Road Safety

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21727, 9 March 1936, Page 10

Road Safety

The need for greater safety on the roads is beginning to attract the attention it deserves. The Minister for Transport, in a statement printed in “The Press” on Saturday, spoke sensibly about the lack of uniformity in local traffic regulations; and a few days ago a Wellington magistrate, Mr E. D. Mosley, indicated that he and his colleagues were determined to deal more resolutely with cases of dangerous driving. “It is the only way we can take,” said Mr Mosley, “ to do our best to prevent the hor“rors that have happened in the last few “ weeks.” It is unfortunate that these periodical black patches on , the traffic register cannot be completely avoide’d, but there is no doubt that they can be reduced. In the hands of a normal person a motor-car is serviceable an harmless, but controlled by a reckless or intoxicated driver it is as lethal as a machinegun. Those who take risks, setting the lives of their fellows at hazard, deserve all the punishment the law can inflict upon them. At the same time it must be remembered that when accidents happen it is not always the motorist who is to blame, even though he is frequently the first put under suspicion. With its volume of cycle traffic Christchurch presents a special and alarming problem for even the most careful car drivers. A dangerous proportion of the cyclists are quite care-free and undisciplined, and the only cause for wonder is that the casualty list is not greater than it is. The subject of controlling cyclists has been before the conference of the New Zealand Municipal Association, at which the following prohibitions were approved; Riding with more than two cycles abreast; double-banking, and carrying packages of such size and weight as would interfere with the management of the cycle. It was also recommended that every machine should have efficient brakes, and carry front and rear lights between sunset and sunrise. Cyclists riding abreast are nearly as great a menace on the highway as an intoxicated driver, for in attempting to avoid them a motorist may have to place himself, or some other driver, in a serious situation. As a protective measure for cyclists front and iear lighting is essential. Not many cyclists ride as carefully as they should, and it is often difficult for a driver to pick up the cycles he will pass on a dark stretch of road, and as the cyclist is likely to be taking more than his share of the highway, there is an ever-present risk of accident. The danger can be removed <yily by compulsory rear lighting. The saving of one life even would be sufficient repayment for in non rear liffht.s, and in these days, when the

reduction of traffic mortality is a national problem, no obvious method of eliminating risks should be disregarded.