Easter Road Toll Not As Heavy

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31031, 11 April 1966, Page 1

Easter Road Toll Not As Heavy

«.Nctt' Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, April 10.

New Zealand’s Easter road toll up to 8 p.m. today stands at five, compared with a total of 16 for Easter 1965, the Transport Department reported tonight.

In comparison with previous years the road deaths had been kept down so far, but motorists were warned to take extreme care, especially when returning from holidays.

The fatal accidents occurred at Dunedin (two), Rotorua, Te Tua and near Darfield.

Eleven people have died on the roads this month, compared with 12 for the same time last April. The yearly total has risen to 112. against 155 at this time last year. Head-on Collision A 30-year-old man was killed and another seriously injured when the car they were in was involved in a head-on collision with another car on Te Ngae road, Rotorua, on Saturday night. The dead man was: Murray Douglas Robb, a baker, of Rotorua. The injured man is John Andrew Adams, a commercial helicopter pilot, of Rotorua, who was admitted to Rotorua Hospital suffering head injuries. His condition is reported to be satisfactory. The driver of the other car, James Rogers, was also admitted to Rotorua Hospital with cuts and bruises and his condition was given as satisfactory. Hit By Car

An elderly man died of injuries soon after being knocked down by a car in North road, Dunedin, on Saturday! evening. He was: Mr Walter Heenan, aged 77, a retired farmer, of 40 Rhodes terrace, North Dunedin. Mr Heenan died less than an hour after being taken to Dunedin Hospital. Fatally Injured A Kaiapoi youth was fatally injured when a car hit a pole in Dunedin at 10.40 p.m. on Friday. He was: Robert John West, of 175 North road, Kaiapoi. who died in the Dunedin Hospital early on Saturday morning. A second occupant of the car, John David Tweedie, aged 19, of Seddon street, Rangiora, suffered serious head injuries. His condition was described as “fairly well.” The car was travelling down Tahuna road past the Andersons Bay Cemetery when it hit a power pole. Faulty Driving The Transport Department said traffic behaviour had varied, but one report from north of Auckland on Thursday evening said that driving could only be described as “very bad.” However, since then it had much improved.

The department said the main faults were the same as previous years—driving too fast for the conditions and following too closely. Slow drivers had come in for more attention this Easter. “One inconsiderate motorist was holding up a line of 50 cars on the open road to a speed of 25 miles an hour,” a department spokesman said. Many offenders in the South

Island, particularly, had been drivers of cars towing caravans and hugging the centre line. The Wellington Chief Traffic Officer. Mr H. Little, said 32 slow drivers were pulled up by traffic officers to allow following motorists to pass. Eleven of these were given tickets for inconsiderate driving, or failure to keep left. Motorists are warned to watch out for hitch-hikers on the roads at night. Reports from the Waikato indicated that many hikers were wearing dark clothing and were very difficult to see, the department said.