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MOTOR TAXATION AND LICENSING.

7th December 1920
Page 18
Page 19
Page 18, 7th December 1920 — MOTOR TAXATION AND LICENSING.
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Details of the New Enactments and Regulations. Owners of Vehicles Should Proceed at Once to Re-register.

THE NEW ROADS BILL, as the new measure which will govern the use of motor vehicles on roads and which will amend the Motor Car Acts of 1906 and 1903 is. called, was presented to the House of Commons on Friday, November 26th, fot

first reading. The Bill deals with the methods of levying the duties on mechanically-propelled vehicles through the county councils,, instead of, as before, through the county councils and the Excise authori ties, and with the method by which the moneys so obtained shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund to the local taxation accounts and to the new Read Fund which will be established under the Act when it becomes law.

Provision is made for the return te the county councils and to the local police authorities of sucn sums as they would have received on account of fees and charges in respect of licensing if the Act had not been passed. From the Road Fund, also, is to be met

the expense of the Road Department of the Ministry of Transport, and the salaries and establishment charges of certain engineers and surveyors to local authorities, the balance being devoted to the development and improvement of the roads.

Entirely new provisions are made in respect of the application for, and the issue of, licences to use motor

vehicles, and the old word "keeping' is now displaced by the word "using." Under these provisions the whole business of registering and. the payment of Excise duties (which in the past, so far as commercial vehicles were concerned, has taken the formof a pay

meet in respect of Petrol duty, from which a rebate is subsequently recoverable) is now simplified, but, of course, under the provisions of the Finance Act of 1920, a duty has now to be paid on all commercial vehicles, road locomotives, etc. ,

According to the regulations which have been issu-ed by the Ministry of Transport. an application

.must be filled up at the beginning of the year for all

annual licences which expire on December 31st in each year,' whilst quarterly licences will expire on

March 24th June 30th, September 30th, and Decem ber 31st, the new licence dating from the day after. March 24th has been chosen instead of April 1st., because, in the case of private vehicles, it is not an uncommon practice for. a new vehicle to be put into commission for the Easter recess.

The application must be lodged with the Post Office, the forms being R.F.4 in respect of commercial goods vehicles, 11.17.5 in respect of road locomotives, trac tors, and agricultural engines, and R.F.8 in respect of hackney vehicles. There are a good many particu lars to be set out on this application form, but, on renewal of a licence, it will only be necessary to state that no alteration has been made in the particulars already lodged. It will he necessary, for instance, in the first application, to give such particulars, besides those that would naturally be expected, as chassis type, letter, and number, year of manufac ture of engine, the unladen weight, axle weights front and rear, diameter of wheels, width and material of tyres, so that it behoves all who are concerned with the licensing and registration of their vehicles for 1921 to secure the forms at the earliest possible moment, as the particulars cannotbe filled in overthe counter at a Post Office.

On the lodging of the application form and the paynaent of the licensing duty, there will be issued In respect of each vehicle a licence card, shown in

the illustration (page 560). We have reproduced i this full size ; that, s to say, 2i ins in diamater over

the exposed face. The outer rim containing the e24 words " Expiring 31'st December, 1921. Licence for a mechanically propelled vehicle," and also a border with explanatory lettering showing the matter to be filled in the blank spaces, is cut oil oriconcealed behind the metal ring cover, by which the licence will be attached to the vehicle or bracket upon which it will be carried. There is an alternative rectangular section with stiffening bars, which, however, is hardly likely to be adopted.

The licence is printed on stout Paper, with different colours for different periods. The annual licence for the year 1921 will be bluse, and the quarterly licence for the quarter ending March 24th will be yellow ; the colours for the remaining quarters and for subsequent years will differ. Thus, at any throe, there will only be two colours for which the police inspectors will have to look.

The licence card must be shown in a conspicuous position at the near side of the vehicle., in one of two positions: on or attached to the windscreen, but showing to the near side of the road (that is to say, it must not face forward), or on the outside of the fore portion' of the vehicle in line with the driver's seat, or, in the ease of a heavy car or locomotive, in line with the footplate.

The means of carrying the licence card in the holder (if the latter be not screwed to the side of the cab) has not been worked out, and the Ministry are open to suggestions. A simple way where a position on or attached to the windscreen is chosen would seem to be an attachment in the form of a hinged bracket secured to the windscreen pillar, the licence then projecting forward or rearward of thewinds,creen pillar; • in the latter case it would probably be arranged txi swivel into a transverse Position so as not to interfere with access to the driver's seat. We contend that there is no likelihood of any attempt to obscure or conceal the licence plate, because nothing but inconvenience could result frorn such action. Failure to expose the licence card would mean the vehicle being stopped by the police, and, no doubt, subsequent proceedings

The licence card, as will be seen, does not bear the name and address of the owner of the vehicle.

Accompanying the licence card is a licence registration book, which consists of a foolscap manilla sheet folded into four. This contains instructions and spaces for particulars of the vehicle, a record of licences issued, and a space for the name and address of the owner and his signature, and other spaces for each change of ownership are provided. This registration book has to be sent to the local licensing authority for registration of the particulars; it will then be returned, and should be kept not on the vehicle, but at the office of the owner, and a police officer or an officer of the registration authority must, at any reasonable time, be allowed to see and make extracts from it.. In the event of a change of address, or of any particulars of the vehicle, the registration book must be sent to the registration authority, and it is an offence not to notify any change of the registration particulars.

Without the regisliration book it would be very difficult—in fact, almost impossible—for a thief to dispose of a vehicle, because, even were the registration made as of an entirely new vehicle, it could probably be identified from the details which have to be given. Vehicles which. already possess a registered number on Deceinber 31st next will retain that nuMber, but in future it will not be possible to transfer that num her to any other vehicle. When the vehicle dies, the number dies.

The question of unladen weight does not seem to have been entirely settled, but there is a clause in the Bill which says that for the purpose of the previous Motor Car Acts, and of any other enactments relating to the use of a vehicle on the roads, the weight unladen of any vehicle shall be taken to be the weight of the vehicle, inclusive of the body and all parts (where alternative bodies or parts are used, the heavier shall be taken) which atm necessary to or ordinarily used when the vehicle is working on the road, but exclusive of the weight of water, fuel,or accumulators (other than boiler) used for the purpose of propulsion, and also exclusive of loose details and loose equipment.

It will thus be clear that every vehicle requires registration on January 1st next, and this registration must take place with the local authority of the area in which the vehicle is normally working, but this will not entail the obtaining and employment of a new registration number, the old one being accepted • by the licensing authority.

We reproduce below the schedule of licence duties payable in respect of each type of vehicle, setting out the amount payable on the annual licence, and also on the quarterly licence.It will be seen that it is more expensive to take out quarterly licences, and these should only be taken out if a vehicle is first put into use after March 24thin any year, in which case, of course, it will be more economical to take three quarterly licences to carry the vehicle through to becenaber 31st next.

Commercial Coeds Vehicles constructed or adapted for use and used solely for the conveyance of goods in the course of trade (including tricycles exceeding S cwt. unladen):—

• ELECTRICALLY PROPELLED, and not Exceeding 25 cwt, in weight unladen ...

LICENCE PEES. Annual. Quarterly.

£ s.d. Ltd.

g go ... 1160


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