ROAD ACCIDENTS IN ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 172, 22 July 1936, Page 6

ROAD ACCIDENTS IN ENGLAND.

At a rougli computation, the casualties in the Italian forces (including those among Askaris, which accounted for far the larger proportion) during the seven 'months' Abyssinian campaign were about equivalent to the road casualties in Britain over the same period. And a very large number of those road casualties occurred at night in areas where the road lighting was poor or non-existent. In the last annual figures available, those for 1033, there were 2500 fatal accidents after dark, when there are very considerably fewer people using the roads, compared with 4500 during the hours of daylight. In GO per cent of these night accidents the illumination was recorded as deficient. Yet it has just been authoritatively stated that, for the comparatively small expenditure of £3,500,000 yearly all trunk roads and all borough roads could be sufficiently lighted to allow speeds of 30 m.p.h. without the use of any head lamps. Such a sum woijd probably save many hundreds of people annually from death and mutilation. One of the obstructions in the way of such an improvement is the fact that there are in Great Britain 1400 different local authorities concerned with road lighting. Obviously 10-cal authorities have to be overridden and developments of such national importance imposed from above. It is the next big development on the Transport Af iiis i r y's programme.