12 Miles an Hour.
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Several motorbus drivers have recently urged in their defence, when summoned for exceeding the speed limit of 12 miles an hour, that they were justified in assuming that they could not possibly exceed that maximum. We reported a case, last week, in which the West Ham Stipendiary accepted the defence, and we report another this week -(page 464) in which, contrariwise, a fine of forty shillings was imposed at Stratford. The regulation in question (No. 12) was made, on the isth November, 1906, by the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis. It reads : "All omnibuses must be so geared that their normal highest speed shall not be in excess of the maximum laid down in the Local Government Board Order, viz., 12 miles an hour."
This regulation did not appear in the draft which the Commissioner circulated in September, 1906; its inclusionwas secured by the urgent representations of the Society
of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, whose members viewed with alarm the more immediate consequences of excessive speeds as they then occurred daily. Now, after more than two years of beneficial and broad-minded administration, it looks as though the owners, police and magistrates were to be placed in a predicament by the plea under notice. We would suggest that a legitimate compromise is found in the construction which may be put upon the word " normal,'' since the limit of 12l11.p.h. is permissible under full load and up gradients, which leaves an excess of power, and therefore of speed, for run. fling light or on the level. Reasonable overtaking will be rendered impossible if the significance of the word " normal " is overlooked, and that means traffic congestion everywhere. 'I he readiest solution, it appears to us, is to fit speed indicators, and we have expressed ourselves in favour of that safeguard on several occasions. If all drivers are possessed of a technically-good defence under Regulation 12 (though we seriously question the soundness in law of Mr. Gillespie's decision), the proprietors must choose between the alternatives of speedometers and some effective form of governing.