Oct. 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2575

Consolidating and amending Regulations under the Motor-omnibus Traffic Act, 1926, relating to the Design, Construction, and Condition of Motor-omnibuses.

CHARLES FERGUSSON, Governor-General.

ORDER IN COUNCIL.

At the Government House at Wellington, this 30th day of September, 1929.

Present:

HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN COUNCIL.

IN pursuance and exercise of the powers conferred on him by section eighteen of the Motor-omnibus Traffic Act, 1926 (hereinafter referred to as “the said Act”), His Excellency the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, doth hereby revoke the Motor-omnibus (Constructional) Regulations, 1928, published in the New Zealand Gazette of the seventeenth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight, at page 1649, and doth hereby make the following regulations in amendment thereof or in substitution therefor; and doth hereby declare that this Order in Council shall come into operation on the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine.

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REGULATIONS.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

1. THESE regulations may be cited as the Motor-omnibus (Constructional) Regulations, 1929.

2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

“Body” includes all that portion of an omnibus designed to accommodate and to protect the driver, passengers, or conductor (if any), or otherwise provided for their use in general:

“Chassis” includes all that portion of an omnibus exclusive of the body and the separate fittings, equipment, or attachments for the body, and exclusive of the consumable supplies (such as fuel, oil, and water):

“Omnibus” means a motor-omnibus as defined by the said Act:

“Seat” includes a single seat or a row of seats adjoining one another, whether divided by sides or not:

“Wheel-track” means the distance between the centres of the off-side and near-side wheels of a pair of wheels, and, when a pair of wheels consist of twin wheels on the off-side and twin wheels on the near side, means the distance measured along the axis from the centre of the off-side twin wheels to the centre of the near side twin wheels:

“Continuous-cross-seat omnibus” means an omnibus which has the majority of its seats placed uninterruptedly across the body, and which has an access doorway on the near side for at least every other row of seats:

3. (1) Every omnibus licensed under the said Act at any time before the 1st day of August, 1927, shall comply with the conditions and requirements contained in Part I of these regulations.

(2) Every omnibus first licensed under the said Act after the 1st day of August, 1927, shall, save as hereinafter provided, comply with all the conditions and requirements of these regulations (whether contained in Part I or in Part II hereof).

(3) Every omnibus which is required to be licensed under the said Act by reason of the addition to the area of a motor-omnibus district or the constitution of a new motor-omnibus district subsequent to the 1st day of August, 1927, shall comply with the conditions and requirements of Part I of these regulations unless it is licensed for the first time later than nine months after the addition to or constitution of the motor-omnibus district as aforesaid, in which case it shall comply with all the conditions and requirements of these regulations (whether contained in Part I or in Part II hereof).

4. (1) The Minister of Transport may in special circumstances, and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit to impose, grant exemption in respect of any omnibus from the provisions of any of these regulations, and may extend such exemption so that it may be applied at the discretion of the Inspecting Engineer to all omnibuses of the same make, type, and model plying under similar conditions.

(2) Application for such exemption shall in every case be made by the owner (or intending owner) of the omnibus or the omnibus chassis to an Inspecting Engineer of a motor-omnibus district within which the omnibus is operating or proposes to operate, and shall state fully the grounds on which exemption is sought. The application shall state the name of the maker or makers of the omnibus, the type or mode reference, the chassis number, the engine number, the seating capacity, the registration number, if the vehicle is at the time of application registered under the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, and any further particulars that the Inspecting Engineer may require.

(3) On receipt of an application for exemption, the Inspecting Engineer shall consider the same, and, if in his opinion it is frivolous or is based on trivial grounds, he may dismiss it without reference to the Minister.

(4) The financial circumstances of the owner shall not be a ground for application for exemption under this regulation.

5. For the purpose of the said Act, an Inspecting Engineer may, at his discretion, make a report that an omnibus is in a fit condition to be licensed as an omnibus, save that certain requirements of these regulations require to be fulfilled, and in such case shall state such requirements and fix a time limit or limits within which all or each of such requirements shall be complied with. The licensing authority may thereupon, in pursuance of the said report, issue a conditional license in respect of the omnibus, subject to the condition that the said requirements be fulfilled within the said time limit or limits.

6. Every person who does or omits or causes, or knowingly permits or suffers to be done or omitted, any act, matter, or thing contrary to the provisions of these regulations, or who, for the purpose of these regulations, makes any statement or supplies any information that is false or misleading in any material particular, or who otherwise than in accordance with an order of exemption made under clause 4 hereof, or permission in terms of clause 5 hereof, uses for the purposes of a motor-omnibus service any omnibus that does not comply with the provisions or requirements of these regulations, shall be liable to a fine of £10.

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PART I.

Regulations applicable to all Licensed Motor-omnibuses.

Doorways.

7. (1) There shall be fitted to each omnibus at least two doorways for entrance and egress, one of which shall be situated at least 7 ft. distant from and, if not at the extreme end of the omnibus, on the opposite side of the omnibus to the other doorway or the most remote one of any other doorways.

(2) One of the doorways need not be used save in cases of emergency, and, if intended for use only in such cases, shall be fitted with a door (hereinafter referred to as the “emergency door”) kept securely latched until it is required to be used. The device for opening the emergency door shall at all times be capable of ready operation, and if such device includes a removable key the latter shall be permanently fixed by a chain fastened within 18 in. of the keyhole. The keyhole shall be situated not higher than 4 ft. from the floor. In omnibuses fitted with an emergency door a conspicuous notice directing attention to the emergency door, and clearly indicating to seated passengers the means for opening it, shall be displayed inside the omnibus near the front thereof. Every emergency door shall be kept free of all obstruction on the outside of the omnibus.

(3) A passage-way to the doorway or doorways in general use shall at all times be kept free and unobstructed, and if a passenger-seat obstructs an emergency door that portion of the seat which would be likely to delay egress in emergency shall be readily removable.

(4) Every doorway shall be provided with a suitable non-slip treadplate.

(5) More than one emergency door may be provided in an omnibus, in which case the foregoing provisions shall apply to all such emergency doors.

(6) A ready means of exit from the omnibus shall be at all times available for the driver.

(7) At least once a day every door in the omnibus shall be opened and closed, and any locks and other parts thoroughly tested to ensure that the doors and locks (if any) are maintained in good working-order.

Driver’s Protection.

8. (1) There shall be no passenger-seat alongside the driver’s seat or with its centre nearer than 3 ft. to the steering-wheel rim or to any change-gear or brake-lever grip, unless the passenger-seat is divided from the driver’s seat by a permanent partition from the floor to a height of not less than 4 ft. above the floor, transparent above the level of the driver’s seat.

(2) Not less than 18 in. of space on each side of the centre of the steering-wheel from the level of the driver’s shoulders to the floor shall be kept clear and unobstructed for the limbs of the driver, but portion of such space may be included in the passage-way provided for by subclause (3) of the last preceding clause.

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