PARLIAMENT AGAIN ACTIVE

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 173, 23 July 1936, Page 10

PARLIAMENT AGAIN ACTIVE

MOTOR BILL.

TO 'END SLAUGHTER' READ A THIRD TIME. SAFETY FIRST CAMPAIGN. EDUCATING THE PUBLIC. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. The second reading debate on the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, which was unfinished when Parliament adjourned on June 11, was concluded in the House of Representatives to-day, the Minister of Transport, Mr. Semple, replying when the. House resumed after the dinner adjournment. The committee stages were then entered upon and by 10 p.ni. the bill was read a third time and passed, the only amendments included being tlioso proposed by the Minister.

1 Mr. J. D. F. Cotterill (Government, Wanganui), in opening the debate, drew upon his own experience as a motorist of only six months' standing in directing attention to the need for improved regulation of road traffic in. order to reduce the mounting total of road fatalities. He felt it was largely a matter of education so far as the motorist was concerned, but remarked that many motor cyclists were a positive danger on the roads. LAn Opposition Member: The suicide club. a; 1 ;"' : I

) Mr. Cotterill : : Yes. They may be termed a suicide club; Some of them aa-e cheeky and they cut in-on other traffic on the road and become.a-source of danger. :

! Mr. F. W. Schramm (Government, Auckland East) agreed that a national cpde of regulations should be enforced. He welcomed the provisions o„f the bill, which would end the present slaughter on the highways. Mr. Schramm considered the hit-and-run motorist was lYorso than the intoxicated motorist,

because the hit-and-run motorist left people to die on the road. He would; likfeijto see a provision in the bill" en|'l)Jing a person to clalni compensationasjltjng as he could prove at least that", hej'.was the victim of a. hit-and-run motorist. At present there were too mepiy restrictions preventing *, such a person from obtaining. co.mpensation> unijer adverse circumstances. It Was ne<fe§sary also to educate the pedestrian as &6 his responsibilities.

| To Stop Slaughter on Roads. Mr. C. R. Petrie (Government, Hauraki) saifa 'lie believed the bill would enable the people of New Zealand to unite and bring a stop to increasing slaughter on roads. Legislation and penalties would be aneffectiveiunlesathe public conscience was aroused, and the Minister ha.d tlie intelligent co-operation of all the citizens. He was pleased to hear t}iat the Minister intended, to call ~.a national .conference, of [interested bodies with a view to' initiating a campaign of safety first. The cyclist*;'said' Mr. Petrie, was a real mena.ee, and the Minister would require to give serious consideration to the; question of bringing down regulations governing his conduct on the road. The Minister should approach the problem from the cyclist's point of view, so as to protect him from danger on the road. The cyclist did not observe the common sense ru}?s. laid; down for his. protection," and thera wasn'ee.d' for educating him to protect himself. Inspectors were appointed' to prevent cyclists, from riding at night without lights,'and the inspectors should be assisted to clear the streets of careless, thoughtless cyclists, who were endangering ripfc. only thejj. own lives, but also the iivfis of - all' other users of the highways.

The time had arrived, said Mr. Petrie,' when cyclists should be compelled to carry a rear light as well as a front light. Rules of Safety First. Mr. E. P. Meachen (Government, Wairau) : said' lie was satisfied that the best solution of the pro-blem was tlie education of the public in the rules of safety first-. He said that from his own observation he was satisfied that the motorists offended least of all, except for >a tendency to turn a corner when a pedestrian was crossing the road. Cyclists were the worst offenders. He considered that persons who had just been, discharged from hospital should be prohibited • from driving until they obtained a certificate of fitness.

Mr. C. H. Burnett (Government, Tauranga) said that many accidents on the highways, occun-ed at level , crossings and he was glad-to knowrtliat .the Minister of Railways was going to do something about it. Many of the crossings were. death traps. He was pleased tolknow that they were going to have unfformtiv of by-laws.

Dealing with , the penal clause of the bill. Mr, Burnett -said that no penalty could be too great for the intoxicated driver, from whom the pedestrian must be protected. He stressed the need for alf cars being certified periodically as being in" good order. There were tjupusands of motor vehicles at present tftkt -should never bo 011 the road. He that too much time, was taken inr nv inspectors in attending to pettiffVgci'ng matters of a minor nature witen much bigger issues were at stake. 3J\lr. D. W. Coleman (Government, (iSborne) congratulated the Minister on tire bill, which was welcomed by the It&al bodies throughout the Dominion. j|<B 'leiled anyone to drive a ear through

the country and keep within nil the bylaws at present ill force. lie said the question of glaring headlights was an important one and lite thought that there should be control over their use. Me approved of the powers in the bill for controlling pedestrian traffic. Speeding a Major Curse. Mr. C. H. Chapman (Government, Wellington North) said the bill.was ail attempt to deal with one of the roost pressing problems of to-day. The.Minis-' tor had attempted to deal -with -the matter in a practical manner. Speeding was undoubtedly one of the major, causes of motor accidents. He thought that the speed limit of .'lO miles an hour was too great, particularly in cities. The Minister of Public Works, Mr. Semple: That is the maximum. Mr. K. A. Wright (Independent, Wellington Suburbs) said that'he could not see that there was any clause in the bill which could be taken exception to. He was of the "opinion that here it had been proved that if a driver was wilfully careless his license should be cancelled for life.