Remember carless days? (+photos)

An archive photo of a woman holding a carless days sticker. Photo / NZ Herald

Many New Zealanders feeling the pinch of fuel prices will recall the Government's response to oil scares in the late 1970s. For those too young to remember, the Q&A below provides the details - and asks if it could happen again

The gallery to the right shows correspondence from the time, including letters to and from Prime Minister Rob Muldoon

What caused it?

The second oil crisis in 1979 occurred following the revolution in Iran. Widespread panic and speculation ensued.

By 1980, oil production in Iran and Iraq had noticeably declined. Over-production by Opec countries led to a decline in oil prices during the mid 1980s.

What was it?

Carless days were introduced on July 30, 1979 in a plan to stabilise a struggling economy.

Anyone who owned a petrol-powered vehicle less than 4,400lbs - excluding motorcycles - had to designate one day of the week on which they would not operate the vehicle.

Other restrictions included the reduction of the open-road speed limit from 100 km/h to 80 km/h and limits on the operating hours of garages and service stations.

Vehicles displayed coloured stickers on the windscreens that indicated which day of week the vehicle was not to be operated.

Did it apply to everyone?

Exemption stickers were issued to those who had urgent business that might require use of a vehicle on any day of the week.

With an exemption you still had a carless day and were supposed to use the vehicle for the specified business purpose only.

Fines were given to those who didn't observe their designated carless day: Thursday being the most common. There was an immediate problem though as two car households had an obvious advantage when they could choose to continue driving seven days a week.

Those who lived in the country were exempt as it was presumed there was no public transport available for them.

How long did it last?

The initiative folded after 12 months amid reports of black market exemption stickers and imitations, leaving the scheme in a shambles.