The Right-Hand Rule Again

Press, Volume LXXXIIi, Issue 25302, 30 September 1947, Page 6

The Right-Hand Rule Again

It cannot be said, of course, that the discussion on the right-hand rule at the annual meeting of the Automobile Association on Saturday evening accurately tested opinion among the association’s members' on the working of the rule and the advisability of seeking further amendments to it. There were not enough members present—about 50 out of more than 14,000 —for it to be said, even, that the discussion suggested what the majority opinion might be. But if the executive, which is to decide what action should be taken, finds that it costs too much, is otherwise impossible, or is not worth while to attempt to discover now how the association’s members have found the rule in practice, it would be justified, for at least two reasons, in attaching some signifi-' carice to Saturday’s discussion. The first is that there was no solid sup~ port for the present rule. One fewer than half of those who voted had firmly made up their minds that it was not satisfactory. If there were any who supported it, they were not enthusiastic enough to make the issue clear-cut. They were content to lump their votes with others, apparently doubtful about, the advantages and disadvantages of the rule, • who thought the executive should investigate its working, because they believed it to be “ better informed on the subject. “ than most members ”, and decide if anything should be done to have it amended. The second reason is that the mover and seconder of the resolution that the meeting should try to have the old rule restored were men whose judgment is backed not only by long administrative experience in motorists’ affairs but by long experience also in the practice of law. They might, therefore, be expected to have gathered as sound a knowledge as anyone of the comparative merits of the old and new rules. Yet one says the new rule is “ impracticable ” and that few persons understand it; and the other that, though there might be something to be said for it, he is at present unable to see it. There is, of course, nothing to be said for it, whatever its potential advantages, if motorists do not understand it and cannot be taught to understand it; and the evidence to be gathered from any busy uncontrolled intersection shows that the Transport Department and the local bodies which administer the traffic law have not yet succeeded in making the rule clear. If the Automobile Association’s executive and the North and South Island Motor Unions now agree that the rule should be retained, they should agree also that it can be made easy to understand and should be prepared, in the interests of road safety, to show how.