TRAFFIC SAFETY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 138, 12 June 1936, Page 6

TRAFFIC SAFETY.

PEDESTRIAN'S SPECIAL DUTY.

(To the Editor.)

The large majority, both of motorists and. of pedestrians, will welcome the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, which seems to he a .particularly useful and well-thought-out measure. There will, however, be a general feeling of dissatisfaction concerning the remarks of Mr. Lee, M.P., when dealing, in the House, with pedestrians. He claims quite clearly that the pedestrian i! entitled to step to right or left while he is dreaming, and without bothering to look whether a motor car is coming from the front or the rear. I think it is most unfortunate that Mr. Lee should take up this attitude, as it is generally recognised by those, who have fiven "thought to the matter that nearly as many accidents are caused by careless pedestrians as by careless motorists. If Mr. Semple's commendable vision of safety in the streets is to be realised, ri.pd control of the pedestrian as well as of the motorist must be part of the plan. Under modern conditions, it is essential that traffic should travel in city streets at a fairly high speed, and it is quite impossible, even for a car with good brakes, to avoid the pedestrian who suddenly, without warning, steps from the kerb in front of the car. While all classes must help in endeavour-, ing to reduce the tragic number of accidents, there is a special duty upon the pedestrian to do his share in the matter. I assume, perhaps wrongly, from Mr. Lees remarks that he is not a motorist. If this is the ease, it explains why he is unable to understand that a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour in city streets may he safer than a speed of 25 miles per hour. Most residents of Auckland are familiar with the appearance of Queen Street in the rush hour, with the comparatively high speeds obtaining at present. If the ruling rate of travel is reduced by one-quarter, it will obviously take "one-third longer for a car to travel from one end of Queen Street to the other, and there will, therefore, be one-third more vehicles in the street than there are at present, at any particular time. This would lead to considerable congestion of traffic and greatly add to the difficulties of the pedestrian." I think that 30 miles per hour is a very reasonable maximum speed for city streets, but some steps should be taken to speed up the few cars which regularly travel at 15 to 20 miles per hour and cause serious congestion. Finally, in these discussions of "motorist versus pedestrian" I think it is often overlooked that all motorists spend much of their time as pedestrians, and a very large number of pedestrians are frequently motorists also. If a man when walking is to be permitted to dream and thu<3 endanger himself and others, how is he to be prevented from indulging in a similar lapse when driving a car? PEDESTORIST.