SHE SAYS...

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32459, 20 November 1970, Page 17

SHE SAYS...

Christchurch drivers art very bad when it comes tc getting out of the way oi fire engines and ambulances hurrying to an emergency with red lights and sirens going, a nurse told me the nthor Hqv It ic r»r»t

uuici uay, al is nut viicij that I have been on the road when a fire engine or ambulance has been coming, but from what I have seen when this has happened, my informant was right. I was also interested in her comment that motorists in Wellington and Auckland are very much better at clearing the way when they hear a siren. The law on what drivers should do when they hear a siren is quite clear: pull to the side of the road, and stop. But I have several times seen Christchurch drivers carry on driving along the middle of the road (the usual Christchurch driving position) until the fire-engine was only feet behind them. Even then they only moved over, and did not stop. Another thing—we drivers often become annoyed when someone hurries past us going (in our view) too fast. Some motorists will even deliberately try to be obstructive, which is both stupid and against the law. Did you ever think that a hurrying driver might be a doctor going to an urgent case, or a plain police-car or traffic patrol hurrying to an emergency? It might even be a father-to-be hurrying his wife to the hospital.

s A driver who obstructs > another might well end up f with something worse than > bad manners on his or her I conscience, especially if the s obstructive behaviour s causes an accident. 1