TOLL OF THE MOTOR.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19202, 7 January 1928, Page 14

TOLL OF THE MOTOR.

1

AUSTRALIAN CASUALTIES

671 KILLED, NEARLY 10,000 INJURED.

(FKOlt OCR OWB COKSESPOXDT.ST.)

SYDNEY, December 29. No one can doubt the boon that motor transport, both for pleasure and commercial uses, has conferred on humanity, but the price we pay for that is high, when it is measured in human life. Especially is this so in underpopulated Australia, where every man, woman, and child is of such great economic value. With the increasing use of motor-cars and lorries in Australia, the list of fatalities and casualties grows, and a casual recollection of various accidents bring 3 the thought that fully half of these could have been avoided. Latest returns of motor casualties for a ♦yearly period—that ended on June 30th last —have been issued by the National Eoads and Motorists Association, a great organisation with its headquarters at Sydney. These returns show that during the period named 071 persons met their deaths in motor accidents, distributed among the various estates as follows: New South Wales 252, Victoria 253, South Australia 54. Queensland 46. West Australia 40, and Tasmania 20. Persons injured in motor acidents totalled 997 G. Of these 4805 were in New South Wales. 3032 in Victoria, 708 in Queensland, ois in South Australia, 467 in West Australia, and 349 in Tasmania. of motor vehicles were shown to number 461,34(3, New South Wales having 178,000, Victoria 118,000, South Australia 70,800, Queensland .55,295, West Australia 2-J.400, and Tasmania 12,791. The N.R.M.A. points out that, considering the greater number of people and registrations in this State, New South Wales bore a record as good as any of the other States in regard to casualties.