The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-10-20

ment and licensed, you pay fran
chise taxes if you operate a truck
ing line and your trucks are weigh
ed regularly on department scales,
if you violate traffic law there's
ia ticket waiting and if you have an
accident your name goes on file.
There are IL divisions of the Mo-
tor Vehicles Department which
keep these and other activities
fuctioning fairly and efficiently and
with respectful regard for the tax
payers pocketbook.
In overall charge is Commissioner
Edward Scheidt. who has raped
harder and longer at needless high
way deaths than anyone else. He is
assisted by Joe w. Garrett, former
Rockingham County attorney, and
both have headquarters in rooms
108-110 of the Motor Vehicles
Building.
The building, erected in 1867, is
also headquarters for the award
winning State Highway Patrol,
commanded by Col. David T. Lam
bert. His subordinates include three
majors, each in charge of enforce
ment, transportation and commune
cations, and highway safety repec-
lively.
Major Charles Speed, to whom
accident is like crossword, directs
the safety division and is good
man to know when traffic programs
are to be organized.
/ Major C. R. Williams wields the
nightstick in the enforcement divi-
sion and Major w. b Lentz ham
dies transportation and communica-
tons for the 622-man highway pa
troll.
Another enforcement branch is
the License, Weight and Theft En-
forcement Division or, in its shorter
version, the Theft Bureau. Headed
by A. M. Gilbert, its members man
truck weighing stations placed
strategically throughout the high
way system, lend a trained hand to
law officers in tracing and recov-
'ering stolen cars and regulate
fused car dealers through licen-
sing system.
If your car is stolen Gilbert's
crew will help get it back-success-
fully SO times out of 100.
About $4,000 square feet of file
crammed space in the Motor Vehicl-
es Building is presided over by Miss
Foy Ingram. She's director of the
Registration division and custodian
of the official histories of nearly
two million vehicles.
A career state worker with better
than SO years of service, Miss In
gram directs 294 employees (mostly
women) who issue license plates,
keep registration files up to date
and keep tabs on the financial
responsibility program. She collects
money, too. During a recent fiscal
year the registration division took
in more than 34Ya million dollars
for the state.
In fact the Motor Vehicles De-
partment annually operates at a
profit" -collecting for the state
treasurer funds far in excess of its
operating budget. License tag sales
alone account for over 80 million
dollars yearly.
A drivers. license costs only a
fraction of a penny to make, but
most drivers would sooner have
their mortgage foreclosed than lose
it. Issuing driver licenses (and re-
voking them) is under the proprie-
torship Of Elton r. Peele who has
324 examiners and clerks on init
mate terms with the states two
million licensed drivers. A complete
dossier is kept on each ~ viola
tons, accidents, court reports, de-
scription, point accumulation - all
are kept neticulously filed in the
Motor Vehicles Building. Nobody
keeps driving secrets from the lie
ense division.
And nobody for a fact does any
better job in the nation than Tar
Heel hcensemen. They were recent
" cited by the American As
sociation Of Motor Vehicle Admins
traitors as having the best pro-
gram in the country. The division
scored 80 out Of . possible 100
points in an evaluation conducted
for all so states by a panel Of traf-
|fic authorities. Second place went
to New Jersey with "a points.
Other agency operations are
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