Traffic Safety Watch At Intersections Next Week

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30206, 10 August 1963, Page 13

Traffic Safety Watch At Intersections Next Week

The Transport Department will keep a particularly close watch on intersections from next Wednesday, when a road safety campaign on intersection behaviour will begin.

Officers will watch for observance of give-way and stop signs, the right-hand rule, and lane discipline. They will also watch for failure to give signals, for incorrect signals, speed and inattention at intersections, and for cars with poor brakes, wipers, or dirty or misted windscreens. Where a 30 mile an hour limit applies, drivers exceeding that speed over intersections will be given trafficoffence notices. Officers have been instructed not to allow any faults to pass without taking action. Drivers committing minor errors will have their mistakes pointed out to them. The chief traffic officer of the Transport Department in Christchurch (Mr E. Wilson) said that intersections would be watched day and night. Cyclists would be regarded as being in the same category as motorists. A driver could be regarded as having tailed to give way when he caused another driver to swerve, accelerate. or decelerate to

avoid him, Mr Wilson said. In 1962, 5734 casualties resulted from accidents at intersections. Of all accidents, 42 per cent, occurred ait intersections; 40.5 per cent, of all injury accidents occurred at intersections; and 27.1 per cent, of all road deaths occurred at intersections, he said. Of 3119 accidents which occurred at uncontrolled intersections. 2778 were in built-up aregs.