MOTOR LICENCE 



BB6 i 



MOTOR SIGN 



uncc "vers the transfer port, allowing 

 the new gas to flow into tin- 

 cylinder head. Just before this 

 occurs the exhaust port is un- 

 covered to permit the hurra gas 

 to escape. 



In tli<- l'i\vT ilinifram the pi>><m 

 is at the bottom of its stroke. 

 Burnt gas is passing out t! 

 the exhaust port (assisted by tin- 

 deflector) and new gas is entering 

 through the open transfer port. 

 Ai ttic pistnn rises all ports are 

 closed, and the gas is compressed 

 until the puMtiMM iii the first 

 diagram is reached again, and tin- 

 ill takes place. 



The motor scooter is an Ameri- 

 can development of the motor cycle 

 which was introduced into Great 

 Britain in 1920. Driven by an 

 engine of about 1} h.p., with 

 wheels of a foot or so in diameter, 

 the machine is easily stored, light, 

 and is used in America largely by 

 business men for travelling. 



During the Great War over 

 50,000 motor cycles were employed 

 by the British alone for dispatch 

 riding and similar work. 



By the Roads Act, which came 

 into force Jan., 1921, every motor 

 cycle must be provided with regis- 

 tration letters and numbers, and 

 must carry a licence card fixed in 

 a prominent position on the near 

 side of the machine or sidecar. The 

 licence for motor cycles not exceed- 

 ing 200 Ib. in weight is 1 10s., and 

 exceeding 200 Ib., 3, with an 

 extra fee of 1 for a sidecar or 

 trailer. In the first quarter of 1921, 

 186,000 motor cycles were regis- 

 tered under the new law, yielding 

 a tax of 488,600. Every motor 

 cyclist must be over 14, have a 

 driving licence, and must produce it 

 when called upon by any police 

 officer. With every cycle licensed 

 a registration book is issued, in 

 which particulars of the machine 

 and its owner are given. 



Every motor cycle under the law 

 must be fitted with two independ- 

 ent brakes, either of which is cap- 

 able of bringing the machine to 

 rest ; some warning device, as horn, 

 bell, etc. ; and must have a silencer 

 fitted to the engine. See Internal 

 Combustion Engine ; Magneto ; 

 Sparking Plug ; Throttle. 



Motor Licence AND TAX. Duty 

 levied on motor drivers and motor 

 vehicles. Under the Roads Act, 

 which came into force Jan. , 1 92 1 , all 

 private motor cars are taxed at a 

 flat rate of 1 for every horse 

 power per annum, and electric cara 

 with a fixed sum of 6. Motor cars, 

 the licences for which are taken out 

 for one quarter of the year only, 

 need only pay 30 p.c. of the full duty 

 otherwise payable. The details 

 which have to be filled in on the 



n.|.|i. .iti..n f.. i in mi-liule actual 

 home power, registered number if 

 any, type of body, number and 

 date of engine, names of car and 

 manufacturer, etc. 



Commercial vehicles are taxed 

 according to type. Tramway cars 

 are taxed 15s. per annum, other 

 vehicles seating up to 5 persons 

 15 in Ixmdon, and 12 elsewhere, 

 increasing according to the seating 

 accommodation up to 84 in 

 London and 70 elsewhere for 

 more than 32 persons. Vehicles 

 used for carrying goods are taxed 

 according to their weight, the 

 taxes being : not exceeding 12 

 cwt. 10, between 12 cwt. and one 

 ton 16, between one and two tons, 

 21, etc., up to 30, exceeding four 

 tons. These weights for taxation 

 are for unladen vehicles. Tractors 

 and certain other farm machines, 

 motor driven, are taxed 5s. All 

 drivers of motor cars must be pro- 

 vided with a driving licence, cost- 

 ing 5s. For the taxation, etc., of 

 motor cycles, see under that heading. 



Motor Marks. Devices of one 

 letter or two and a number dis- 

 played on plates or otherwise on 

 the front and back of motor vehi- 

 cles for purposes of registration 

 and identification. The letter or 

 combination of letters is the index 

 mark of the county council, county 

 borough council, or similar body, 

 and the number is the registration 

 number assigned by such body to 

 the owner of the vehicle. The use 

 of motor marks was first enforced 

 in the United Kingdom in 1904. 

 The plates are rectangular and the 

 characters for privately-owned 

 vehicles white on a black ground. 

 For a vehicle on trial by a manufac- 

 turer or dealer in motors a coloured 

 general mark, preferably red and 

 white, is often used, consisting of 

 the council's index mark together 

 with, though clearly separated 

 from, some other distinguishing 

 letter or letters and a distinguishing 



CROSS 

 ROADS 



r 



CORNER 



DOUBLE 

 CORNER 



STEEP 

 HILL 



rfft 



T 



SCHOOL 



LEVEL 



CROSSING 



Motor signs suggested in 1921 by 

 the Ministry of Transport to warn 

 motorists of the nature of the road 



number ; if the general mark is 

 used on more than one vehicle ;U 

 the tame time, different distin- 

 guishing numbers are used. A 

 vehicle attached to another must 

 bear an identical mark. The front 

 plate of a motor cycle must be 

 readable from either side. Cars 

 owned personally by the king are 

 the only ones which bear no mark. 



Since 1920 a car must be regis- 

 tered where it is kept and used. 

 Formerly it could be bought and 

 registered in Coventry and driven 

 home by an owner living in Ki-nt. 

 The system of allotting index 

 marks to the councils was governed 

 by the populations of the districts 

 concerned. With certain <-\<- p 

 tions, stated below, single letters 

 were allotted in alphabetical order 

 to the following English and Welsh 

 localities : .London, Lancashire, 

 the West Riding, Kent (which has 

 also KT and KN), Staffordshire, 

 Essex, Middlesex, Durham County, 

 Liverpool, Glamorganshire, Ches- 

 hire, Manchester, Birmingham, 

 Surrey, Derbyshire, Devonshire, 

 Leeds, Sheffield, Northumberland, 

 and Somerset. G was retained for 

 Glasgow, I and Z were not used 

 singly, Q was not used at all, S 

 was assigned to Edinburgh, and V 

 to Lanarkshire. When the single 

 letters were exhausted two were 

 used. I and S, preceded or fol- 

 lowed by another letter, were 

 reserved for places in Ireland and 

 Scotland respectively, and Z occurs 

 only in the combination IZ, co. 

 Mayo. Besides the original A, 

 London was later allotted various 

 L combinations, e.g. LA, LB, LC. 

 International marks may be recog- 

 nized by their oval plates and by 

 the reversed colours of characters 

 and grounds black on white. 



Motor Nerves. Nerves which 

 conduct impulses from the brain 

 or spinal cord to the voluntary or 

 involuntary muscles, and cause 

 them to contract. When, for in- 

 stance, a person wishes to raise his 

 arm, an impulse starts from the 

 brain and, travelling down the 

 motor nerves, stimulates the ap- 

 propriate muscles, which perform 

 the action intended. See Nerve. 



Motor Sign. Warning and 

 direction sign on roads for the 

 guidance of motorists. Such signs 

 have been erected upon most of the 

 main roads of Great Britain by the 

 Automobile Association and other 

 motoring bodies. The Ministry of 

 Transport carried out an investi- 

 gation into the roads of the 

 country, reclassified them, and in 

 1921 suggested standard signs 

 giving plain warnings, and si>_'n 

 posts which would give every n>.i I 

 a route number, letter for its class, 

 e.g. first or second, etc. See Roads. 



