Holiday Hazards

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31249, 22 December 1966, Page 12

Holiday Hazards

On January 3 this year “ The Press ” reported that 17 persons had died in road accidents over the Christmas and New Year holidays and that 29 persons (some of whom later died) were critically ill. In the same issue we reported the death of a youth who fell over a 40-foot cliff in the small hours of the morning during a New Year’s Eve party and of a man who was tipped out of his small boat on Lake Taupo in broad daylight. These tragedies, which are typical of holiday accidents, were all preventable. Carelessness was probably the major cause in each case; drunkenness or sheer joie-de-vivre might have contributed. Whatever the cause, the effect was needless loss of life—and suffering for the holidaymakers’ families. The new Minister of Transport (Mr Gordon) ventured on to the roads last week-end to observe the habits of holiday-making motorists. He reported on the dangerous overtaking, the speeding, and the impatience that lead to many accidents. There is nothing new, of course, in this; but every year, as traffic increases, the risks taken by bad drivers are more likely to have fatal or serious consequences. Mr Gordon also noted the number of driving faults associated with towing caravans and trailers, of which there will be record numbers crawling along the roads this year. New owners of these towed vehicles must realise the limitations they impose—particularly the obligation on the driver to give following vehicles the first opportunity to overtake. Another danger too seldom appreciated by the proud new owner of a caravan or boat concerns the popular camp stove fuelled by rock gas. Colourless, and heavier than air, this gas, if it escapes unnoticed, can explode dangerously when a match is lit Such an explosion in a launch or small tent can be fatal.

The hazards to inexperienced boatsmen, trampers, climbers, campers, shooters, and drivers are too numerous to specify; all are avoidable by the exercise of some forethought and common sense. The unfit office-worker need not be discouraged from his annual adventure; the precautions are simple. A car must be roadworthy; a boat should be equipped with life jackets; climbing equipment must be adequate for the trip; a shooter needs to know how to cross a fence; a young family must be given rules for safe swimming. Only the careful are truly carefree.