DANGER BY NIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 179, 1 August 1939, Page 6

DANGER BY NIGHT.

One-third of all motor accidents occur between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., the hours when twilight and night traffic is at its peak. The Minister of Transport draws the inference that neither drivers, cyclists nor pedestrians appreciate the effect that darkness has upon road habits. Obviously it will take a long educational process before the dangers are fully realised, but in the meantime some of the other suggestions made by Mr. Semple call for action. Chief among these is the improvement of lighting on roads which carry a high density of traffic. Even in the cities lighting is ill-planned and insufficient. In a hilly area such as Auckland many of the lights are so placed as to be a positive menace from the glare that they cast-directly in the eyes of the oncoming driver; others give pools of bright light with successive black-outs between, no attempt being made to distribute the light evenly. What can be done by adequate and glareless lighting is very well demonstrated on the highway leading out of Devonport. If the roads carrying heavy night traffic were similarly safeguarded the toll of life would be much less. Compulsory dipping of lights will probably have a very useful effect, but, as Mr. Justice Blair pointed out, nothing will avert the necessity of caution when a driver is faced by dazzling lights.