FAILURE TO CLOSE CAR DOORS

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22659, 14 March 1939, Page 8

FAILURE TO CLOSE CAR DOORS

Minister’s Advice To Motorists

“Failure to close car doors properly has been responsible for two deaths within the last few days,” said the Minister for Transport (the Hon. R. Semple) yesterday. “I wish to impress on all motorists the grave danger of setting off without ensuring that all doors are securely fastened. “Falls and severe injuries have been sustained by persons who have placed reliance on improperly locked doors,” said the Minister, who also warned motorists against any attempt to close car doors while the car was in motion. A fractured skull had recently been sustained by a young child who was thrown out of a car when the wind caught the door which the child was attempting to reshut while the car was moving, he continued. Two simple precautions would eliminate this type of accident, Mr Semple said. First, all doors should be securely closed before the car was set in motion, and, second, no door should be opened while the car was in motion. “I urge you not to neglect these small precautions,” concluded Mr Semple. “They are simple and only plain common sense, yet failure to observe them cost us two valuable lives last week.”