21 DECEMBER 1929, Page 12

" ROAD MOPES."

Massachusetts has decided to speed up " road mopes," or motorists who dawdle along the highways in contempla- tion of the scenery, or for any other cause. Traffic rules have been promulgated by the State authorizing the police to proceed against drivers deemed a nuisance in this respect to faster-moving traffic. No minimum speed limit has been defined, but slow drivers, within the discretion of the police, are to be enjoined firmly to keep to the side of the highway, take to the by-ways, or explain their behaviour to the magis- trates. Our traffic regulations, differing widely in different parts of the country, become increasingly complex, and the time seems ripe for a movement to simplify and standardize them.