Five Changes Made In Law To Reduce Road Accidents

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27463, 24 September 1954, Page 14

Five Changes Made In Law To Reduce Road Accidents

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, September 23. Motor-cyclists travelling at more than 30 miles an hour must wear crash helmets after July 1, 1955. Regulations requiring this are gazetted today. The operation of any motor-vehicle without two red rear reflectors and an interior sun visor is also made illegal from the same date.

Heavy trucks must have an extended mirror on each side.

Announcing these provisions today, the Minister of Transport (Mr W. S. Goosman) said they were part of the Government’s general policy of reducing road accidents. The provision making obligatory the wearing of a crash helmet also covered passengers on motor-cycles, he said. “The National Roads Board and district roads councils have already done valuable work in removing accident hazards from our roads, and the new requirements give effect to recommendations from the New Zealand Road Safety Council,” said the Minister.

A safety helmet will not make a good rider out of a bad one, but it will minimise the chance of serious head injury in an accident,” said Mr Goosman. “Investigations show that 90 per cent, of motor-cyclists’ deaths are the result of head injuries.” Nearly three years ago red rear reflectors were introduced for heavy trucks, and that reduced the hazard at night of parked trucks. At night, when the lights were out, reflectors were the only effective warning to other traffic, and in England the law required all vehicles to have two rear reflectors as from October 1, 1954. When only one reflector was used, drivers had difficulty in judging the position of a vehicle With two reflectors, it was easier to see the vehicle and to judge its position on the road ahead.

Motor-cycles will, of course, have onlv one reflector, but other vehicles, including trailers, must have two, one °n each side,” said the Minister. The reflectors would cost about 5s to 10s a pair, and must be of an approved type.

Sun visors have been a standard fitting on cars and commercial vehicles for nearl y 20 years,” said Mr Goosman Mostvehicles will already have them, and this regulation merely closes the gap. There are still accidents—often disastrous—where vehicles collide or run off the road because a driver is blinded by the sun.” Provisions were also gazetted requiring all heavy trucks to have an extended mirror on each side, instead of only on the driving side as at present. Many trucks already had these extra mirrors fitted. In heavy traffic the driver must be able to see down the left-hand side of the truck, especially

when backing, because of the danger to cyclists or pedestrians behind him. “Good signals are fundamental to safety on the road and, on large or heavily-loaded vehicles where tjie driver’s signal cannot be seen, it will be compulsory to have some suitable signalling apparatus fitted,” said Mr Goosman. This provision will come into force on January 1, 1955.