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 2o7 stations
throughout the District were ready
for the morning rush, after attend
ing a meeting last night at the
Department of Interior Auditorium
to receive final instructions. More
than 800 persons. most of them man.
ayers and attendants at garages and
service stations which have been
certified as official inspection sta
tlonS, 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 any
time between now and Friday. A
substantial number of automobiles
With higher numbers showed up 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 S 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
Scheuule 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. Lowing
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 IL. In many parts of
the country, including Washington,
the Railway Express Agency, off,
| clal collector of tires for the Gov
ernment, has been so swamped with
requests for pickups in the last few
days that 1t has been impossible
| to take care of all the requests. it
was explained
Aid to Late Drivers.
Had the deadline not been ex-
tended drivers who have not vet
been able to dispose of their sur
plus tires would have been pro-
! hlbited from obtaining gasoline un-
oer 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 fleet inspectors
and will not be available for tire
examination by the general public.
| lhe great bulk of the audience
however, comprised the managers
and employees of the stations listed
in Sundays Star.
The inspectors were told bv lee
Brown, OPA tire consultant, that
they were to show no favorit-
ism IN conducting the examina-
tions.
Il know there are some fair
halred boys he said, who are
driving recklessly. We have the au-
thority to report such abuses of
tires, and it is our duty to do So"
Collusion Revealed.
Mr.. Brown also revealed that there
has already been some collusion be-
tween few unscrupulous inspectors
and motorists in that the drivers
nave been permitted to wear their
tires down beyond the recanninp
point so they could be certified for
replacement tires. This, he pointed
out. defeats the purpose of the en-
tire conservation program and will
De punished whenever it is detected.
Also beginning today, all car own
ers Will be eligible for recapped tire5
or replacements. Before thew NAV
apply TO their rationing boards for
certlncates, however, they must OBJ
tam the report of a tire inspector
indicating that the tire in question
is ready for recapping or that it is in
sucn poor condition that replace
ment is needed.
Even then, there may be a long
oelay Tor motorists compelled to
walt until enough rubber is avail
aoie 70 permit them to use their
certlfcates. Clyde Bodine, tire ex-
aminer for the District, last night
warned that, in addition, recapping
plants would probably be so rushed
Wltnin a few days that it would take
long time for drivers to get service.
inspectors were asked, therefore. TO
make certain that they indicated
tlres 1or recapping far enough in ad-
vance to permit the motorist to use
them until they can be recapped.
In charge of last nights meeting
was James B. Gouldin, tire rationing
| representative for the Die+r;,t