SECTION ONE-
NEW SWETY RESraNSHUTY UW GOES
INTO EFFECT W fWHTH CAROUNA On JAH-1
♦ i
Requirement Changed For Reporting Traffic
Accidents; Under New Law Two Reports Must
Be Made After Any Accident on Highway
The requirements for reporting
traffic accidents will be completely
changed from the present system be
ginning January 1, when North Caro
lina’s new Safety Responsibility Law
goes into effect, Motor Vehicles Com
missioner Edward Scheidt announces. (
Motorists involved in accidents will
not only be required to make two re
ports instead of one, as at present,
but the method of reporting ,the
places where reports are to be filed,
and the amount of property damage
involved will also be substantially dif
ferent.
In order to correct any confusion or
misunderstanding, Commissioner
Scheidt issued the following step-by-,
step explanation of how the new re
porting svstem will work on and after
January 1:
“The first thing to understand is
that a reportable accident under the
new Motor Vehicle Safety Responsi
bility Law is one in which a person
has been killed or even slightly in
jured, or the total apparent property
damage is ,SIOO or more. There are
a number of important things that
call for brief explanation right here.
“The first is that the amount of
property damage involved is increased j
from $25, as at present, to SIOO. The
second is that the word ‘total’ means!
all property damage combined, not
just the damage to one car or other]
property of one person. If one car, |
for instance, sustains $35 damage andj
another S3O, in the eyes of the law
the total damage is slls and the acci
dent most certainly is reportable.
“Motorists should also be careful
not to under-estimate the amount of
property damage. Motor vehicle re
pairs are costly these days, and that
should be taken into consideration. In
addition, damaged clothing, damage to
fenecs or buildings, broken eyeglasses
and many other things must be in
cluded in the calculations. If there
is any doubt about the amount of
property damage, my advice is to
make both reports and be safe. There
are stern penalties for wilful failure
to report or fraudulent reporting.
“The next thing to remember is
that the driver of every car involved
in a reportable accident must file two
reports, regardless of fault. Even if
one driver assumes all blame and of
fers to take care of the damage
NORTH CAROLINA’S
New Safety Responsibility Law is STRICT
i
/
After January .1,1954 you better have plenty of ready cash or a rich
uncle willing to put up bond for you if you are going to take a chance
on driving a car without the liability insurance you need. You don’t
have to have insurance, but you do have to show that you are able to
pay any damages up to $11,000.00 when you are involved in an auto
accident
For quite a few years North Carolina has
had a law that didn’t give too much protection
to the public against irresponsible drivers.
Now that law has been changed. After Jan
uary 1, 1954 the law says that you have to be
able to pay for damages or injury you do with
your car. If you can’t pay and have no auto
liability insuran.ce that will pay for you, you
have to give up your driver’s license and
quit driving.
FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION ON WHAT THE LAW SAYS ANQ
HOW BEST TO PROTECT YOURSELE UNDER. THE '
NEW-LAW, PHONE, WRITE OR SEE - '- ■ », '
TWIDDY INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE CO.
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Page Ten
j through his insurance; or if a pedes
’ trian who is slightly injured refuses
• medical examination and says forget
■ the whole thing, go right ahead and
r file both reports. The law says this
• must be done—and, furthermore, peo
, pie sometimes change their mind as
! ter thinking things over.
“Now a word about the two accident
, reports, and here we find several vi
i tal changes in the law. At present,
motorists are required to report only
: once and it heed not be written. Be
ginning January 1 they must make
two reports, each to a different place,
and one of them must be written and
> on an official form. The time for fil
ing is also changed.
“Under the new law, the first re
port must be made immediately and
by the quickest means of communi
cation. Thus, this one does not have
to be written. If the accident occur
red in a municipality, the report must
be made to the local police. If it oc
curred outside of a municipality, it |
must be made to the State Highway |
Patrol, the sheriff, or any other quali- j
fied rural police of the county in 1
which it occurred.
“The second report must be filed
within 254 hours with the State De
partment of Motor Vehicles. This one l
I must be written and the new official
form must be used. A supply of these'
i forms has been deposited with all
J State Highway Patrol stations, the
! Department of Motor Vehicles, all po-
lice departments and all sheriff’s of- 1
fices. Any motorist can obtain one J
of these forms at any time without j
cost. It would be helpful to get one]
now, study it, and keep it on hand in
case of ill luck. ;
“This report calls for answers to i
many questions. They must be an-,
swered accurately and adequately. The 1
information sought is for the protec- (
tion of the person making the report
quite as much as the rest of the peo
ple. Take the questions about insur
ance, for instance. If they aren’t an
swered the Department will assume
the car or driver was uninsured and
will proceed against him under the
i security provisions of the new law.
