FIRST YEAR OF ARIZONA HIGHWAY PATROL

Motor Vehicle Division Copper - Applied Usage

By E. M. WHITWORTH Motor Vehicle Superintendent Arizona for the second successive year will use copper as the metal for its motor vehicle license plates. When the depression made itself felt in Arizona with a resultant curtailment in copper production, the administration urged all State Departments to utilize copper as a metal where same could be used, to assist in stimulating the mining industry and aid in the continued employment of the thousands of miners within our State dependent upon copper production for their livelihood.

Under this urge the Motor Vehicle Division of the Arizona Highway Department made investigation as to the practicability of copper as a metal for fabricating license plates. After conferring with various research bureaus of the industry a specification for the sheets was adopted and plates purchased for the year 1932. The specification in part is as follows: All plates shall be fabricated from copper produced by the mines in the State of Arizona. The metal to be 99.9% pure 12 oz. copper, .016" in thickness, to be hard tempered by a 4% cold rolled reduction, tolerance in gauge plus or minus 1%. The license plates for 1932 required the use of 70,000 pounds of copper. The plate as specified maintains the natural copper in the background, the numerals and letters being in white enamel. Immediately upon receipt by other states of our sample plates (it being customary for the various states to exchange specimen plates) comment was had and inquiry as to their cost and the specification of the metal. Two states indicated they seriously considered the use of copper in their plates for 1932. Due to the fact that it is impossible to temper copper and develop the rigid sheet that is used in plates made of metal generally employed, it was decided to reduce the dimension of plates from 6"x14" to 5"x10". To effect this it was necessary to devise a new method of numbering. This was done and by using combinations of letters and numerals 222,312 different combinations of four characters were developed. Various series were assigned the separate counties and sufficient combinations were developed to insure series expansion for several years. Due to the reduced dimension of the plate, the cost, though using copper as a metal, is on a parity with steel. Some objection is heard, and properly so, as to the visibility of the 1932 plate. This is due to the fact that the copper background glistens and neutralizes the warm white characters. That objection will not be had in the 1933 plate. This plate is a departure in respect to design and construction from any plate that has been used previously by any state. The background of the plate will be in eggshell black enamel. The letters and characters will be depressed 7/64 of an inch instead of raised as is practiced in other states. The natural copper will be maintained in letters and characters. Field tests have determined the fact that the glisten of the copper on this depressed type of construction and color combination tends to increase the legibility and correct the fault that exists in the 1932 plates.

By JAMES M. HALL Patrol Superintendent August 11, 1932, is the first birthday of the active field operations of the Arizona Highway Patrol. True, the patrol became a reality on July 1, 1931, but the first six weeks of its existence were spent by its members in a training school and the actual field operations did not begin until August 11th, giving us a ten and a half months actual service period from which the following facts are derived. There have been 12,297 red card citations issued, covering every known law violation as now set forth in the Highway Code. In addition to these citations approximately 20,000 other motorists were stopped and warned for minor violations, which were not of a nature to warrant an arrest or red card citation. Advice and information were given to these many thousands of motorists, relative to state laws, road conditions and scenic points of interest within the state. During this same period of time 119 Arrests have been made for speeding, reckless driving, failure to clear red citation cards, failure to comply with requests to have headlights properly repaired and adjusted, switching license plates from one car to another, operating an unlicensed vehicle, and numerous other violations. It is true that the number of arrests made during the first year's operation has been small, but it has been and still is the policy of the patrol to educate the motorist to comply with our laws, thus avoiding the necessity of making arrests and forcing the violators to appear before the courts. Foreign licensed vehicles, both of the pleasure and commercial type, have given us considerable trouble by trying to evade our registration laws; but through the efforts of the patrolmen a total fee of $79,959.35 has been paid to the state by this class of vehicles for the privilege of operating within Arizona. The primary function of the Highway patrol is that of patrolling the highways to assist motorists in reaching their destinations with the fullest possible measure of ease and safety. The making of arrests in contacting motorists is a final recourse in seeking the co-operation of the motoring public, to the end that they may comply with all laws commonly known to each and every operator of a motor vehicle and which are practically uniform throughout the United States. We are daily advised by telephone, by letter and by telegram of violations which our informants claim need immediate attention. These complaints, each and every one, are checked upon as fast and as thoroughly as we have patrolmen available to conduct the investigations. While there have been many violations called to our atttntion, we have been unable to correct all of them, due to the fact that the personnel of the patrol is not large enough to make a complete check and investigate all complaints. But we have been and will continue to follow up these reports and complaints just as rapidly