benefit of engineering data prepared by the engineers of the Automobile Club of Southern California and others. We recommend that in addition to the provisions of the State law requiring that all vehicles be operated in a careful and prudent manner and at a rate of speed not greater than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface and width of the highway, that the operators of vehicles intended, defined or used for the transportation of property and equipped with pneumatic tires be required to operate such vehicles at rates of speed not exceeding twenty-five miles per hour in open country, twenty miles per hour in resident districts and fifteen miles per hour in business districts. We further recommend that, subject to the same restrictions, the operators of vehicles equipped with solid tires shall be prohibited from exceeding a speed set forth in the following table: In order that restrictions as to weight and speed may be subject to practical enforcement, we recommend that all applications for licensing of vehicles state the manufacturer's rating of the load capacity and the size of the tires to be used. The changing of the size of the tire to a size exceeding that stated in the application should be prohibited. Having this information the Vehicle Department should be required to issue with the license for every freight-carrying vehicle a load plate which the license should be required to affix to the outside of the vehicle. This plate should state the license number and engine number of the vehicle and the maximum load and speeds permitted to it. Fees and Fines This committee believes that the fees collected by the State from licensing of motor vehicles should not be based upon horse-power alone as at the present time, but that such fees should be based both on horse-power and weight. We suggest the following table as a substitute for the present schedule of fees: This committee further recommends that all fees, fines and forfeitures collected anywhere in the State be paid into and become a part of the Motor Vehicle Fund. Trailers This committee is informed of a movement to eliminate the present restrictions of the law prohibiting the operation of more than two trailers with any one towing vehicle. We are opposed to the elimination of this provision, believing that it would be detrimental to the highways and dangerous to traffic. Uniformity of Legislation Desirable Much vehicular traffic is interstate in character. Most vehicles travel frequently from one county to another. The situation imperatively demands uniform motor vehicle laws. It is unreasonable to expect manufacturers to build their equipment to meet an endless variety of different State and county requirements. Every effort should be made to harmonize these requirements and to secure the adoption of uniform laws. A National Conference on Highway Traffic Regulation has been formed which includes in its membership practically all the large responsible organizations interested for any reason in the regulation of traffic. This conference will meet January 10, 1921, in Washington, D. C., and it is to be hoped will be productive of much good. We'recommend that every effort consistent with the preservation of our local highways be made to conform to the California law and to any uniform law which may be agreed upon by the conference. Respectfully submitted, DAVID R. FARIES, General Counsel of the Auto mobile Club of Southern California. WATT MORELAND, General Manager, Moreland Motor C. H. RICHARDS, Engineer. Table No. 1 SIZE AND WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS IN STATE MOTOR VEHICLE LAWS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1920 (Compiled by the Legal Department of the Automobile Club of Southern California.) In the weight restrictions column the per inch width of tire limits fixed by the States of Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Vermont are based upon the measurement of the contact of the tire with the road; in the case of Ohio and Virginia the distance between the flanges of the rim. is the basis of measurement; in the other instances no specific basis other than "per inch of tire width" is prescribed. State California Connecticut Delaware Illinois Indiana Kentucky Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan New Jersey New Mexico New York. North Carolina Ohio Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina Weight Restrictions 30,000 lbs. gross weight-800 lbs. per inch of tire width 25,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 700 lbs. per inch of tire width 26,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 700 lbs. per inch of tire width 16,000 lbs. gross weight limit for one axle distributed not more than 800 lbs. per inch width of tire 20,000 lbs. capacity 28,000 lbs. gross weight for vehicle and load; 30,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 800 lbs. 20,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 650 lbs. 28,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 800 lbs. per inch width of tire State Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia. Wisconsin District of Columbia.. Weight Restrictions 20,000 lbs. gross weight 24,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 700 lbs. 24,000 lbs. gross weight distributed not more than 18,000 lbs. per axle nor more than 800 lbs. per inch of tire width 12,000 lbs. gross weight on bridges with wooden floors; 30,000 on any other bridges States having no laws dealing with the subject are as follows: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming. States in which special permits may be issued for other loadings are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. States in which the number of trailers are specified are as follows: |