Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1935. RIGHTS OF ROAD USERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 256, 12 August 1935, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1935. RIGHTS OF ROAD USERS.

The ageless controversy that is waged on the subjects of rights, duties and privileges of those who use the roads is often a one-sided affair, argued from the viewpoint of particular use of the road to which those concerned are addicted. There are, however, three main categories of road users and they have equal rights and duties and should have equal privileges. These are the pedestrians, the cyclists and the motorists. At the present time the testing of brakes and lights on motor vehicles is being carried out, and because it is not compulsory the majority of motorists in Ashburton have failed to present their vehicles for inspection, though every facility is being offered. It is obvious that during the dark hours, both in winter and. in summer, the correct functioning of lights and brakes is of vital importance. It would be interesting to know in how many cases other users of the road were not seen by motorists because their lights were defective or wrongly focused, or haw often it has happened that, having seen the danger, the motorist was not able to pull up in time. Some towns in the Dominion have discovered that progress is made at a price, and having given good roads for the use of the motorists and cyclists, are turning their attention to the question of protecting pedestrians from the misuse of those roads by motorists. The best that can be done, however, is to post signs to the effect that motorists and others are nearing a closely populated area. The pedestrian, therefore, must continue to take the risks incidental to his mode of procedure and be dependent on the courtesy and good sense of other users of the roads for his safety. As to the cyclists, a little morte progress is being made. The rear mudguards of bicycles are being painted white to aid motorists in picking them out on the roads. Much more is being done m this direction in many towns than has been the case in Ashburton, where the question of responsibility has been left to the individual. Errors of pedestrians, it is pointed out in a message from London published on Saturday, accounted for 49.1 per cenf. of the traffic accidents in England, and of these 85.1 per cent were themselves the sole or main cause of the accidents that resulted in their death. One third 'of these were children, whose claim to protection is advanced by the Automobile Associations by the erection of road signs, bqt is often neglected by the thoughtless driver who fails to slacken speed when passing schools. Everyone has the right to the use of the roads but at the same time the rights of all others must be safeguarded.