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In Dilatory Dublin.
Mr. Wm. J. WaxMau's, a member of the City Corporation of Dublin, invites the attention of the authorities to the following motion which he is introducing:
"That as this Corporation cannot much longer deprive the citizens of their right to have the use of public taxi-cabs, we advise the carriage proprietors of Dublin to supply the want, before we are forced by public opinion to grant a licence elsewhere."
The reference to the citizens' rights is tactful, especially in Dublin.
Heavy Damages for Provincial Passengers.
in an acticn which -a-as brought against the Provincial Motor Cab Co., Ltd., in respect of an accident to a motoreab: which was hired from the Birmingham depot, the five plaintiffs, who had been passengers and were injured, were collectively awarded D692 damages. The accident occurred at a sharp corner at the bottom of Red Ilill, between Stratford-en-Avon and Alcester. The driver failed to take the curve and dashed across the road into a hedge. He stated, in evidence, that, when he jammed on his brake, he skidded both hind wheels so that the tires burst.
New Registrations.
The Nottingham Taxicab Co., Ltd., with an authorized capital of £3,000, by Jordan and Sons, Ltd. The first directors are L. Fawkner, Attenborough, Notts., and C. F. Hammond, 214, Derby Road, Nottingham.
I he Torquay and District Motor Cab Co., Ltd., with an authorized capital of ,C8,000, by Jordan and Sons, Ltd. The secretary is J. Kenny, and the registered offices are at 45, Fleet Street, Torquay.
An Important Decision.
In an action which was brought in Newcastle County Court last week, against the Provincial Motor Cab Co., Ltd., by some cattle-salesman, to recover damages on account of three sheep which were killed by a taxicab, judgment was delivered for the plaintiffs. A Hoek of GO sheep was being driven along the high-road at midnight., when the driver of the taxicab, ho did not see the sheep, accidentally drove into tliem. The men, who were iii eharge ot the sheep, distracted the driver's attention by shouting to him. No negligence was proved. The judge thought that stock-owners should carefully consider the advisability of providing tinftle indication of the presence of cattle and sheep on the road at night. An Interesting Wheel Combin ation.
One day last week, a member of our staff had occasion to make use of a Darracq taxicab upon which the hind wheels were of the Sankey pressedsteel pattern, fitted with Muir's Shock-Shifter " hubs and Ducasble tires. The machine was only driven at a moderate speed, but, over certain stretches of very rough road, the riding was quite comfortable.
Trespassers on the Tram-lines.
Our contemporary "The Westminster Gazette" has recently been publishing considerable correspondence from members of the public with regard to the use of taxicabs in London —particularly with reference to the non-recording on the taximeters of extras by drivers. It is difficult to gather what is meant by the writer of the following contribution to this correspondence. "To those who care to study tragedy in the making," he writes, " T commend the Embankment taxicab racecourse on any week-day evening, when the drivers amuse themselves by poaching on the tram-lines. I dedicate this humble little letter to the police." We should, without any pangs of regret, have dedicated it to the waste-paper basket.
Cab-drivers' Licences.
In the House of Commons, one day last week, Mr. Strauss asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he were aware that, if cabdrivers commit an offence of a minor character and are punished by the magistrates and fined, when the driver appeals for the renewal of his licence, at the end of the year, it is suspended, because of this offence, for two or three weeks, thus involving a man in a double punishment for the same offence; and whether he would take steps to remedy this grievance of cabdrivers. Mr. Churehil made the following written reply:" A licence is never revoked or suspended for an offence of a minor character. If the driver is convicted of a serious offence, such as excessive speed or driving dangerously or recklessly, he is cautioned, and, if he is again convicted of a similar offence, the recent practice is to suspend his licence for a short period immediately after the conviction, instead of adopting the more-severe course of revocation. In view of the very serious number of accidents caused by cabs, it is not desirable in the public interest to relax the present rides."
Pilot Developments.
In April last, we described and illustrated the first of a new type of inotorcab chassis, which was, about that time, to be placed in service on the streets of London by Mr. Turber
ville Smith, the managing director of Motor Schools, Ltd., Eeddon Street, W. Since that date, we are happy to record that Mr. Smith's enterprize has met with considerable success. This 16 h.p. machine, of which type nine are running regularly in London at the present time, is shortly to be placed on the open market. The latest chassis are to embody certain modified details, which, however, do not represent any very drastic changes in the principal constructional features. We reproduce a photograph of one of these Pilot motoreabs at the foot of this page.