Cycles, Motor-vehicles and Tubes 477 



circles as Emancipation Day. But the Act afforded no relief 

 in the case of motor-vehicles suitable for trade or public 

 service purposes. Within the weights specified vehicles of 

 these types would have been commercially unprofitable be- 

 cause they could not have carried a paying load. Above the 

 said weights they were still regarded by the law, and were 

 subject to the same regulations, as road locomotives or 

 traction engines. 



Strong representations on the subject were made by the 

 Royal Automobile Club (then the Automobile Club of Great 

 Britain and Ireland), the Society of Motor Manufacturers and 

 Traders and the Commercial Motor Users' Association, which 

 bodies claimed the right of the trading interests of the country 

 to a greater degree of reasonable consideration. These further 

 protests again led to good results. In 1903 a Motor-car Act 

 was passed which, among other things, raised the speed limit 

 to 20 miles an hour (subject to authority given to the Local 

 Government Board to reduce the limit to 10 miles an hour in 

 dangerous areas), and provided for the licensing of drivers 

 and the registration and identification of cars, with a view 

 to checking reckless driving ; while power was, also, given 

 to the Local Government Board to increase the maximum 

 weights allowed by the earlier Act. In January, 1904, the 

 Board appointed a Departmental Committee to inquire into 

 the question of increasing the maximum tare, and, after 

 taking counsel with technical experts, trading bodies and 

 commercial authorities, it finally issued the Heavy Motor-car 

 Order, 1904, effecting changes in the maximum weights (un- 

 laden) as follows : 



MOTOR CAR MOTOR CAR AND TRAILER 



Act of 1896 . . 3 tons 4 tons. 



Order of 1904 . 5 tons 6 tons. 



This Order, which came into force on the ist of March, 1905, 

 made possible the provision of commercial motor-services, 

 and the full development of the motor industry, on present- 

 day lines. It led, especially, to the creation of new types of 

 vehicles previously unknown here, and, by allowing " heavy 

 motor-cars " the designation now applying to motor- 

 vehicles over two tons in weight to take their place in 

 ordinary road traffic, foreshadowed changes in inland trans- 



