The Press THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1967. The Week-end With A Bad Record

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31504, 19 October 1967, Page 16

The Press THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1967. The Week-end With A Bad Record

Tomorrow evening holiday traffic for the Labour Day week-end will begin to move. Many drivers will begin long journeys, determined to make the most of one of the year’s shorter and, on the roads, one of the most danger-ridden holiday week-ends. Some will be weary before they begin. This will threaten their own safety and the safety of others on the road. Labour Day week-end has produced a bad record of road accidents. This may be because the break is short and time seems more precious; or because the longer daylight hours are still some weeks away; or because, in October, many motorists are making their first long drive after the winter. Last year, between the Friday evening before Labour Day and the Tuesday morning after, 10 persons died and 273 were injured in 150 accidents on New Zealand’s roads. On previous records, Saturday will be the most dangerous day, Sunday and Monday hardly less dangerous. Other kinds of accidents will spoil the holiday. Some will be the outcome of unforeseeable misadventure; most will have to be attributed to lack of foresight, lack of judgment, or lack of physical or mental fitness. “Accident” is scarcely the word to apply to such mishaps. They will be regretted just the same. Very few motoring accidents can be classified as unavoidable. No motorist who respects his own safety—and some do not—or who respects the safety of his passengers and of others on the roads will drive this week-end with his mind in low gear. He will be alert—alert to his own capability and to the limitations imposed upon it by other traffic, by the weather, and by the performance of his car. Disregard of these limitations and of the rules of the road causes most accidents. The special conditions of this week-end add to the need for attentive driving. Motorists should plan their journeys to allow themselves time to drive safely; they should arrange their holidays so as to avoid weariness at the wheel; and they should resolve firmly to stick to the rules.