Yet, if he had insurance, he was
' exempt from the remaining provisions
' of the new law after having filed his
• report. I
! “Most certainly motorists who do
THE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON, N. C„ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1983.
id tou ymm
■3^*1 1,000 1
I “Mankind,
My Business”
Annually at the anniversary of Jesus’ birth, mil
lions read Charles* Dickens’ "Christmas Carol.”
Millions of others will listen on the air to Lionel Barry
more as he perennially interprets miserly Scrooge, both
villain and hero of the tale.
It is well to read the immortal little story about
mean, grasping, penny-pinching Scrooge whose sharp
mind is contihually dreaming dreams and seeing vi
sions. To him appears the ghost of his former partner,
Jacob Marley. In life Jacob Marley had been as hard
as nails and as stingy and paltry as old Scrooge himself.
Now from the world of shadows, Marley’s ghost
does his utmost to save parsimonious Scrooge from the
disaster which had inevitably overtaken him. As the
ghost wrings his hands and deplores the shortcomings -
and omissions of the life he had lived on earth, Scrooge
manages to inject these words, falteringly and with
quavering voice: “But you were always a good man
of business, Jacob.”
The rejoinder from the ghost of Jacob Marley
supplies an effective commentary on the great avoca-
I tion before us at Christmastide:
"Business,” cried the ghost, wringing his hands
again. "Mankind was my business. The common wel
fare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance,
benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my
trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive
ocean of my business!”
' And so it was!
And so It may be!
] not understand the new system will
I have difficulty if they learn about it
|for the first time in the midst of an
accident. Those who do understand it,
‘however, will find it both simple and
protective. That is the reason this
\ statement is being issued.”
i
] Tax Reminder j
On January 1 both personal
and corporation income taxes are
scheduled to be reduced. This
means that the deduction for a
gift made before the first of the
year will result in higher tax
savings than one made subsequent
I to January 1.
Under current tax rates, indi-
The law protects you against irresponsible
drivers. But it also makes it important that
you be able to" prove your ability to pay if you
are held responsible in an accident. The cheap
est and best way to protect your driving privi
leges is thru insurance. That is why YOUR
insurance agent joins with others to urge all
drivers ..to find out what the law requires and
be prepared to meet its' demands. Don’t take
a chance on losing your right to drive.
viduals in high income brackets
and companies in the excess tax
1 bracket can make a substantial
contribution at small net cost to
the giver.
, U. S. Army’s ‘Splinter’
i Fleet Remains Busy
| At Pacific Outpost
’ NAHA, Okinawa —One of the busi
est fleets in the Pacific is operated by
the U. S. Army.
The tiny fleet—a 68-vessel Army
though one of the smallest in the
world—is doing a big business in sup
plying food, clothing, gasoline and oil
and other vital supplies to military
installations on Okinawa and to other
islands in the Ryukyus chain. ,
The tiny fleet—a 68-veasell Army
Transportation Corps flotilla with
home port here—also includes large
tugs used for berthing ships at Naha
Harbor and White Beach, for mak
ing ocean tows and aiding ships in
distress in the China and Philippine
seas. * ,
The ships are operated by soldiers
and American and native civilians.
They range in size from 20-foot J
boats used to carry passenger? and
light cargo to 200-foot LSM’s (land
ing ship, medium) which carry tanks
and other vehicles.
The fleet is under supervision of
Lieutenant Colonel Edward A. Jaggie
of Damont, N. J., who formerly was
connected with two well-known United
States commercial steamship lines.
Movement and control of ships is
directed by Lieutenant Leon A. Thom
as of St. Petersburg, Fa., harbor mas
ter. He regulates all floating traffic
NOTICE!
The Singer Sewing Center of Elizabeth City -
will be open, by appointment, for couples or s
persons desiring to shop for Christmas pur
chases. Our large stock includes Singer Sew
ing Machines, Vacuum Cleaners, Notions, etc.
“EVERYTHING FOR THE WOMAN WHO SEWS”'
Toll free calls for people in Edenton area.
Call Operator and ask for Enterprise 600.
Singer Sewing Center
605 East Main Street Phone 4306
ELIZABETH CITY, N. C.
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■to the vicinity of Okinawa and pro- I
vides pilots for ocean-goining ships 1
and towing services for Naha and
' White Beach.
Thomas is responsible for harbor
operations in typhoops, fires and air
raids and furnishes weather and navi
] gation information to vessels. He also
has charge of a harbor control radio ,
station for direct communication with
1 vessels of the Rycom Fleet and signal
: towers at White Beach and Naha.
The fleet has repair and mainten
ance equipment for mak'iiig all kinds
of ship repairs as well as annual over
-1 hauls. )
These extensive facilities save the
American taxpayer an estimated $40,-
1 000 annually which would be spent if
j this work had to be done in Japanese
‘ shipyards. !
Two of the fleet’s vessels are Ko
rean veterans—the LSM-429 and the
LSM-468.
•VRY 4 HBR4I H UIASSTFTWn