be inspected. This is permissible,
OPA officials pointed out last night,
and such cars need not be brought
in during any specific period. The
| schedule OF dates, arranged accord
ing to license numbers, is for the
convenience of District motorists
and inspectors. it was explained.
Although some drivers. who are
scheduled for later inspections. pre-
sented their cars for inspection to-
day, OPA speakers at last nights
meeting emphasized again that
drivers should comply with the care
fully worked out schedule wherever
/ possible. This schedule, showing
license numbers for all motor We
| hicles registered in the District and
! the dates when they should appear
at the stations. appeared in The
Star on November %, last Thurs
day and again last Sunday. A COM
plete list of the 287 approved tire
inspection stations also was printed
in last Sundays Star.
Meanwhile, the OPA last night
extended the deadline by which mo-
torlSts were to dispose of all tires
IN excess of five per car from today
TO December II. In many parts of
the country, including Washington,
the Railway Express Agency, off,
clal collector of tires for the Gov
eminent, has been so swamped with
requests for pickupS in the last few
66ES that II hac hano
to take care of all the requests, it
was explained
Aid to Late Drivers.
Had the deadline not been eY-
tended drivers who have not vet
been able to dispose of their sur
plus tires would have been pro-
hlolted from obtaining gasoline un-
Ger the mileage rationing program
which, effective today, was ex-
tended from the Eastern seaboard
and certain Western States to the
entire Nation.
Some of the 800 who attended last
nights meeting were feet inspectors
and will not be available for tire
examination by the general public,
Inc great bulk of the audience.
however, comprised the managers
and employees of the stations listed
in Sundays Star.
lhey were reminded by Whitney
Leary. director of the District OPA.
that their acceptance of the an
polntments as inspection stations
carried with it dual responsibility
making certain that the regulations
OF the OPA are carried out and
seeing that the motoring public is
properly taken care of and prop-
erly treated. He said that the in
spectors were, in effect, agents of
the Government and that on them
depended the success of the rubber
ana gasoline conservation program.
Courtesy Advised.
William A. Van Duzer, District
trafnc director, warned the men that
the public would be critical Ne
SAID IT would be necessary for the
inspectors to treat motorists courts.
ously but fairly if the program wa +,
to win the full public confidence
The necessity of the program h.
said. should be drilled into the
minds OF skeptical drivers.
AT the rate we were going" ~.
SAID: "one-half of the country's cars
would have been off the road hv
ls43 and by 1914 the entire trans
portatlon system of the Natio,