PARKING CLOSE TO KERB

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22300, 14 January 1938, Page 8

PARKING CLOSE TO KERB

Reduction In Room On Ro^ds CITY MOTORISTS SAID TO BE CARELESS "Although few centres in New Zealand can compare with Christchurch for the generally uniform width of its thoroughfares, the liberties taken by motorists in parking their cars reduces the useable road width to a much greater degree" than is necessary," says the latest safety message of the Automobile Association. Canterbury. "It has been noted that many motorists leave their vehicles as much as six and seven feet from the kerbing, and even where the City Council has marked the footpath line, some motorists seem to take no notice of the guidance so given. At one time, deep channels with a substantial fall were quite common in the central area, but gradually these road defects have been remedied. The work of covering these deep channellings has meant the provision of greater road width for the use of traffic, particularly the parked vehicle, and motorists should strive at all times to conserve the road width by parking their cars as close as practicable to the line of footPa, 'Because of the number of bicycles in Christchurch, apart altogether from other considerations. 4he greatest possible width is required for moving traffic, and it is only common courtesy and common sense for motonste to show the fullest regard for suchmoving traffic. . "And when dealing with the parKinc of vehicles close to the curbing, it is worth while pointing out to motorists that they should leave their cars strictly parallel with the kerbing. and not in a higgledy-piggledy order If orderliness is observed, it will be found more easy to emerge eventually from the parking place, and that is dependent to a large extent on the leaving of sufficient space between the front of one's car and the rear of the car slicfld "Motorists are markedly careless in the way they use road space in parkSi and if you are a thoughtful motorist you will remedy this fault if it can be placed against you." PEDESTRIANS WHO DRINK SHARE IN MANY ACCIDENTS ALLEGED More evidence that not only drinking and driving but drinking and walking on the highway make poor bedfellows was adduced recently by the Greater New York Safety Council from figures gathered in a recent survey by the Massachusetts Safety Council. This survey covered 412 night highway fatal accidents. It showed that more drunken pedestrians by al-

most one-third than drunken drivers were victims of automobile accidents. Of the accidents examined 157 occurred when pedestrians were attempting to cross the highway not at intersections, 55 pedestrians were walking along the highway, 37 attempted to cross at intersections where drivers should slow down, 16 were boarding or leaving a bus or street car, and 13 stepped from behind parked vehicles. Highway lighting was found to be inadequate in several cases; in others drivers suffered from iaulty vision. Of the pedestrians killed 169 were more than 50 years old and 34 of this number had been drinking. Sixty-one drivers were killed, of whom 25 had been drinking. Pedestrian Offenders The latest monthly statistics of fines just issued in Paris show pedestrians as the greatest number of offenders — totalling 238. The same offence was committed by them all—walking outside the crossing studs. In addition 125 cyclists fell foul of the law and 36 drivers of horse-drawn vehicles. Illicit parking and hooting too loudly were the chief crimes committed by motorists. Taxi-cab drivers formed the largest number—chiefly for loud hooting. * * * Growth of Roads It is stated that 3,000,000 miles of new roads have been constructed in all parts of the world in the last eight years. _.—- - - v